It was a bit curious to see Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray on the sideline during his team's most crucial series against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. With the game on the line, and Murray having gained 139 yards one week prior, head coach Jack Del Rio opted for third-down back Roy Helu on the final drive.
Helu had already notched a touchdown on the day but was stopped on a third-and-two play that resulted in a Raiders field goal. They ended up losing 22-20.
Murray could not find that same magic he mustered last week, rushing for just 49 yards on 16 carries Sunday. What's worse is that he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter and bobbled a pass that was intercepted in Oakland territory. Still, Del Rio would not say that his poor performance resulted in a benching Sunday.
"I would characterize it as us using the members of our football team in a fashion to give ourselves an opportunity to win the game," Del Rio said. "We have different plays that we run with different players at different times of the game. So it wasn't a benching. So that's not accurate."
Del Rio is confident that Murray will return from this poor performance as an improved player.
"I remain confident," the coach said. "None of us are perfect. We all are capable of making mistakes. I think the sooner you own up to mistakes, the quicker you can put them behind you and move forward."
Moving forward may be difficult as the Raiders will travel to Mile High Stadium to play the Denver Broncos and their tenth ranked rush defense this weekend.
