It’s looking like the Bengals could once again be without their best offensive player this week as wide receiver A.J. Green missed another practice. The Pro Bowl receiver has missed all season with an ankle injury, but there was some hope he would have returned by this point.

Now it appears as if the Bengals could be in danger of being without their best defensive player. Geno Atkins practiced fully on Wednesday and wasn’t listed on the injury report. Thursday, he missed practice altogether with a knee injury.

The Bengals have also been without cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick the past three games, and he isn’t expected to return until the end of November.

As for the Raiders, Lamarcus Joyner is still not practicing with a hamstring injury. He was joined on the sideline by David Sharpe, who has a calf injury. Dwayne Harris was downgraded to limited. Otherwise, there were no changes to the injury report from Wednesday.

David Sharpe missed practice today with a calf injury. Dwayne Harris was downgraded to limited. Trayvon Mullen was limited with an illness. Lamarcus Joyner still not practicing. #Raiders pic.twitter.com/vojA5g5y2T

— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 14, 2019

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While the Raiders pulled out a few hard-fought wins this season, they also got embarrassed a few times. In some of those games, as well as a few they have to dig themselves out of a hole, there were players who had to raise their hand and say ‘my bad, guys.” These are their stories (bong, bong).

DB Lamarcus Joyner

Buster nods: 7

Worst game: Week 4 vs. Colts

Joyner was the one big, highly touted free-agent addition Gruden had this offseason. He was going to fix the issues at the nickel corner spot. Early on, it was apparent that it was not happening.

After Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins lit up the Raiders secondary in weeks 2 and 3, the rest of the secondary stepped up against the Colts. But Jacoby Brissett was stilling making plays, and it was Joyner he picked on all day. The entire secondary has been an issue all season, but even when the opposing QB is struggling, they seem to find yards via Joyner.

He was not named a Baller once this season and just twice didn’t land among the Busters. Now, he has a hamstring injury, so we’ll see what the Raiders can do without him.

CB Gareon Conley

Buster nods: 5

Worst game: Week 7 vs. Packers

This was a tough call for Conley’s worst game. I mean, it was Aaron Rodgers, and Conley had been lit up by the likes of Joe Flacco and Chase Daniel before that. But even against Rodgers, someone has to step up. Conley didn’t step up.

Conley was beaten in several different ways by the Packers. This included a 74-yard touchdown catch, a 59-yard catch that later led to him being out of position to allow Rodgers to jog in for a touchdown.

Conley was traded to the Texans the next day. In part because of the game he had, and in part because someone had to go and he carried the most value. The Raiders got a third-round pick in the deal.

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Throughout the team’s history, the Raiders have had several players who have shined for one season and then disappeared. But no player in franchise history was a bigger one-hit wonder than quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Selected in the third round of the 2011 NFL supplemental draft, Pryor went on to start nine games at quarterback for the Raiders in 2013. Pryor won three of his first six starts, completing 63 percent of his passes during that stretch.

The most memorable play of his career came on the opening play against Pittsburgh, where he took a read-option to the house to help Oakland defeat the Steelers. But from that point on, it was all downhill for Pryor.

In a recent article by ESPN, Pryor was named the biggest one-hit wonder in franchise history by senior writer Paul Gutierrez. Take a look at his reasoning for selecting Pryor:

After beating the Steelers, he lost two straight, injured a knee and didn’t start again until a loss in the season finale. Pryor — who was never a gifted passer and saw defenses flood the box when he was under center — transitioned to receiver. He spent time with Cleveland, Washington, Buffalo and the Jets, last playing in November 2018.

While Pryor never developed into a franchise quarterback, he did have some success as a receiver. In 2016, he eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards with the Cleveland Browns. He’s bounced around the league some since then, but he carved out a nice six-year career as both a quarterback and a receiver.

