The Oakland Raiders were able to take care of business against the Cleveland Browns on the road this week with a 27-20 win. It wasn’t too surprising that they were able to come away with the win, but the performance that they received from running back Latavius Murray was a pleasant surprise that excites them for the future.
Murray ended up carrying the football 26 times for 139 yards and a touchdown throughout the game, while also catching one pass for 10 yards.
Those numbers were impressive to say the least and Murray flashed quite a bit of superstar potential in the win. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry and was able to balance the offense perfectly to open up the aerial attack for second-year quarterback Derek Carr. That is exactly what the Raiders thought he could do coming into the season and he has been getting better each of the first three weeks.
At 25 years old, Murray still has plenty of room to grow. This is the first season that he has received a consistently large role for the Raiders and there is plenty more for him to learn with the experience that he is gaining on the field. It was obvious today that he has taken big steps forward from the player that he was in the first two weeks of the season.
Oakland is currently sitting at 2-1 and there is finally excitement surrounding the franchise again. They have made the right moves to get their franchise back on the right track and they should be contending for a playoff spot in the next few seasons.
Murray is under contract with the Raiders through the end of next season before hitting unrestricted free agency. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Raiders open up contract extension talks with him next offseason if he can continue playing the way he has been so far this year. Assuming he does earn that extension, it will be a major payday if he can put up more games like the one that he had today.
Expect to see him continue building off of the momentum that he picked up today. He is more than capable of putting up huge numbers every week and has the speed and athleticism to be a very similar player to what Chris Johnson was during his prime with the Tennessee Titans. That is a very big comparisons for Murray, but he is forcing comparisons with his play.
Obviously today was a huge step in the right direction even though the win was over a poor Browns’ football team. The Raiders finally aren’t viewed as a pushover win by other teams and are a team that can compete with any team that they go up against.
