But after winning two of five games during a 48-day stretch without a true home game Brett Hundley Jersey White , the Raiders still find themselves in contention in the AFC despite falling just short Sunday with a 27-24 loss to the Texans.Now they begin a three-week stretch without leaving Oakland starting Sunday against Detroit, much to the delight of coach Jon Gruden."I'm going to actually have dinner with my wife Friday night. I kind of miss her," Gruden said Monday. "It's been tough. I've sarcastically had fun with it. I've never seen a team go six weeks without a home game, but we were able to withstand it. We won two out of five. We would've liked to win three out of five, but our guys are playing hard. I think all the travel helped our team bond a little bit. It'll be pretty neat to play in our home stadium."Since last playing at home in a 28-10 loss to Kansas City on Sept. 15, the Raiders (3-4) got blown out in Minnesota, won back-to-back games in Indianapolis against the Colts and in London against Chicago, then were outmatched by star quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay and Deshaun Watson in Houston the past two weeks.It has been so long that 10 players on the current 53-man roster have yet to play a regular-season home game in Oakland."Tiring. And I try and do a really good job of nutrition, sleep, all that kind of stuff, taking care of my body and all that kind of stuff Marwin Evans Jersey White , but those miles add up, man," quarterback Derek Carr said. "I'm glad that I feel I'm done with it, that's for sure. But there's no excuse. Like come game time I felt great. I felt fine. But after a while you're like, another trip, like another Friday we have to leave. Kind of want to take my wife on a date, if I'm being honest. You know, I think being able to be at home, sleep in our bed, extra night or two is going to be really good for our team."WHAT'S WORKINGCarr is playing his best football since 2016, looking extremely comfortable in Gruden's offense. He threw for 285 yards and three TDs without a turnover against the Texans and ranks second in the league with a 110.1 passer rating over the past six weeks.WHAT NEEDS HELPFor the second straight week Gruden challenged an offensive pass interference call to no avail. Using up that challenge in the first half might have contributed to Gruden's reluctance to challenge a spot in the third quarter when Houston's Duke Johnson appeared to be stopped short of a first down on a third-down pass. The officials gave Johnson a favorable spot and the Texans scored a TD five plays later to cut Oakland's lead to 21-20."I'm not very good at challenges http://www.packerslockerroom.com/authentic-oren-burks-jersey ," Gruden said. "I threw the flag very well, though, yesterday. I launched it. I have people up in the press box that are helping me. At that point and time I didn't feel like it was a challenge we had a chance to win based on the information that I had."STOCK UPRookie receiver Hunter Renfrow had his most productive day as a pro. He caught a 65-yard TD pass to open the scoring and added three more catches for 23 yards.STOCK DOWNReceiver Tyrell Williams returned after missing two games with a foot injury and had a 46-yard touchdown catch. But it was a couple of missed opportunities on Oakland's final drive that really resonated. Williams dropped a deep pass with about five minutes remaining on first down from the Houston 45. Williams then had his hands on a third-and-16 deep ball a few plays later only to have former teammate Gareon Conley break it up. The Raiders then punted and didn't get the ball back.INJUREDX-rays on center Rodney Hudson's ankle were negative, but Gruden didn't know how serious the injury was. Linebacker Justin Phillips went down with a season-ending knee injury and DE Josh Mauro (groin) and returner Dwayne Harris (ankle) were getting checked out.KEY NUMBER6. The Raiders committed six defensive penalties, leading to five first downs for the Texans. It's been a recurring problem this season for Oakland. The team is tied for the most defensive penalties with 30 for a league-high 321 yards. Those have led to 25 first downs.NEXT STEPSThe Raiders begin a three-game homestand Sunday against Detroit. Mike Pettine must feel for Todd Bowles. Each man is a superb defensive coach, adept at creating pressure out of nothing like a skilled illusionist, yet neither appear to be suited to run NFL programs. Bowles’ time as head coach in New York will likely finish with a win percentage under .400 and by January will, like Pettine, be a former Jets coach. Calls for Pettine to remain at his post in Green Bay as defensive coordinator ring throughout Cheesehead Nation, but if the team’s new head coach hire wants a fresh start, Bowles could be the most appealing defensive coordinator candidate on the market. Bowles took over Eagles passing defense in 2012 after the team fired former offensive line coach Juan Castillo Vince Biegel Jersey White , who had been promoted by Andy Reid in one of the strangest coaching moves of the last decade. When Philly fired Reid after that season, Bowles left for Arizona, where he schemed the Cardinals defense into one of the league’s best. Without any edge rushers to speak of (sound familiar?) Bowles created a defense around scheming free rushers, much like Pettine, and was the most effective man in football at doing so. In 2013, Bowles’ first season as DC, the Cardinals finished second in DVOA, fifth against the pass and first against the run. Injuries crippled the Cardinals in 2014 when just two defensive starters played all 16 games, but Bowles kept them in the top-10 in defense by DVOA, launching him to national prominence and ultimately landing Bowles the Jets’ head coaching job in 2015. The former NFL defensive back hit the grounding running, leading New York to one of the league’s best defenses Womens Demetri Goodson Jersey , top-10 overall, against the pass and rush, with the league’s top rush defense by DVOA.Management’s incompetence in putting quality players on the field handcuffed Bowles’ ability not only to field a quality defense, but a competitive team overall since that first season. The Gang Green struggles shouldn’t be laid at the feet of Bowles, who hasn’t been given much to work with over the course of his tenure with the Jets, but it’s become clear Bowles hasn’t been able to translate his defensive acumen to head coaching ability. Perhaps the similarities between Bowles and Pettine merge once again; each may be better suited as defensive coaches than head coaches. From a fit standpoint, Bowles runs a 3-4 front with an aggressive blitz-centric approach, similar to Pettine’s and easing a potential transition. Though some of the nomenclature has lost its meaning of the years with teams running less and less base personnel, the types of defensive linemen and pass rushers teams look for in different schemes can vary significantly. In this case, there wouldn’t be a concern over not having the right kind of personnel to run his stuff. None of this is to say Bowles would be a preferable option to Pettine. Continuity remains paramount in the NFL at a time the league has done everything in its power to outlaw playing defense. Communication, scheme awareness and understanding are the few tools defensive players have to combat the ridiculous numbers offenses put up each week. An offensive-minded coach like Lincoln Riley or Eric Bieniemy may walk into Green Bay without a strong feeling as to who should be defensive coordinator http://www.packerslockerroom.com/authentic-davon-house-jersey , opening the door for Pettine to remain in charge. The same is true for Josh McDaniels, though to a lesser extent and it’s worth noting that Matt Eberflus, the man he tabbed in Indianapolis as his DC before bailing on the Colts, has done an excellent job in Indy with limited talent. But should Pettine not be seen as an ideal fit for whomever Mark Murphy and Brian Gutekunst decide to bring in, Bowles should be considered one of the few other elite defensive coaches ready to fill the void.