OAKLAND, Calif. -- Defensive lineman Antonio Smith hadn’t had much time to relish the Oakland Raiders' third consecutive home win before questions came up about the team’s inability to match that success on the road.

It’s an issue that has haunted the club since 2011, and even a newcomer to the team like Smith realizes how much it’s hindered the Raiders’ ability to end what is now a 12-year playoff drought.

“That’s our biggest challenge right now,” Smith said. “That’s kind of our Achilles’ heel, to find that motivation that the Raiders fans give us here on away games, to take the energy out of the crowd of the home team and use it to our advantage.”

The Raiders are winless in seven road games this season and are just 2-21 since beating Kansas City in overtime 16-13 at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 24, 2011.

Oakland ends the 2014 campaign next Sunday in Denver with a chance to change that, though recent history isn’t exactly in the Raiders’ favor.

They’ve followed up each of the previous two wins with uninspiring losses on the road the following week.

After ending their winless start by upsetting Kansas City 24-20 in a nationally televised game in Week 12, the Raiders flopped in St. Louis and were trounced 52-0. Oakland bounced back from that to beat San Francisco but couldn’t keep the momentum going and got thumped by the Chiefs 31-13.

Why the Jekyll and Hyde performances?

Despite having veterans in key places, the Raiders are still a relatively young team that has had trouble overcoming the problems that crop up on the road, be it the earlier kickoff times to the deafening crowd noise in places like Kansas City, New England and Seattle.

In that way, they’re a lot like most teams in the NFL. But Oakland and Jacksonville are the only two of the league’s 32 teams to have not won on the road this year.

“We’ve got to learn how to take what we do here and go on the road and do it,” rookie quarterback Derek Carr. “We have to take that – the way we can play here against some really good football teams – and do that on the road. We need to learn how to do that and it’s something that we are learning to do. But it just hasn’t happened yet. Eventually we’ll get it right.”

Oakland has lost in its previous two trips to Denver. Prior to that, the Raiders had won four consecutive games in the Mile High city.

“We’re trying to change the culture and we are, so even though it’s not been how we want it to be, we know that if we keep fighting, keep working hard, eventually it’s going to get there,” Carr said. “Finishing out 3-0 at home, finishing out the way that we can, all those things are so important in building this franchise.”