OAKLAND — The Raiders never provided much explanation as to why they let offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave walk after his 2016 contract expired. It was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time, considering Oakland had the NFL’s sixth-best offense last season during their first winning season in 14 years.

But through two games, the mystery has solved itself. It wasn’t so much about Musgrave. It was about the man who replaced him, Todd Downing. The Raiders simply couldn’t allow this 37-year-old innovator, who also possesses an incredible alchemy with quarterback Derek Carr, get away.

According to myriad accounts, there were at least four or five teams who yearned to pry Downing away from Oakland in the offseason, and now we’re seeing the evidence why. Without much doubt, this guy has the goods to get the most out of this high-powered offense. We’re not going to name-drop Bill Walsh just yet – whoops, guess we just did – but the Raiders clearly have someone extra special whipping up the game plans. Maybe the best they’ve had in many, many years.

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Inside the Raiders: Derek Carr winks to his critics as he aims to become Drew Brees 2.0 It’s also pretty evident Reggie McKenzie and Jack Del Rio realized Downing’s potential, and knew they essentially had no choice but to promote him at the expense of Musgrave. And while that must have stung for Musgrave, he landed on his feet just fine as Denver’s quarterback coach. Hey, these guys are never out of a job for long.

As for Downing, we’ve always believed it never hurts that your O.C.’s initials are T.D. T.D. is what the players prefer to call him by the way, and little wonder. It looks like he’s going to dialing up quite a few touchdowns for this 2017 team based on his start. He logged two in the opener at Tennessee and could have easily had a couple others. Then he sketched out six more in a 45-20 pasting of the New York Jets in the Oakland Coliseum opener.

It wasn’t just the number of scores, but the sheer quality of the plays Downing called, how he mixed them, and then the execution of them that should have raised eyebrows. One play above all stood out Sunday – the 43-yard up-the-middle scoring burst by reserve wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson late in the third quarter that put the Raiders up 28-13.

Lining up at the left wideout spot on a third-and-one, Patterson went in motion and then came set right next to Carr, looking more like a blocker than someone who would get the ball. But at the snap, Carr jammed the ball into Patterson’s gut and he exploded forward toward what was obviously a planned blocking scheme that only needed to be held for a fraction of a second. Once Patterson flashed through it, he was gone, untouched, to the house.

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Todd Downing has been ‘pleasantly surprised’ by Marshawn Lynch What a fantastic, exquisitely scripted play it was. It’s the type of play that if not properly timed and executed, it blows up eight ways to next Sunday. But it was perfect, and Patterson maintained the flawlessness of it was no accident.

“It opened up in the game exactly the same way it did in practice,” Patterson said. “It’s a play we worked on all this week. It’s unbelievable how it all worked out just like T.D. planned it.”

And how many times did Downing have the Raiders run that exact play in practice?

“Aw, I don’t want to give away how we do things in practice,” Patterson said. “But we did it enough times to get the touchdown on it.” Like our Oakland Raiders Facebook page for more Raiders news, commentary and conversation.

In the fourth quarter, the Raiders scored another long touchdown, a 52-yarder on simple pitch right to Jalen Richard. Again, the execution and blocking was absolutely stellar. Again, it had the new O.C.’s fingerprints all over it. It was just the right play for Richard at just the right moment.

“T.D. and the people upstairs do a great job getting us into situations that best fit our skill sets, best fit us being explosive and being who we are,” Richard said. “I don’t know how many explosions we had today, but we’ll count ’em up tomorrow and I’m sure there’ll be a lot.”

So what is Downing bringing to the game plans that Musgrave didn’t?

“Bill was a great O.C., but I think T.D. is a younger guy who just brings a little more spice,” Richard said. “That, and he doesn’t take his foot off the pedal. We don’t want to just rack up yards and points. We want to take the breath out of people. Coming out of halftime, we said, `Let’s gas ’em.’ And that’s exactly what we did.”

So let’s do a Downing O.C. checklist. Preparation – check. Execution – check. Aggression – check. Innovation – check. It’s all humming quite beautifully, such a rarity for any team this early.

The Raiders’ run-pass balance for the second straight week was nearly dead even in terms of both plays run and yards. There was versatility, some measure of involvement for every skill player who got in the game. Of the eight touchdowns that the Raiders have scored the first two games, they’ve been achieved by six different players.

That’s a very positive sign, and not just because local folk hero Marshawn Lynch is one of those in the books. Everybody’s a threat in this offense on any kind of play. Heck, Carr threw a flea flicker on the Raiders’ fifth play – 26 yards to a wide-open Michael Crabtree.

Ah yes, the quarterback. Because of the design of the plays – a lot of short to medium-range, high percentage stuff — Carr probably won’t even have to send his uniform to the laundry this week. He’s rarely getting hurried, let alone sacked. His season has started brilliantly a 75 percent completion rate, five TD throws, no picks and a 126.5 rating.

When I asked Carr about the kinetic bond he has developed with Downing, his QB coach in 2015 and 2016, it was if he’d been handed a bowl of candy. He undoubtedly pushed hard for this promotion, too.

“One thing T.D. tells me every day is `Let me be aggressive, you just be smart and efficient,’ ” Carr said. “That’s how we play and go about our business. To have a guy like that, who thinks the same way you do calling the plays, and being there right when I come to sideline to talk about it … even when I come over sometimes and say, `That was dumb, that was my fault,’ maybe he’ll laugh. We just move on and we grow from it.”