At Oakland Coliseum, the south end zone is known as the Black Hole thanks to the terrifying army of Raiders fans who gather there on eight Sundays a year.
Unfortunately for those fans, a black hole is also where Oakland’s season has vanished.
Held without a touchdown over their last nine quarters, the Raiders have yet to find paydirt in the month of November and have been outscored 54-9 over their last two games by the in-state rival 49ers and Chargers.
Following yesterday’s 20-6 home loss to Los Angeles, the Raiders are now 1-8 on the season, the third-worst start in the history of the franchise.
Only the team’s 0-13 start in 1962 and the 0-10 start in 2014 have been worse and, while this year’s team won’t go winless, they do have a good shot at ending up 1-15.
“This will be a year that a lot of us will never forget,” coach Jon Gruden said yesterday after the loss. “It’s painful. It is hard. It will be hard to sleep again, hard to get up in the morning. But this will be the foundation this organization leans on: mental toughness, physical toughness. I know it sounds corny to some people, but that’s the grit and toughness this organization was built on, and that is what we’ll continue to strive for.”
Gruden can say whatever he wants, but this season is even worse than the record indicates — especially for Oakland fans, who continue to get disrespected by the organization.
After getting rid of players like Khalil Mack, Bruce Irvin, and Amari Cooper for future assets, it’s clear the only thing Gruden is striving for is having the Raiders on solid ground once they move to Vegas in 2020.
Unfortunately, that means there are still 23 games for this version of the Raiders to play as (roughly) currently constituted in its current home.
It’s bad – and it’s only going to get worse.
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