Oakland Raiders: Return to losing ways ultimately beneficial

The Oakland Raiders added another notch to the loss column in Week 12, which is the direction they need to be going to end the 2018 season.

Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders couldn’t even lose properly in their Week 11 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, getting out-tanked by their opponents and ultimately picking up their second win of the 2018 season. Fortunately for the Raiders (and the tank), they remembered how to lose on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, falling 34-17 to the Lamar Jackson-led team.

The Week 12 effort was more of what we’ve come to expect from the Raiders this season. Even with earning two interceptions off of the opposing rookie starting quarterback, the defense had few answers for the Ravens rushing attack as Jackson and Gus Edwards ran amock. Moreover, the Raiders offense continued to sputter.

It’s been clear for much of the season — and progressively so with the Khalil Mack then Amari Cooper trades — that Gruden is playing the long game with this team. They aren’t about winning this year, hence why they were more interested in accruing first-round picks than keeping some of their best players.

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While that might be incredibly misguided, it’s the direction that the Raiders are going. And, if that’s the case, then they need to be awful. They need to pick highly in the NFL Draft and rebuild with new stars that can push the franchise in a new direction. At this point, however, the Raiders have to keep losing for that to be the most viable course of action.

Though trading Mack to the Chicago Bears was likely a mistake just in the sense of giving him away, it was also a severe misfire on the part of the Raiders in regards to the value of the pick. As the Bears have a stronghold on the NFC North, that pick is going to likely be well in the 20s of the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. What’s more, the Dallas Cowboys are also leading their division and will likely send a pick in the 20s to Oakland as well.

Obviously the Raiders can add critical pieces still at that point, but it would be more luck and good fortune to land star players with those selections. And it’s abundantly clear that this team needs those types of players moving forward.

Subsequently, their best hope of doing that in 2019 is their own pick. With their 2-9 record, they are currently holding down the No. 3 pick in the upcoming draft. That’s solid positioning, but it’s also a position that is still in flux. Another win could knock them further down and the draft order and make finding a potential star all the more difficult for the decision-makers.

Therefore, losing to the Ravens is what the Raiders need to happen. They also need more of it moving forward. Derek Carr can talk about not getting the first-overall pick, but if he leads them to another win this season, it would be an unfortunate turn of events for the franchise.