Resilient Raiders are back in the playoffs after a nightmare season

Courtesy of Tyge O'Donnell

In true Raider fashion, their season came down to the bitter end, and they delivered. Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson nailed a 47-yard field goal attempt in overtime to knock off the Los Angeles Chargers, and send the Raiders back to the playoffs. It marks just the franchise's second playoff appearance since losing Super Bowl XXXVII following the 2002 season, and their first since 2016. They have a date with the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card. 

From start to finish, the 2021 Raiders season was theatrically pulsating, with the team securing six walk-off wins, four overtime wins, and seven wins in one-possession games. But beyond the last-minute football dramatics, a soap opera of unending heartache and distress circulated the team all season long.

Resiliency is an overused trait to describe the heart and mental fortitude of a team, but resiliency defined the Raiders journey back to the playoffs in one of the darkest seasons in the history of the noble Silver and Black, somehow culminating in one of the unlikeliest playoff berths in the modern era. The Raiders encountered one debilitating off-the-field saga after another, each of which enough to keep any team down for the count. But the Raiders overcame each one and plowed into the postseason. For that, interim head coach Rich Bisaccia deserves all the credit. This Raiders team is the first since 1961 to qualify for the postseason after a midseason coaching change, and just the fourth team in league history to do it at all. 

Bisaccia was thrust from special teams coordinator into the head coaching headset following the sudden and shocking resignation of former Super Bowl winning head coach Jon Gruden. The Raiders were flying high after a 3-0 start to the campaign, and Gruden was at last living up to his 10 year, $100 million contract signed in 2018. But leading up to Week 5, emails spanning over a decade from Gruden's tenure as an ESPN broadcaster surfaced, revealing racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language. 

"I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone."

Jon Gruden

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 12, 2021

His emails unearthed disturbing comments about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA director DeMaurice Smith, and even former St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher drafting "queers" after the Rams selected Michael Sam as the first openly gay player to be drafted in 2014. Gruden's anti-gay comments were leaked just four months after Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib came out as the only openly gay player currently active in the NFL. Nassib took a personal day from the team when the emails surfaced, following Gruden's exit. The emails extended to criticizing the league for hiring female referees, disparaging players for kneeling during the national anthem, and disdained Goodell's efforts at bolstering player safety. 

Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned following Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season (Courtesy of Getty Images).

Before his resignation, Gruden answered to the media in the immediate aftermaths of the email leaks, insisting that they are not indicative of the person he is.

I can’t remember a lot of the things that transpired 10 or 12 years ago. But I stand here in front of everybody apologizing. I know I don’t have an ounce of racism in me. I’m a guy that takes pride in leading people together, and I’ll continue to do that for the rest of my life. And again, I apologize to De Smith and anybody out there that I have offended. I feel good about who I am and what I’ve done my entire life. I apologize for the insensitive remarks. I’m not like that at all. But I apologize. I don’t want to keep addressing it.

Gruden's resignation set the tone for a season of distractions in Vegas, which persisted just three weeks after Bisaccia took over. 

Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was arrested after being accused of driving drunk, causing a deadly motor vehicle collision which resulted in the death of a 23-year-old woman and her dog. Police say the collision caused the woman and dog to burn to death trapped inside the car. Ruggs allegedly drove his Corvette at speeds up to 156 miles per hour on a residential street before the collision, and his blood alcohol level reportedly reached .16 after the crash, which is twice the legal limit for Nevada drivers. Ruggs was charged with counts of driving under the influence and reckless driving, which could put him behind bars for up to 50 years if convicted. 

Ruggs is only 22 years old and was drafted 12th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Raiders, and was poised to become a star in Vegas. He caught 24 passes for a team-high 469 yards and two touchdowns in the 2021 season, but following the overnight crash, Ruggs was released less than 24 hours later. He currently remains in strict house arrest after posting bail, as he waits for a preliminary court hearing. 

Wide receiver Henry Ruggs faces up to 50 years imprisonment for driving under the influence and reckless driving Courtesy of Getty Images).

The tragedy blindsided the franchise, and inflicted a heavy emotional toll. More than losing the lethal downfield element in the offense which was rapidly improving, witnessing their 22 year old teammate compromise his career and livelihood while taking an innocent person's life was a heartbreaking reality to stomach.

