The 2011 Oakland Raiders are now officially the sloppiest team in NFL history — at least if you count total team penalties as the mark to go by. In today’s game against the San Diego Chargers, the Raiders have set the all-time penalty mark for a team that was previously held by the 1998 Kansas City Chiefs with 158. Now the Raiders can own that record all by themselves.
It’s been an up and down season for the Raiders with the death of longtime owner and NFL icon Al Davis and the midseason trade for new quarterback Carson Palmer from the Bengals after Jason Campbell went down for most of the season. That said, it’s amazing the Raiders are still alive for the NFL playoff race given their performance and (in)ability to beat themselves game in and game out.
If the Raiders fail to win today, some heads are bound to roll in Oakland. Hue Jackson has a lot of power as head coach, so he will be safe, but with the penalties, you can expect some changes in the assistant coaching ranks this offseason as the Raiders try to find some stability and discipline for their roster next season.