Loser: HC Jon Gruden
Gruden deserves credit for this team going from 4-12 to 7-9, which is an improvement from the previous season. However, this isn’t his first time in the loser column, and this performance puts him there again with miss opportunities that helped the Raiders struggle in the red zone.
Gruden’s conservative nature has come back to hurt him plenty this game, especially on fourth down. The first opportunity to go for it on fourth down was the 4th and 1 on the very first drive of the game the Raiders then missed the field goal.
He kept calling wrong concepts in the red zone that led to the Raiders only getting three points on their next three trips. Gruden didn’t play to win this game, and even late in the fourth was attempting to play ball-control offense.
If the Raiders want to win playoff games, Gruden has to find a way to become aggressive with situational football. If this doesn’t change, it could be a long decade for the Raiders organizations full of blown leads and heartbreak.
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