Just a month ago the Oakland Raiders were 6-4 and looked to be a path that led to the NFL playoffs— quickly things have changed. The Raiders have dropped three straight and are now on the outside of the AFC playoff picture. During their three-game losing streak, the Raiders have been blown out 116-33 by their opponents.
Raiders head coach, Jon Gruden credits their recent woes to injuries to several key players like rookie Josh Jacobs, Rodney Hudson and Trent Brown.
After the Raiders 42-21 home loss to the Tennessee Titans, Gruden compared his team’s struggles to his former neighbor, the Golden State Warriors.
“I think the Golden State Warriors are going through a similar process,” Gruden said to reporters after the loss to Tennessee. “It’s not as easy to win when you’re not playing with your frontline guys— we’re excited about the development of some young players, but it’s on me—It’s my responsibility to fix it and it certainly doesn’t look good the last few weeks.”
Seems like a little bit of stretch comparison. But hey why not, sure sounds good pic.twitter.com/ejAqvafM5N
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) December 9, 2019
Gruden is correct that the Warriors have lost some “frontline guys,” like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, but the Raiders outlook is quite different than Golden State. The Warriors have made five straight NBA Finals appearances and won three championships—the Raiders haven’t won in the playoffs since 2002.
Basketball and football are very different when it comes to team play, the NFL carries a 53-man roster, while the Warriors have had to use an eight-man lineup throughout the start of the 2019 season.
The Warriors have been at the top of the Bay Area sports pyramid for the past five seasons, but now the door is open for a new team to take over the Bay Area thrown. Unfortunately for Gruden, it looks like it’s going to be the 11-2 San Francisco 49ers instead of the Raiders.