It was hard not to notice the bustle of activity inside the Raiders’ locker room Thursday. Or the noise.
Players talked and laughed as they transitioned from the team’s afternoon practice to their meetings.
It was a telling scene for rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson. The Raiders, despite being 2-12 and in the midst of a 10-game losing streak, are still approaching the last three weeks of the NFL season with a positive attitude.
“Look down there,” Powers-Johnson said, pointing to a group of players having a lively conversation. “Everyone’s laughing and talking. It’s not a quiet locker room.”
His point?
“People don’t hate to be here,” Powers-Johnson said.
It’s an important sentiment for a young team still learning on the job. Especially for the Raiders’ offense. If quarterback Aidan O’Connell returns from his knee injury Sunday against the Jaguars, as expected, six of the team’s 11 starters will be in their first or second year in the NFL.
That group includes Powers-Johnson, O’Connell, rookie right tackle DJ Glaze, rookie tight end Brock Bowers, second-year wide receiver Tre Tucker and second-year tight end Brock Bowers. Third-year right guard Dylan Parham and fourth-year left guard Jordan Meredith, who cracked the starting lineup for the first time this season, also have plenty of room to grow.
The Raiders’ record isn’t pretty. But they believe they’ve found some pieces they can build around.
“We’re not getting the results that we want on the scoreboard, but I talk to the guys all the time saying, ‘You can pull up our games, and there’s plays being made,’” interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner said.
Looking beyond the record
No one is denying the Raiders are having a disappointing season.
The NFL is a results-oriented business and the team has been nowhere near good enough. Its offense is averaging 17.5 points per game, the fourth-fewest in the NFL.
But the Raiders’ young players think they can see the larger picture. They’ve picked up valuable lessons this season, even if they haven’t piled up wins on the field.
“I think it’s a blessed opportunity,” Powers-Johnson said. “You have all these young guys, including me, having the opportunity to step up and contribute. All it provides is confidence for the future. And it’s cool to see. It’s reassuring to have guys around you going through the same things as you are.”
The Raiders can’t escape their spot in the standings. They know that. But they trust a foundation is being laid.
“You try to see how you’re growing as a team. The areas you’re getting better in,” Glaze said.
Even small steps forward are noticed. The Raiders are averaging 78.1 rushing yards per game this season, the fewest in the NFL. But they’ve improved the last four weeks. They’ve averaged 85.3 rushing yards per game in that span.
“We’ve been getting better,” Glaze said. “And that’s just what you wanna see. Steady improvement. Just a gradual success to help set us up for the future.”
Keep fighting
The film tells the Raiders they’re making progress. The team hopes that means it can snap its losing streak before the year is done.
“You gotta look at positive and negative plays. You gotta see, did we get better over the next week? How do we improve that?” Johnson-Powers said. “Are we still fighting? It’s just continuing to get better as an individual and as a group.”
The Raiders’ largest source of pride is the fact that the team is continuing to play hard, despite seemingly having nothing to play for.
“You look at our record, and everyone thinks we’re just gonna roll over and die,” Powers-Johnson said. “We’re not rolling over. We have a lot of fight. And that’s kind of rare to see you in a locker room.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
Up next
Who: Jaguars at Raiders
When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday
Where: Allegiant Stadium
TV: CBS
Radio: KRLV-AM (920), KOMP-FM (92.3)
Line: Raiders -1; total 40½
