Things haven’t gone well for Jon Gruden in his return to the Oakland Raiders. After a tough loss to the Denver Broncos, the team is 0-2.

The good news is that Gruden believes he knows why the team is struggling. The bad news is that his response probably won’t make Raiders fans happy.

Yeah, he said the team needs to “get more pressure” on the quarterback.

That would be a fair criticism for most teams, but not for the Raiders. The team traded away stud pass rusher Khalil Mack just days before the start of the season.

That move may have come back to bite them against the Broncos. With the Raiders up by two points late, the team couldn’t stop Case Keenum and the Broncos from marching down the field for a game-winning field goal. Brandon McManus drilled a 36-yard kick with six seconds left, giving the Broncos the 20-19 win.

Mack made a big difference in his first game with the Chicago Bears. Mack picked up a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a score while playing limited snaps.

Raiders fans knew trading Mack would hurt the team’s defense in the short term, but hearing Gruden call out the pass rush so shortly after Mack’s departure is like rubbing salt into the wound.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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