"Raiders helmets hung from hooks at players' stalls Monday inside their quiet and messy locker room at team headquarters. At least 10 of those silver helmets bore aqua-colored scars from Sunday's collisions with the Miami Dolphins' headgear.

No helmet featured more aqua reminders than running back Darren McFadden's. Even his face mask was discolored.

No player is more vital to the Raiders' fading playoff hopes than McFadden. Not whichever quarterback starts. Not whichever coach (or owner or coordinator) is in charge. Not whichever cornerback gets burned.

"He, no question, is as good a runner as there is in football, and I think he's proved that," coach Tom Cable said. "We've got to get back to re-establishing who he is and what he brings to the table."

They need D-Mac back. They can't have D-minus, as in the running back who lost yards on his first three carries in Sunday's 33-17 loss to Miami.

McFadden embodies the Raiders' oversold revival. He was rushing for an NFL-best 108 yards per game a couple weeks ago -- a couple losses ago. Now, everyone is again wondering how good he is, how legitimate the Raiders could be.

He gained only 2 yards on eight carries against the Dolphins. A week earlier in a 35-3 rout at Pittsburgh, he had 14 yards on 10 carries. Do the math: 16 yards + 18 carries = 2 momentum-killing defeats.

That vanishing production is not all his fault. How can it be when he gets met by defenders in the backfield as soon as he takes a handoff? How can it be when defenses know the Raiders' passing threat amounts to zilch?

McFadden put up big numbers -- stats long expected out of the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2008 -- during four of the Raiders' five wins this season. He missed that other win with a hamstring injury, an Oct. 10 game that snapped a 13-game losing streak against the San Diego Chargers.

Now he gets his shot against the Chargers this weekend. It is the biggest game of his career. The Raiders' playoff hopes had never been so alive this late in the year with him on board.

He is still on board, right? His post-bye week vanishing act explains the Raiders' offensive woes. He has never scored against the Chargers in three career meetings. That must change."