How the Las Vegas Raiders Can Find the Consistency They've Lacked in 2020

The Las Vegas Raiders haven't been a model of consistency to start the 2020 season.

Jon Gruden's team entered the season as a potential contender and fired off two consecutive wins—but then two losses. It's since proceeded to trade wins and losses en route to a 4-3 mark with a minus-16 point differential.

Along the way, Las Vegas was thumped by the two-win New England Patriots but also handed the homestanding Kansas City Chiefs their only loss—only to turn around and get smacked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after its bye.

Rest assured, Gruden and Co. notice the inconsistency, though solving it won't be simple. Schematic tweaks, playing time adjustments and even new faces could help shore up some of the Raiders' problems and keep them in the AFC playoff picture.

Speculation that the Raiders had an eye on making a change at quarterback always registered as silly.

Derek Carr has once again silenced doubters, completing 71.1 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns against just two interceptions. His 7.8 yards per attempt is almost a full yard higher than his career mark (6.9), and he has a bad-throw percentage of 14.0 percent, only slightly higher than his usual numbers.

Carr hasn't had Henry Ruggs III or Bryan Edwards for every game, so tight end Darren Waller has been his top pass-catcher. Never mind the routinely missing offensive linemen. Even so, Josh Jacobs has rushed for 522 yards and five touchdowns, and the Raiders have put up 26.7 points per game.

Yes, they are only 4-3. But the key the rest of the way will be for Las Vegas to remain balanced with borderline elite players in Carr and Jacobs. Why? As ESPN's Seth Walder pointed out, the Raiders have played the hardest schedule to date but will have just the 25th-hardest slate the rest of the way.

It hasn't been consistent, but Las Vegas has got the job done with its physicality and should wear down lesser competition, especially if key players such as Ruggs have good attendance sheets.

If there's one shakeup the Raiders need to make on offense, it's modernizing.

And Carr has the ability to do it.

Case in point: Sunday's 16-6 win over the 5-3 Cleveland Browns. In a gridlocked battle with messy weather, Carr took it upon himself to rush eight times for 41 yards, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. It doesn't sound like much, but tucking and going in key spots kept the game within reach as he passed for just 112 yards and a score.

And his coach noticed.

"That is what we have all been asking for," Gruden told reporters. "We have all been saying: 'Hey, extend a couple plays. Why don't you extend a couple plays?' Today, he extended a couple plays. Those were, I think, the plays that were the secret sauce in the win today."

Carr has always had the athleticism to run, but the Raiders haven't leaned in to it. He's carried the ball a maximum of 39 times in a season yet is up to 21 rushes for 94 yards and a 4.5 average through seven games this year.

The Raiders are one of the lucky teams with a franchise passer capable of implementing this wrinkle and catching opponents off guard because there isn't a ton of it on film. Capitalizing on this luxury could only make the offense more explosive, especially in games in which the traditional approach isn't making headway.

The Raiders need to send extra pass-rushers more often.

They have just seven sacks, and four of those are by Maxx Crosby. The lack of pressure is a big reason the team ranks in the bottom 10 in pass defense (260.7 yards allowed per game) and points allowed per game (29.0).

This isn't an uncommon problem for coordinator Paul Guenther, who held the same role for four years with the Cincinnati Bengals before he joined the Raiders in 2018. If the front four isn't generating pressure, he has had to compensate by sending extra bodies—Las Vegas doesn't have a prime Geno Atkins or Carlos Dunlap, though.

Shakeups to the base formation are a must. Removing Maliek Collins (three pressures) for Maurice Hurst (six in 85 fewer snaps) seems like it would be a good move. Yanking a staple of Guenther's blitz packages—such as defensive back Lamarcus Joyner, who has zero pressures on 11 blitzes—would also make sense.

Even if the mixup is about adjusting timing or how and when Guenther sends extra defenders, getting more unpredictable could mean getting more pressure. And in today's NFL, pressure is the only way to guarantee defensive success.

Along those same lines, the halfway point of the season is time for review and change.

Guenther's under the microscope because of his secondary, too.

There's little reason a top-four cap hit such as Joyner should have a 46.9 Pro Football Focus grade.

"We gotta look at the coverages that we're playing; that's what we've been doing," Gruden said, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Perhaps we need to change a few things to fit the strengths of our people. Maybe we can do a better job of that."

This isn't a problem exclusive to this year—Guenther needs to dial back the complexity of his scheme if big names such as Joyner continue to struggle with execution. Mix in a reduction in passive zone coverages and some man coverages that play to the personnel's strengths, and things could improve.

The unit caught a break with the bad weather in Cleveland, but Mother Nature won't always be there to assist. Dialing things back and playing to the strengths of the talent is a must.

When all else fails, bringing in new faces could help.

This is a particular talking point on the defensive side of the ball. Cornerback Damon Arnette still isn't back from a thumb injury, and Nevin Lawson has posted a 53.9 PFF grade in his stead. Joyner's issues have been mentioned. Corner Trayvon Mullen is at 56.3 with three touchdowns permitted. Safety Erik Harris slots in at 50.3 and allows a 61.1 completion percentage.

On paper, scheming to the personnel's strengths could help mask these problems. But at this point, it's clear a talent infusion might become a must. This isn't to suggest the Raiders need to make a splash with safety Earl Thomas, but perhaps they can reengage with corner Eli Apple after their deal fell through in April. It seems like a fit after he was released by the Carolina Panthers last week.

Adding talent, particularly to the secondary, would be a kind of insurance as the Chiefs run away with the AFC West. Giving up cap space for a free agent would be a low-risk, high-reward move for the Raiders as they tackle the season's second half.