Silver Minings: Too many close losses

Raiders are among league leader in close defeats in recent seasons

We know the drill in the NFL — most games are close and in one-score close.

The Las Vegas Raiders know that very well. Here’s some more evidence.

According to NFL analyst Dov Kleiman, the Raiders are among the NFL leaders when it comes to defeats of three points or less in the past two seasons. They have seven of those terrible bad boys spanning the 2022-23 seasons.

According to Kleiman, it is tied for the third highest amount of super-close losses in that span. Here’s the full list:

The Raiders lost two games by three points or less in 2023 (both under then interim head coach Antonio Pierce). They had five such losses under Josh McDaniels in 2022.

Perhaps the football gods will turn the tables in 2024. Remember, the Raiders had five such victories in 2021, so these things have away of balancing out.

Also, as you can see, AFC West foes the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers are due to win some close games as well.

In other Raiders news:

• Ranking coaches: PFF ranks the NFL’s top 10 returning coaches.
• Top linebackers: PFF ranks the best linebacker units in the league.
• Position breakdown: The Raiders’ website previews their wide receivers.