Apparently, the Raiders need to beat their opponents and their reputation.
asserted
Raiders → need → opponents
The first assignment is going swimmingly.
asserted
assignment → go → ?
Three games, three victories, including consecutive road wins and a comeback in New Orleans that required the kind of composure this franchise has been lacking for years.
asserted
franchise → include → years
That makes them one of five remaining undefeated teams in the NFL.
asserted
them → make → NFL
The second remains a work in progress.
asserted
second → remain → progress
That should raise some eyebrows.
asserted
That → raise → eyebrows
At what point does reasonable skepticism become an unwillingness to judge the team John Spytek and Tom Brady have built, and Klint Kubiak is coaching, on its own merits?
asserted
Kubiak → become → merits
These Raiders should not have to answer for the failures of their predecessors.
asserted
Raiders → have → predecessors
How else to explain a team sitting at 3-0, producing numbers that belong in the NFL’s upper tier, still looking up at teams with considerably less impressive September resumes?
asserted
that → explain → resumes
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco has the Raiders 15th entering Week 4.
asserted
Prisco → have → Week
Sharp Football puts them 18th.
asserted
Football → put → them
Arrowhead Pride slots them at 12th.
asserted
Pride → slot → 12th
At some point, skepticism becomes stubbornness.
asserted
skepticism → become → point
Call it whatever you want.
asserted
you → call → whatever
That’s disrespect.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
Yes, the Raiders earned their lousy reputation.
asserted
Raiders → earn → reputation
Years of losing, coaching changes and promising moments that dissolved into familiar disappointment will do that.
asserted
that → lose → that
Nobody should be required to erase those memories because this September finally feels different.
asserted
September → require → memories
But those memories should not count more than what is happening on the field.
Lift the hood.
asserted
what → count → hood
The Raiders have scored 88 points and allowed 54.
asserted
Raiders → score → 54
They are scoring 29.3 points per game, seventh in the league, and allowing 18, also seventh.
asserted
They → score → 18
They beat Miami by 14, the Chargers by 12 and New Orleans by eight.
asserted
They → beat → eight
Whatever reservations exist about the competition, this has not been three weeks of surviving on last-second field goals and hoping an opponent misses one.
asserted
opponent → exist → one
The Raiders have created separation.
asserted
Raiders → create → separation
They also lead the league with nine takeaways and a plus-five turnover differential.
asserted
They → lead → takeaways
Those extra possessions have helped an offense that is converting opportunities into points.
asserted
that → help → points
Kirk Cousins has thrown nine touchdown passes, tied for the league lead, with three in each game.
asserted
Cousins → throw → game
For all the talk about Cousins serving as a bridge to Fernando Mendoza, the veteran is doing considerably more than keeping a seat warm.
asserted
veteran → serve → seat
He has completed 67.4% of his passes and owns a 107.2 passer rating.
asserted
He → complete → rating
Those are the numbers of a quarterback making an offense function, giving his team answers and cashing in when his defense creates opportunities.
asserted
defense → make → opportunities
And he won the first two games without Brock Bowers.
asserted
he → win → Bowers
When Bowers returned Sunday, he caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.
asserted
he → return → yards
An offense already finding ways to win regained its most dangerous receiving weapon.
asserted
offense → find → weapon
There is reason to believe its possibilities are expanding.
asserted
possibilities → be → ?
The defense offers evidence beyond the turnover total, too.
asserted
defense → offer → total
Sharp Football ranks the Raiders fourth in points allowed per drive, which is a particularly useful stat: It measures how effectively a defense keeps individual possessions from becoming points.
asserted
defense → rank → possessions
Fourth in that category should get someone’s attention.
asserted
Fourth → get → attention
So should a quarterback pressure rate percentage that ranks fifth in the NFL, which helps explain why the early defensive success deserves more consideration than a shrug about fortunate bounces.
asserted
success → rank → bounces
Pressure disrupts timing.
asserted
Pressure → disrupt → timing
It forces hurried decisions.
asserted
It → force → decisions
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