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Entering the 2019 NFL draft, it wasn’t a secret that the Raiders were going to select a few defensive ends. However, no one could have expected that their fourth-round pick would outproduce the No. 4 pick in the draft. But that’s precisely what has happened over the first nine games of the season.

Fourth-round pick Maxx Crosby has been fantastic for the Raiders this season, recording seven quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. He also leads the team in quarterback pressures with 25, according to Pro Football Focus.

Maxx Crosby recorded 7 pressures on #TNF and leads the #Raiders with 25 on the season 💪 pic.twitter.com/rwlCjTfXky

— PFF (@PFF) November 9, 2019

Crosby has everything you would want in a young edge rusher. He’s highly athletic with great size and a non-stop motor. He needs to continue to improve his technique and become more consistent from game to game, but that will come with more playing time.

While it’s fair to be slightly disappointed with the production from the team’s No. 4 pick in the 2019 draft, Crosby has been an incredible find by this front office. Look for him to continue to be a staple for this defensive line for years to come.

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This week, the Oakland Raiders will host the Cincinnati Bengals in a game Oakland must win in order to stay in the AFC Wild Card contention. To get you prepared for the game, here is everything you need to know about this Week 11 contest:

What: Cincinnati Bengals (0-9) at Oakland Raiders (5-4)
When: Sunday, November 17 at 4:25 p.m. ET
Where: Oakland Alameda Coliseum, Oakland, CA
Radio: 95.7 The Game
Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)
Odds: Raiders (-10.5)
Referee: Shawn Smith
TV: CBS

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Even with still a lot of games left to play, the NFL has opened up fan voting. There are quite a few Raiders on the ballot. Here they are:

Offense

Quarterback: Derek Carr

Running back: Josh Jacobs

Wide receiver: Trevor Davis, Tyrell Williams

Fullback: Alec Ingold

Tight end: Darren Waller, Foster Moreau

Tackle: Trent Brown, Kolton Miller

Guard: Richie Incognito, Gabe Jackson

Center: Rodney Hudson

Defense

Defensive end: Maxx Crosby, Clelin Ferrell

Defensive tackle: Johnathan Hankins, Maurice Hurst

Inside linebacker: Will Compton

Outside linebacker: Nicholas Morrow, Tahir Whitehead

Cornerback: Trayvon Mullen, Daryl Worley

Strong safety: Erik Harris

Free safety: Lamarcus Joyner

Special teams

Kicker: Daniel Carlson

Return specialist: Trevor Davis

Punter: AJ Cole

Special teamer: Dwayne Harris

Cast your Pro Bowl vote here.

Against the Chargers’ backup tackles, the Raiders had their best pass-rushing game of the season. They were also without Josh Mauro and Arden Key for that game as both missed the game due to injuries.

While Key was placed on injured reserve, Mauro returned to the field today for the team, upping his chances of facing the Bengals next Sunday.

Mauro (groin) was limited along with several other Raiders players, including Trent Brown (knee), Rodney Hudson (ankle), Josh Jacobs (shoulder), and David Sharpe (calf). As of now, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be ready to go for the game.

The one player missing for the Raiders was Lamarcus Joyner, who suffered a hamstring injury against the Chargers and who Jon Gruden said is “Very questionable” for the Bengals game.

Missing with injuries for the Bengals were WR AJ Green (ankle), CB Dre Kirkpatrick (knee), TE Drew Sample (ankle), and WR Alex Erickson (back). OT Bobby Hart (shoulder) and G Alex Redmond (knee/ankle) were both limited.

Lamarcus Joyner missed practice today for #Raiders with his hamstring injury. A few others were limited pic.twitter.com/QOUd0bNDW3

— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 13, 2019

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We’re just past the official midway point of the Raiders 2019 season. They sit at 5-4 on the season, which is better than many thought they would be in light of the grueling 5-game, 7-week absence from a game in their home stadium. There were many great and solid performances over the first half of the season. Here’s a compilation of the very best.

