There’s plenty of blame to go around after the Las Vegas Raiders’ blowout loss to the Washington Commanders and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota in Week 3. The Raiders looked like a team that was completely overmatched as they were dominated in just about every phase of the game, leaving little room for optimism in this week’s winners and losers.
LOSER: Pete Carroll
Anytime a team gets blown out like that, fingers have to start pointing at the head coach. Las Vegas clearly wasn’t ready to play coming off the short week, allowing a long kick return to begin the game. That’s on Carroll since it’s his job to get the team ready to go. Also, it doesn’t help that the offensive line is one of the Raiders’ biggest problems right now, and Pete hired his son, Brennan, to coach the unit.
That’s the type of decision that better work out because it looks like nothing more than a nepotism move when it doesn’t, and so far, the results in the trenches have been piss-poor. On that note, Pete told reporters the decision to start Alex Cappa over a healthy Jackson Powers-Johnson was due to “continuity”. Well, Cappa didn’t play well for the second week in a row, and the entire interior offensive line has been a mess so far. Maybe the new coaching staff’s decision to reshuffle the group has something to do with that…
LOSER: Special Teams
As referenced above, the Silver and Black allowed Deebo Samuel to return the opening kickoff 69 yards and gave the Commanders the ball at the 27-yard line. That ended up setting a tone for the rest of the game, as Washington scored and held the lead for all but 49 seconds the rest of the way out.
In total, the Raiders gave up a combined 245 yards on kick and punt returns (h/t ESPN’s Ryan McFadden), headlined by a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown that made it a three-score game in the third quarter. To make matters worse, the Commanders also had a long punt return that was called back by a penalty, so the total yards allowed could have been even worse.
WINNER: Tre Tucker
While there weren’t many performances from the Raiders to celebrate, Tucker having a career day deserves some recognition. He finished with eight catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns, all of which are personal bests for the third-year pro. It’s also the first time he’s had a 100-yard performance in the NFL. So, if there’s one silver lining in an otherwise abysmal day, it’s that Tucker might have taken the next step in his development.
LOSER: DJ Glaze
The pendulum continues to swing for Glaze, who has been both a winner and a loser in the Raiders’ first two games and is back in the latter category this week. Pass protection remains the third-year pro’s biggest issue, and Sunday was the worst performance he’s had so far this season, allowing six pressures (two sacks) and earning a 45.8 pass-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
Glaze has also posted below-average marks as a run-blocker in three out of three weeks, meaning his seat should be warming up if it isn’t already on fire.
LOSER: Dylan Parham
On a similar note, Parham is still having issues at left guard. Las Vegas can’t run the ball, and he’s part of the problem with a 52.2 PFF run-blocking grade on the season, including a 51.5 mark on Sunday. He also gave up a sack for the second week in a row, and is trending in the wrong direction, especially for a player on a contract year.
LOSER: Malcolm Koonce
Koonce has been pretty quiet to begin the campaign and didn’t show up in the box score at all in Washington. Additionally, he was a big part of the problem why the Raiders couldn’t stop the run, posting the lowest PFF run defense grade (34.3) on the team. Granted, Koonce is known as a pass-rusher, but he only registered one pressure on the afternoon. Putting it simply, the defense needs more out of its No. 2 edge defender.
LOSER: Kyu Blu Kelly
Going up against Terry McLaurin is a tough task for any cornerback, let alone one who is making his third career start. But Washington’s offensive game plan was clearly to pick on Kelly, as he was Las Vegas’ most-targeted defender (five) and surrendered four completions for a team-high 87 yards, per PFF.
To be fair, Kelly was solid in the team’s first two games and still has a bright future, but Sunday was certainly a missed opportunity to make a name for himself.
WINNER: Jonah Laulu
Again, there weren’t many silver linings for the Silver and Black this weekend, but Laulu was one of the few reasons for optimism. He managed to get a TFL and was one of the few positive run defenders, earning a 73.8 PFF grade in that department while coming up with three defensive stops.
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