Raiders-Buccaneers score: Just a month of this crap to go

Another brutal day for Las Vegas

Somehow, it just gets worse.

A season that was much anticipated, now can’t end soon enough as the Las Vegas Raiders continue a serious nose dive under beleaguered first-year head coach Antonio Pierce as the issues pile up.

Sunday’s chapter of this misery novel saw the Raiders lose their ninth straight game and fall to 2-11 on the first as they lost 28-13 a the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Raiders were game at times, but we exposed in the first and fourth quarters and have suffered another lopsided loss.

There was some (likely false) hope this team was competitive in Week 13 at Kansas City. But Sunday’s 15-point loss at Tampa Bay was the Raiders’ fourth double-digit defeat in their last five games. The Raiders, who are on their longest losing streak since starting the 2014 season 0-10, has had double-digit deficits in all 13 games.

This team may play hard, but they usually aren’t competitive and Pierce continues to make strange in-game decisions, making it fair to wonder if he will go one and done as Las Vegas’ head coach.

in the midst of the loss was a knee injury to quarterback Aidan O’Connell and Peirce said “it doesn’t look good.” So, there is a strong possibility that Desmond Ridder will quarterback the final four games of the season, which could be a wild ride.

It all points to an ugly final four games of the season as the Raiders, who tied with with the New York Giants for the worst record in the NFL, hope to get in position to draft a quarterback next year to try to rebuild once again.

Here are some key aspects of the game:

McCormick shows out:

Sincere McCormick continues to be a player to watch for the Raiders. In his third game as an NFL rusher, McCormick had 78 yards on 15 carries. He now has 175 yards rushing on 32 carries this season. McCormick, who had a 29-yard run Sunday, can break tackles and he runs hard. Expect him to get the majority of carries down the stretch and to give him a chance to be put in the conversation as next year’s starter.

Bowers sets record:

First-round pick, Brock Bowers, set the NFL rookie reception record with 87 catches Sunday in the final minute of the game. He broke the record set by Sam LaPorta of the Detroit Lions last year. Bowers should shatter the record with four games to go. Bowers, though, had a quiet game with three grabs for 49 yards. Bowers wasn’t targeted until midway through the second quarter. Of course, he caught it. He needs to be targeted ALL THE TIME.

Odd day for defense:

The Raiders’ defense was awful in the first and fourth quarters. Yet, it was excellent in the second and third quarters, stopping the Buccaneers on six straight series and getting three takeaways after coming into the game with just five all season. In the end, though, Tampa Bay had 420 yards of offense and averaged 7.1 yards per play.

O’Connell was bad:

O’Connell was good in Week 13 at Kansas City. He had a bad day before getting hurt at Tampa Bay. He lost a fumble, threw a bad interception and nearly threw another bad pick. He is probably not the answer for 2025 regardless of his injury situation.

Pass-rush delivers:

The Raiders had four sacks Sunday. They have been showing life lately in that area.

Good day for Mayer:

While Bowers had a quiet day, second-year Raiders tight end Michael Mayer had a strong day seven catches for 68 yards. It was one of the best games of his career.

Turner hasn’t made huge difference:

The Raiders have played four games with Scott Turner as the interim offensive coordinator after the firing of Luke Getsy. Turner hasn’t made a big difference. The Raiders are averaging 17 points under him. They averaged 18.6 points in nine games with Getsy.

What a mistake:

The Raiders, while feeding McCormick, started the second half with a 10 minute, 20 second drive to the Tampa Bay 10. But O’Connell made an awful throw that was picked off near the end zone. It was a terrible decision and totally ruined a great drive that could have given the Raiders the lead.

Turnover fest:
Typical Raiders. After Tampa Bay completely dominated the first quarter, Raiders’ pass-rusher K’Lavon Chaisson gave Las Vegas life with a brilliant interception on a screen pass. He was going into pass-rush, but smelled the pass and dropped back in coverage. It was just the Raiders’ sixth takeaway of the season and it gave them the ball in Tampa Bay territory. Yet, on the next play, Aidan O’Connell botched the snap, giving the ball right back. Then, Baker Mayfield fumbled the ball abck to the Raiders on the next drive. It was the Raiders’ first fumble recovery of the and the first time since they had multiple takeaways since Christmas Day at Kansas City last year.

Go Maxx:
Raiders’ star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby has five passes defenses this season. It’s tied for the the third most by a defensive lineman in the league. Since joining the NFL in 2019, Crosby has 23 career passes defensed. It’s the fifth most in the NFL during that period. What a complete plater,

Lucky break:

O’Connell slipped and just tossed the ball up to Bowers on third and goal and Bowers drew a pass-interference call, giving the Raiders a first down, setting up a touchdown.. It could have been a disaster.

Moehrig making money:
Raiders’ safety Tre’von Moehrig had three passes defensed. It was the first time a Raiders’ safety had three pass defenses since Erik Harris in 2019. Moehrig is a pending free agent and is having a solid season.

Bad challenge:

It’s been a tough season for Pierce. He makes a lot of weird decisions. He had another Sunday when he challenged that a Tre Tucker deep pass from O’Connell in the second quarter was in bounds. It wasn’t close.

Chaisson balling:

Chaisson may make his self some money. After getting 2.5 sacks last week, He made the big play Sunday. The 2021 first-round pick of Jacksonville is a free agent after the Raiders signed him in September. The Raiders will likely want him back, but he could have big interest in the open market.

Going deep early:
O’Connell had success throwing the deep ball against Kansas City in Week 13 (he was five of six on pass attempts of 20 yards), so the Raiders tried to establish it early as O’Connell tried to hit Tre Tucker (who had one catch, a 58-yard touchdown last week) on the Raiders’ first offensive play. It failed badly.

Tough start:

The Buccaneers cruised down the field to take a 7-0 lead at the 8:07 mark of the first quarter on the first drive of the game. Baker Mayfield had two big connections with wide receiver Mike Evans and the Buccaneers converted on fourth and one from the Raiders’ 37 on their way to the early score. The Buccaneers went 85 yards on 12 plays in the drive.

Cute story:
Via ESPN, Tampa Bay wide receiver Jalen McMillan grew up watching the Raiders with his grandmother, Oma, who was a big Raiders’ fan. He caught a touchdown Sunday on his 23rd birthday with Grandma watching. She now pulls for his grandson’s team.