Red Zone Conversions Remain Key for Las Vegas Raiders

For the Raiders to reach the goals that they have set for themselves, red-zone conversion remains key on the top of their list.

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden emphasized all offseason long on how important it is to finish drives with points on the board, especially when they get inside the red zone.

Entering Week 2, it remains key for the Silver and Black.

Much of that criticism has fallen on Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr, despite his head coach calling out his own plays.

Even though Carr passed for 4,054 yards, 21 touchdowns and completed 70 percent of his passes a year ago, the Raiders fell below average in the red-zone efficiency rankings. 

Of course, it wasn't Carr's fault that he had multiple teammates injured.

"If you take a deeper look, and don't try to be surface about it, you see the amount of possessions we were able to score on and things like that, and  it's actually pretty impressive," Carr said.

It was impressive as he often didn't have all of his weapons on the field. The mess of Antonio Brown depleted the Raiders receivers early, and throughout the season, injuries took apart the offense.

For what Carr had on offense, he still managed to win some games and finish the season with a 7-9 record.

The Raiders ranked No. 22 in the NFL in red zone touchdown efficiency, scoring 28 touchdowns from 53 drives in 2019.  In 2020's Week 1, they showed significant promise.

"We bite ourselves in the foot with how many times we weren't able to score inside the 15 yard-line, how many times there was a turnover, how many times we got stopped on downs, and you sit back and with the few possessions that we did have -- they were still able to be a top 10, top 11 in certain areas, and they were still doing that with those scenarios," Carr said.

Carr understands that for the Raiders to do better, they must do better across all possessions, not just red zones. They need to convert on third down, stay on the field longer and have a killer instinct whenever they can score.

"We're not leaving without touchdowns, and especially we can't leave the red zone with no points," Carr said.

The Raiders have worked hard during training camp to improve on weakness near the bottom of the rankings last year.

Carr, in his third season in Gruden's offense, feels comfortable with the returning cast, and with the added weapons on offense is looking to improve from the miscues of a year ago and take his team forward.

TV: ESPN 8 PM ET/5 PM PT

Radio: Raider Nation Radio

Odds: Saints -5.5

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