RB Josh Jacobs

Baller nominations: 7

Best game: Week 5 vs Bears

Jacobs had 143 yards and 2 touchdowns on 29 touches (26 carries) against arguably the stoutest run defenses in the NFL. It was one of six games this season he has gone over 100 yards from scrimmage, with a seventh in which he hit 99 yards, all on the ground. It was also one of three multiple touchdown games for Jacobs, who has 7 touchdowns on the season. Only two games this season was he NOT a Baller.

TE Darren Waller

Baller nominations: 4

Best game: Week 3 vs Vikings

Waller was basically the Raiders’ entire offense in that game. He had 13 catches on 14 targets for 134 yards and another 7 yards on a run. Waller has been at least a good portion of the Raiders passing game all season and still leads the team in both catches (51) and receiving yards (588) by a considerable margin.

OT Trent Brown

Baller nominations: 4

Best game: Week 2 vs Chiefs

Brown kept the Chiefs pass rushers at bay, not allowing a single pressure on Carr. We’re talking about a Chiefs team that is tied for fifth in the league with 30 sacks, the most of any Raiders opponent this season. Brown also cleared the way for a 51-yard run by Josh Jacobs in that game.

C Rodney Hudson

Baller nominations: 3

Best game: Week 10 vs Chargers

It didn’t even look like he would play in this game. Just days earlier Gruden said Hudson wasn’t close to returning for the previous game with an ankle injury. He would return on a short week, play every snap, and look like he hadn’t missed a beat against one of the best defenses in football. His most impressive play was the one in which he laid two blocks to open a hole for Josh Jacobs to run 18 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

DE Benson Mayowa

Baller nominations: 3

Best game: Week 2 vs Chiefs

Despite playing just 18 snaps, Mayowa got in on two sacks on Patrick Mahomes, forcing the fumble on one of them which the Raiders recovered. That game gave him 3.5 sacks in the first two weeks and he has double that tally since then to lead the team with 7.0 sacks.

S Erik Harris

Baller nominations: 3

Best game: Week 10 vs Chargers

On Thursday night football, Harris spotted the Raiders 10 points with two interceptions; one that put them in field goal range and the other returned for a touchdown. That was his second pick-six of the season.

DE Maxx Crosby

Baller nominations: 3

Best game: Week 10 vs Chargers

While Harris was picking off Philip Rivers, it was Crosby putting on the pressure to help set them up. Pressure is something he has done a lot of this season. He leads the team with 25 pressures, is second with 7 QB hits, and third with 2.5 sacks.

Honorable Mention

QB Derek Carr — He led the way three times this season. But those were offset by three rough outings, including the game in Green Bay when he fumbled through the end zone for a touchback. But he shook that game off and has been Top Baller twice. He appears to be putting things together in Gruden’s offense and his arrow is pointing up.

OT Kolton Miller — A couple rough games early — mostly in the run game — he has picked it up since then and has done a stalwart job protecting Carr’s blindside.

FB Alec Ingold — He has been quite the find as an undrafted rookie clearing the way for Jacobs. And he’s made a few plays of his own, either in short-yardage or the Spider 2 Y Banana TD last week.

TE Foster Moreau — The number two tight end has been the most surprising rookie this season. He can catch and move a lot better than anyone gave him credit for coming out in the draft.

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The Oakland Raiders are right in the thick of things in the AFC playoff hunt, and with seven games remaining, they have a great chance of clinching a playoff berth for the first time since 2016.

However, it’s never too soon to look forward to the offseason as the team tries to continue its rebuild. So without further ado, here are the Raiders’ three biggest needs entering the 2020 offseason:

1. Linebacker

No position has haunted the Raiders more over the past decade than linebacker. Oakland has struggled to find consistent play at the position, cycling through dozens of players over the last few seasons.

If the Raiders want to improve as a defense, they need to get faster in the middle. While elite off-the-ball linebackers don’t often hit free agency, the 2020 draft does have several quality players at the position this year. Look for Oakland to address that need early next offseason.

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