Darren McFadden Injury: Raiders Smart To Keep Injured RB on Bench

Raiders running back Darren McFadden hasn't played since leaving the team's October 23 game vs. the Chiefs early. Oakland lost that game and their next (which followed a bye), before breaking their losing streak with a win in San Diego. 

For Week 11, the Raiders are staying on the road for a game in Minnesota. 

Monday, Nov. 14 at 5:31 p.m. EST

CSN Bay Area reported via Twitter that McFadden did not practice on Monday.

Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7:35 pm. EST

Dion Caputi reported via Twitter that it's unlikely that McFadden will play on Sunday vs. the Vikings.

Now, on the surface, this isn't a good thing for the Raiders. McFadden brings a consistent big play threat to the running game that the Raiders lack without him. While Michael Bush is a more than capable replacement, he doesn't quite have that burst to turn a nice run into an explosive run.

Still, the fact that he's not playing in Week 11 is a good thing for Week 12 through Week 17. 

Oakland just doesn't need McFadden to beat the Vikings. While Minnesota is 2-7, they are certainly a team with the pieces in place to pull an upset, but the Raiders are just better.

The Raiders have a strong group of receivers that the Minnesota secondary will have a very hard time matching up against. 

The Raiders are in first place right now, they only have a one-game lead on all three division rivals. With seven games to go, that's certainly not insurmountable. 

Oakland's schedule for the remainder of the season is quite difficult.

Nov. 27	vs. Chicago
Dec. 4	at Miami
Dec. 11	at Green Bay
Dec. 18	vs. Detroit
Dec. 24	at Kansas City
Jan. 1	vs. San Diego

That's not a schedule that you can manage without McFadden. Again, the Raiders lost the game that he was hurt during and the next week. When he was in the lineup, they were 4-2. 

Win or lose to the Vikings this week, a 4-2 finish in those six games likely wins the Raiders the AFC West. Even though that's a tough run, it can certainly be done.

But if they rush him back and he's not effective, or gets hurt again, the Raiders will have a hard time winning the division. It just takes one team behind them to get hot. Remember that they all play each other, someone is going to win those games.

McFadden is just not the guy to rush back. Ultimately, they don't need him to beat the Vikings, but will need him at full health for the final stretch of games.