DENVER -- The Raiders entered Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Broncos with slim NFL playoff hopes. They left with their 2019 campaign fully complete.
They needed tons of help to position themselves for postseason qualification and didn’t get enough, with the Tennessee Titans beating the Houston Texans before this game ended. They needed the Texans, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts to win, but only one of those things happened.
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Those results didn’t matter anyway, because the Raiders needed to win at Empower Field at Mile High and couldn’t, losing a winnable contest 16-15 to the AFC West rival Broncos.
The Raiders mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, as Derek Carr hit Hunter Renfrow for a 4-yard touchdown pass to bring Oakland within one. Coach Jon Gruden elected to go for two and the win, but Carr's pass was batted down, ending the Raiders' final season in Oakland.
The Silver and Black finished the season at 7-9, going out with a whimper after losing five of their last six games and bringing an unsatisfactory end to a once-promising season.
Here are three takeaways from the season- and Oakland-era-ending loss:
NFL
Under .500 (again)
The Raiders were 6-4 at one point, in complete control of their playoff destiny. They lost it during a four-game losing streak down the final stretch, and couldn't finish strong, even with postseason hopes shockingly still alive heading into Week 17.
The Raiders simply ran out of gas down the stretch, a product of so many personnel setbacks on a team that was thin to begin with and overly reliant on young players. They ended up with a below-.500 record for the seventh time this decade and the 14th time in the last 17 seasons.
A 7-9 record would’ve sounded good at the start of the season, but expectations grew after a productive near-midseason stretch that gave the Raiders hope of playing beyond this Sunday afternoon in Colorado.
That’s not a bad record for a team in a full-scale rebuild, but it's certainly a bummer for one that believed it could’ve and should’ve done better.
Silver and Black can’t finish
The Raiders should’ve been up big in the first half.
Their offense moved the ball efficiently until, that is, they neared the goal line. Several drives stalled deep in Broncos territory, including one right at the goal line. A Renfrow touchdown was reversed, with officials saying he didn’t cross the plane with the football. They said the same about Alex Ingold on a fourth-and-goal push. Both were questionable calls that ultimately went against the Raiders and contributed to their overall struggles.
The Raiders haven’t been great in the red zone all season -- they ranked 21st in the NFL in that category entering Sunday -- and that inability to finish consistently got them in trouble in a game they had to win.
Improvement is mandatory in that area, and should come with better talent and running back Josh Jacobs’ return to health next season when they're in Las Vegas.
[RELATED: More Clemson blood could help Raiders next year]
Build passing attack around Waller, Renfrow
The Raiders need talent infusion in the pattern. A highly drafted receiver pick (or two) might in order. Maybe a veteran free agent, too.
They don’t, however, need a complete overhaul, since they have some pieces to build around. Renfrow and tight end Darren Waller have proven their worth over the course of the season, enforcing their quality Sunday.
Waller had six catches for 107 yards, and Renfrow added six for 102 yards and a touchdown.
The Raiders have a tough choice to make on Tyrell Williams, who signed a four-year, $44 million contract that’s essentially pay as you go. Zay Jones rarely is targeted and doesn’t seem to have a bright future in Silver and Black. The backups are just so-so.
The receiving corps would’ve been much better had Antonio Brown not gone nuclear, so the position group’s struggles make some sense. But the Raiders need significant upgrades at receiver, likely including a true No. 1-type to get this passing game going.