Ahead of Browns clash Raiders fanbase says, “you're in traffic forever”

LAS VEGAS -- The painful anger of Raider Nation finally erupted this week, especially through a burning fan mailbag submission that arrived as the silver and black team fell to the Cowboys, 33-16, dropping to a 2-8 record. On Wednesday’s “Fantasy Footballers” podcast, Ozzy from Anaheim expressed that pain, saying that following the team feels like a betrayal:

“Just wanted to say that I heard you guys talk about the Raiders, and as a Raiders fan, we know it totally s*cks,” he said. “It's like waiting to get ice cream, and somebody shows a scoop of p**p on your ice cream cone when you want ice cream, or it's kind of like being trafficked, and you never get out of traffic. It's just one accident after another, after another. Last year, you thought, ‘Oh, the accident's Josh McDaniels. We just got to get past that. Oh, now the accident's the quarterback. We need to get past that’.

“It never ends,” he added. “You're in traffic forever.”

Amidst the raw wound, their next matchup is again a collision — as the Raiders host an equally troubled Cleveland Browns team (also holding a 2-8 record) at Allegiant Stadium this Sunday at 1:05 PM PST. This is in no way a “get right game”; both teams are among the bottom ten in scoring and are searching for offensive rhythm. That’s why football analysts believe something has to give. And that “something” starts with the rookie debut of Shedeur Sanders, as Cleveland is set to start the rookie quarterback.

Meanwhile, Raiders star corner Eric Stokes, on Thursday’s “The Silver & Black Show,” said the key to victory is: show up early, and “kill, especially a rookie quarterback early.” Stokes and the secondary plan to confuse Sanders, show him different disguises, and force him to overthink. 

But the pressure doesn’t rest only on the secondary; the defensive front, which includes key players Maxx Crosby (knee) and Jonah Laulu (ribs), who had limited participation per Thursday’s injury update, will need to generate pressure on the QB.

But the biggest pressure is on the Raiders’ struggling offense, which had Geno Smith get sacked four times in the team's loss to the Cowboys in Week 11. He has been sacked 31 times in 10 games this season, making him the fourth most-sacked quarterback in the NFL.

According to analyst Robert Turbin, the Raiders' offense has to find “balance”; Smith performs best in a 24-pass, 24-run type of split. Ashton Jeanty had six carries for seven yards last week, and Turbin insists that the Raiders will only win if Jeanty gets the ball “at least 18 times.” Trust in the run game — even if it only gains three yards each time — is essential, because it puts the offensive line in “attack mode”. It also keeps the play-action passing game alive.

If both offenses continue to sputter in this mode, special teams could very well decide the game. The Browns’ special teams have been weak, while the strong trio of Daniel Carlson, AJ Cole, and Raheem Moert gives the Raiders an edge. Ultimately, Eric Stokes urged Raider Nation to keep the faith, to “look on the bright side,” and to believe that the final seven-game stretch will be the team’s best.

The next chance to get out of this long traffic jam comes Sunday against the Browns.