The Las Vegas Raiders needed a win against the Indianapolis Colts to increase their hopes of a spot in the postseason, but even though they fell 44-27, the team's hopes of a trip to the playoffs are still alive. The Silver and Black will need to handle business against the Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and Denver Broncos to close out the season, but not all is lost.
Even with a glimmer of hope, however, there are a handful of areas the Raiders must clean up before they can even begin to think about the playoffs. Let's look at the Week 14 edition of By the Numbers, and assess the week that was.
100 - Nelson Agholor led all receivers with 100 yards on the day and added one touchdown for good measure. The former Philadelphia Eagle now has seven touchdowns on the year, and is just one shy of tying his career-high.
79 - The Raiders haven't rushed for 100 yards as a team in a month, finishing for 79 yards against a stout Colts front seven. Regardless, the rush is the Raiders' identity and if they can't get it going, it puts them in a big hole.
31:25 - The first quarter wasn't ideal for the Raiders, as they were losing the time of possession battle 10 minutes to one, but by the end of the game, they possessed the ball for 31:25, compared to the Colts' 28:35.
3 - Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers… The Raiders gave the ball away three times and even though Philip Rivers has been known for heaving up 50-50 balls, the veteran gunslinger took care of the ball on Sunday.
6 - Penalties were even across the board with six and both teams played disciplined football for the most part, aside from a poor decision by the Raiders' young secondary.
212 - You can't win football games if you're going to allow over 200 rushing yards a game. The Colts picked up chunk yards with ease, including a 62-yard touchdown tote by rookie running back Jonathan Taylor. This is the second week in a row the Raiders have given up 200 yards on the ground.
316 - For the fourth time this season, Derek Carr surpassed 300 yards passing, and even though he had two interceptions on the day, neither was his fault. The first was just an incredible play that's sure to win Interception of the Year, and the other went through the hands of his receiver and into the arms of a Colts player.
14 - Johnathan Abram finished the game on Sunday with a high tackle count — which is becoming the norm — but Head Coach Jon Gruden said postgame he'd like to see him clean up a few things. On the bright side, the defense is noticeably better when No. 24 is on the field.
0 - Neither the Raiders nor the Colts finished the game with a sack, so kudos to the offensive lines, but the defensive unit needs to be better at applying pressure.
Here are the playtime percentages from the Raiders' Week 14 game:
| Player | Position | Offense | Defense | Special Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G Jackson | G | 68 - 100% | 5 - 17% | |
| T Brown | T | 68 - 100% | 5 - 17% | |
| D Good | G | 68 - 100% | 5 - 17% | |
| K Miller | T | 68 - 100% | 5 - 17% | |
| D Carr | QB | 68 - 100% | ||
| R Hudson | C | 68 - 100% | ||
| D Waller | TE | 66 - 97% | ||
| N Agholor | WR | 45 - 66% | ||
| H Ruggs III | WR | 41 - 60% | 8 - 28% | |
| H Renfrow | WR | 38 - 56% | 1 - 3% | |
| J Jacobs | RB | 29 - 43% | ||
| J Richard | RB | 21 - 31% | ||
| J Witten | TE | 20 - 29% | ||
| B Edwards | WR | 20 - 29% | ||
| D Booker | RB | 19 - 28% | ||
| Z Jones | WR | 16 - 24% | ||
| F Moreau | TE | 13 - 19% | 14 - 48% | |
| A Ingold | FB | 12 - 18% | 15 - 52% | |
| E Harris | FS | 61 - 100% | 16 - 55% | |
| N Lawson | CB | 61 - 100% | 11 - 38% | |
| T Mullen | CB | 61 - 100% | 11 - 38% | |
| M Crosby | DE | 58 - 95% | 9 - 31% | |
| J Abram | SS | 58 - 95% | 3 - 10% | |
| N Morrow | LB | 54 - 89% | 2 - 7% | |
| N Kwiatkoski | LB | 47 - 77% | 9 - 31% | |
| J Hankins | DT | 42 - 69% | 8 - 28% | |
| L Joyner | CB | 41 - 67% | ||
| M Hurst | DT | 38 - 62% | 1 - 3% | |
| A Key | DE | 37 - 61% | 8 - 28% | |
| C Littleton | LB | 33 - 54% | 15 - 52% | |
| K Vickers | DT | 25 - 41% | 16 - 55% | |
| V Beasley | DE | 24 - 39% | 1 - 3% | |
| C Smith | DE | 10 - 16% | ||
| C Ferrell | DE | 7 - 11% | 1 - 3% | |
| R McMillan | LB | 6 - 10% | 23 - 79% | |
| D Leavitt | FS | 3 - 5% | 23 - 79% | |
| I Johnson | CB | 3 - 5% | 10 - 34% | |
| K Nixon | CB | 2 - 3% | 17 - 59% | |
| K Wilber | LB | 24 - 83% | ||
| D Carrier | TE | 20 - 69% | ||
| D Carlson | K | 11 - 38% | ||
| T Sieg | LS | 6 - 21% | ||
| A Cole | P | 6 - 21% | ||
| A James | C | 5 - 17% | ||
| P Omameh | G | 5 - 17% |
