They don't win often, but when they do, the Oakland Raiders use the no-huddle offense.
The Raiders shifted into no-huddle mode to score a pair of second-half touchdowns and a field goal in Sunday's overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. This came after the team scored just nine points running their conventional attack.
"It worked for us against Pittsburgh and it worked for us yesterday, but it's one of those things where you don't want to hang your hat on a no-huddle offense," running back Darren McFadden told The Associated Press. "We know we're going to have to use it when we can. When we go out there and use it, we're running it pretty good."
Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp is under fire for his play-calling, but coach Dennis Allen is reluctant to switch to the no-huddle full-time. We're not sure what's holding him back.
Carson Palmer often called his own plays with the Cincinnati Bengals and looked comfortable doing that Sunday. He completed just 56.5 percent of his passes against the Jaguars, but went 9 of 13 for 118 yards in the no-huddle. In the win over the Steelers, calling his own plays allowed Palmer to check down and dial up the call that led to McFadden's 64-yard touchdown run.
It's hard to imagine why the Raiders wouldn't use more no-huddle. Oakland is wandering near the basement of the AFC with nothing to lose. Much of the roster could change between now and next season, so why not push the offense to its limits? Anything that makes your quarterback more fluid and creative makes sense.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
