1995 The Raiders previously began 2-0 in 1995, and they finished 8-8 after dropping their final six games. Rookie quarterback Aaron Brooks led the team to a victory over the Chicago Bears with three fourth-quarter touchdowns. He played only four seasons before being killed in an accident, but his numbers (3,077 yards passing) still rank fifth all-time for a rookie.
The first two games of the 1995 season were against the defending champion Cowboys. They won at home, then traveled to Texas and lost 23-21 in overtime. Brooks threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns in that game.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is one of many famous faces to come out of the University of North Carolina. He led the team to its first two victories of 1995 by throwing for 300 yards each time out. In his first game as a Raider, Brooks helped lead California to a 27-24 win over Nebraska by throwing for 349 yards and four scores. He also ran for a touchdown in that game.
In his second game as a Raider, Brooks continued to show why he was chosen first overall in the 1994 NFL Draft. He led California to another winning start by throwing for 345 yards and four scores in a 38-35 victory over Miami University.
The Raiders concluded the season 7-9, improving on their 4-12 record from the previous year, but missing the playoffs for the third year in a row and the 16th time in the last 17 years. They were ranked 28th by their own statistics, but there were some indications that they could become more competitive if Jack Del Rio returned next season.
In 2019, the Raiders started off with three straight losses to start the season before winning four games in a row. Their winning streak was ended by New England in Week 10. They finished the season with five more wins than they had in 2018, finishing with seven victories. They also improved their win percentage (4.55 vs 4.25 from 2018), while losing more games than they did the previous year (7 vs 6).
Looking back at their history, the Raiders have always been a team that finishes near the top of the league when you account for how many wins they have. In 2009 after the great Oakland Raiders football team led by late owner Mark Davis finished with only six wins, they made it to the Super Bowl where they lost to Pittsburgh. In 2017 another close-knit team with a lot of talent finished with only six wins, but still made the playoffs as a wild card team. They went on to beat Denver in the first round before being eliminated by New England in the next round.
Despite a 6-3 start with victories over the Chiefs, Saints, and Browns, all of whom went on to make the playoffs, the Raiders suffered a late-season collapse for the second consecutive year, losing five of their last seven games, and were eliminated after a devastating loss to the Dolphins in week 16....
They're now 0-4 against the spread this season. Bovada has them as 1/2 odds to win the Super Bowl.
In Denver on October 24, 2010, the Raiders scored 38 points in the first half. The Raiders defeated the Broncos 59-14, marking the most points scored in a single game in Raiders history and tying the most points allowed in Broncos history, along with a 59-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963.
In the 1993 season finale (January 2, 1994), the Raiders recovered from a 30-13 hole to defeat the Broncos 33-30 in overtime to advance to the playoffs and set up a rematch between the two teams the following week in Los Angeles.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc.
