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Penalties, field position working against Raiders

Updated September 25, 2018 - 9:49 am

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The ball was bouncing the Raiders’ way.

Miami Dolphins punter Matt Haack blasted an attempt down the right hash Sunday late in the first quarter. Wide receiver Dwayne Harris stood at the 13-yard line, pretending to return it. He allowed the ball to sail overhead and inside the 10-yard line, where it took a sharp bounce toward the end zone.

A touchback would give the Raiders first-and-10 from their own 20.

Instead, in came running back Jalen Richard with a block to the back of Dolphins cornerback Walt Aikens. The penalty was enforced from the spot of the foul.

First-and-10 from the 2.

Field position has been an issue throughout the start of the Raiders’ 2018 campaign. Certainly, the area has contributed to their 0-3 record. No NFL team has fared worse in the category, a trend the club will look to reverse, starting this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

On average, the Raiders have opened possession at their own 22.4-yard line. That easily ranks last in the league; the Philadelphia Eagles are second at 23.3. Oakland is the only team that has yet to start at least one possession in opponent territory this season.

During Sunday’s 28-20 loss, on average, the Raiders opened at their own 19.7-yard-line.

Two years ago, when Oakland had a 12-4 record, it ranked first with a 31.7-yard average start.

“It’s been horrible,” Gruden said Monday in a news conference. “It’s been the worst in football. By far the worst starting position in football. I think we had numerous penalties on special teams. It’s a credit to our offense really, for moving the ball out of negative territory. We have to get more out of our return game, and we have to minimize the penalties.

“Unfortunately, Dwayne Harris was injured part of the game yesterday. The penalties are inexcusable. We have to clean them up, and we have to get better field position for our offense, or it will continue to be tough.”

There are many underlying issues to the Raiders’ field position problem.

Indeed, penalties did not help Sunday. Along with the 18-yard Richard penalty, Harris was flagged on a first-quarter Dolphins punt for an illegal block in the back. The Raiders started that drive at their own 4-yard line instead of their own 8. In a fourth-quarter kickoff, an unnecessary roughness penalty by tight end Derek Carrier backed the Raiders from their own 20 to 10 on a crucial series that would end in a red-zone interception.

Turnovers are part of the problem.

That red-zone pass from quarterback Derek Carr, which Gruden called “too aggressive” on first down, did not affect field position. But the lack of forced turnovers has. The Raiders and New Orleans Saints are tied with an NFL-low one turnover in three games. To contrast with the 2016 season when field position was a strength, the Raiders had 30 takeaways, second-most in the league.

“It’s been a problem here for a while now,” Gruden said. “Didn’t get them last year (14 takeaways, second-fewest in NFL). … We’re turning it over too many times. We’re not getting it back enough. That’s a big reason, if not the No. 1 reason, we’re sitting where we are.”

More Raiders: Follow all of our Raiders coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Raiders and @NFLinVegas on Twitter.

Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.

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