Historic Impact of Bye Week on the Las Vegas Raiders

Coach Jon Gruden of Las Vegas said a few days ago that he is not fond of bye weeks and perhaps he’s been looking at the numbers.

The Raiders (3-2), who are off this week before hosting Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium, are 16-21 coming out of bye weeks since the NFL began the practice of giving teams a week off in the middle of the season.

That’s better than only five other teams in the league.

The Raiders have lost three years in a row after their bye, the last two under Gruden, including 42-24 to the Green Bay Packers, also in Week 6 last season, and are 3-7 the week after byes in the last decade.

In his first stint with the Raiders from 1998-2001, Gruden was 4-0 the week after a bye, but then the Silver and Black lost 10 in a row before beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18, after having a week off in 2013.

“I’ve never been a fan of the bye weeks, I like to keep playing,” Gruden told the media earlier this week. “I like to play doubleheaders, sometimes. But, it is part of the schedule, as you know.”

Gruden and the Raiders would like to keep the momentum going from their 40-32 upset of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday, but Gruden also realizes the benefits this time.

The Raiders will be able to continue getting healthy and also give more practice time to the players who have come off the bench to fill in for those who were hurt.

“It will get (tackle) Trent Brown an additional couple days to respond to his first game,” Gruden said. “We’re hoping (guard) Richie Incognito can come back, obviously (defensive tackle) Maurice Hurst, (defensive tackle) Maliek Collins, (cornerback) Damon Arnette and (wide receiver) Bryan Edwards.

“We got a lot of guys that are still on the mend. So, I’ll take this bye week this year at this time.”

In addition, the Raiders secondary has been banged up although none missed significant playing time, so safety Johnathan Abram and cornerbacks Lamarcus Joyner and Nevin Lawson will have time to get back to 100 percent, or close to it.

“We’re going to have a practice, but it won’t be for everybody. … We’re going to go outside and work on fundamentals and continue to work with some of our young players,” Gruden said of what he had planned for this past week, but he also said the Raiders will be safe when it comes to the Coronavirus pandemic.

“ … We’re going to challenge our players to be smart, wear the proper face shields wherever they go, and be very, very careful because we would like to keep this group together and see what we can get done the rest of the season.”

And when they play the Buccaneers after the bye week, the Raiders could be as healthy as they have been since the season opener, when they beat the Carolina Panthers.

That should help the Silver and Black change their ways after a bye week.

“I’m going to enjoy this one for a while,” quarterback Derek Carr said last Sunday after he outplayed Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes following the Raiders’ first victory in Kansas City in six seasons.

Carr has had a week to do so because of the bye, but he and the rest of the Raiders know it’s time to get back to work.

Here’s how the Raiders have fared each of the last 10 seasons the week after their bye:

2019, lost to the Green Bay Packers, 42-24

2018, lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 42-28

2017, lost to the New England Patriots, 33-8

2016, beat the Houston Texans, 27-20

2015, beat the San Diego Chargers, 37-29

2014, lost to San Diego Chargers, 31-28

2013, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18

2012, lost to the Atlanta Falcons, 23-20

2011, lost to Denver Broncos, 32-24

2010, lost to Pittsburgh Steelers, 35-3

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