Ruggs' draft classmate, second-year cornerback Damon Arnette, was released following an alarming video sending death threats while holding a firearm. Arnette was seen waving guns in the air and threatening to kill somebody. Raiders general manager Mike Mayock admitted that Arnette carried significant baggage entering the NFL, and heavy character concerns coming out of college. He faces a pair of lawsuits, including an allegation that he injured a woman during a 2020 car crash. Arnette struggled as a rookie and hardly saw the field in his sophomore season after a stay on injured reserve, but the team quickly parted ways with him when the video surfaced. 

In the span of a month, the Raiders released both of their first round picks from the 2020 NFL Draft. "Am I sick to my stomach right now on a lot of levels?" Mayock asked reporters when forced to release both Ruggs and Arnette. "Yes."

To put the cherry on top of the most trying season in team history, legendary former head coach John Madden passed away at the bookend of the 2021 season. The larger than life football character, broadcaster, Super Bowl champion, namesake of the Madden video game series, and the winningest head coach in franchise history, passed at 85 years old on December 28th. Madden posted a record of 103-32-7 and a winning percentage of .759, the most in NFL history for coaches with more than 100 games. He brought the Raiders to seven AFC Championship games and won the Oakland Raiders their first Super Bowl in the 1976 season, before becoming a legendary and beloved color commentary and ambassador for the game of football. His loss was universally mourned by the NFL world, from ownership, to former players whom Madden coached, careers which he narrated on television, and active players who grew up listening to him. 

Stadiums across the NFL observed a moment of silence prior to Week 16 kickoffs following the death of former Raiders head coach John Madden (Courtesy of USA Today).

On the field, the Raiders were a playoff hopeful on life support as late as Week 14. The Raiders sat at 6-7, and had just an eight percent chance of squeaking into the playoffs. It appeared to be yet another late-season Raiders collapse in which a promising start foiled by late November. It was bleak. But as the late Coach Madden declared in his coaching career, "the fire that burns brightest in the Raiders organization is the will to win." That winning light shined brightest at the end of the season with Vegas backed against the wall.

The Raiders ran the table to finish the season, winning four straight games, three of them won on the final play. Their win streak was capped by a nail-biting overtime win over the Chargers in the regular season finale. The team's unlikely path to the playoffs overshadowed the dismay of the off-the-field, and was defined by inspiring characters fitting of the Raider eyepatch. 

Before the team reported for training camp, defensive end Carl Nassib came out as the first active openly gay player in the NFL, becoming a trailblazer for the NFL, and the professional sports scene in the United States. 

Pass rusher Maxx Crosby powered through the 2021 season combatting an alcohol addiction, and is approaching two years of being sober. Crosby entered rehab at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has battled for his sobriety since coming into the NFL after developing an addiction in high school. His two-year sobriety mark comes as Crosby was named second team NFL All-Pro. He finished the 2021 season with a league-leading 101 quarterback pressures, 30 quarterback hits, eight sacks, and seven passes defensed. 

Tight end Darren Waller has been in a battle of his own to maintain his sobriety, especially after an injury-riddled season. A Pro Bowler in 2020, Waller missed five games after sustaining knee and back injuries, and later testing positive for COVID-19. Waller admitted his involuntary time off intensified his daily battle to be sober. He entered the league in 2015 combatting crippling addiction, and had to be reinstated into the league in 2018, but his exceptional development as a tight end, and his conviction to turn his life around has been a bright spot for the franchise. 

Quarterback Derek Carr will make his postseason debut on Sunday in his eighth season (Courtesy of Michael Clemens).

For quarterback Derek Carr, the longest-tenured Raider, franchise quarterback, team captain, and the undisputed leader of the team, the 2021 season will be his first postseason. After leading the Raiders to a playoff appearance in 2016, Carr suffered a broken right fibula in the penultimate game of the season, and missed his chance at competing in the playoffs. The Raiders took five years to climb back, and Carr will finally get his shot in the tournament, thanks to an outstanding year. Carr finished with the NFL's fifth most passing yards and fifth highest completion percentage. His 128th career start against the Bengals will be his first playoff start. 

In the venerable history of the Raiders franchise, including three Super Bowl wins, a list of decorated Hall of Famers, and a record of trailblazers transcending societal barriers, this season stands out as one which truly embodied the Raider spirit. Gruden resigning in disgrace, stars finding themselves in crippling trouble with the law, and untiring locker room hysteria brought upon a year of unprecedented obstacles which still could not stand in the Raiders' way. 

Raiders fans will never forget this team for undoing the franchise's long-standing playoff drought, but history will remember the 2021 Raiders for their perseverance. No matter the outcome of the Raiders' playoff showdown with the Bengals, they have proven they have championship resolve.