Ashton Jeanty getting smothered in the end zone for the safety after a penalty and special teams gaffe. That sequence of unfortunate events perfectly encompasses not only how bad the Las Vegas Raiders were in a 33-16 Monday Night loss to the visiting Dallas Cowboys, but how atrocious of a football team they are.
It was incomPETEnce all around — offense, defense, and special teams. And the Silver & Black’s 2-8 overall record is a testament to that.
That fourth-quarter sequence began with wide receiver Tre Tucker fielding a punt but going backwards for a negative three-yard return that set up the Raiders at their own two-yard line. The next play was a false start and with the ball moved back to the one-yard line, Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith took the snap, turned to hand the ball off to Jeanty, and the Raiders’ sixth-overall pick was met immediately by the Cowboys’ second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku and a slew of other defenders for the safety.
That swarm of Cowboys defenders engulfing a Raider was a common sight on Monday night as Dallas’ owned the line of scrimmage with a big and mean defensive line that saw the addition of Quinnen Williams via trade. The former New York Jets defensive tackle powered the Cowboys’ pass rush with 1.5 sacks. Williams, alongside Kenny Clark, helped anchor a run defense that grabbed the Raiders by the throat and squeezed, limiting Las Vegas to a meager 27 yards on 12 carries. Jeanty was corralled for just seven yards on six carries (1.2 yards per carry average) with a long run of 11 yards. Dallas laid waste to Las Vegas ailing offensive line that saw Will Putnam at center and usual pivot Jordan Meredith moved to right guard. Dylan Parham was at left guard while Stone Forsythe and DJ Glaze were at left and right tackle, respectively.
All this despite coming into the game with the 31st-ranked overall defensive unit.
Strangely enough, Dallas proved that near-dead-last-ranking was warranted as its defense was susceptible to the play action passing game Las Vegas deployed. Despite making a mockery of the Raiders run game with stout defense, the Cowboys bit on play action and Las Vegas made plays behind it for chunk gains which included three-straight passes for 19, 17, and 20 yards on the Silver & Black’s third offensive drive of the evening.
But with the defense able to stall the Raiders in the red zone, the Cowboys offense had their way with Las Vegas’ zone-heavy defense. There were five-straight scoring drives — one field goal, four touchdowns — where quarterback Dak Prescott operated with impunity and Dallas was simply having fun out there.
Overall, minus a strip-sack, Prescott was a smooth operator going 25 of 33 for 268 yards and four touchdowns. For comparison’s sake, Smith ended 27 of 42 for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception (for a league-tying high of 13) while absorbing four sacks.
Let’s hit the quick slants as fast as things got away from the Raiders under the primetime lights:
—Tight end Brock Bowers paced the Raiders aerial attack with seven catches for 72 yards. Bowers drew 12 targets. Wide receiver Tre Tucker hauled in four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. While Jeanty added six receptions for 27 yards.
—Rookie wide receiver Jack Bech took a shot drag route for a 19-yard reception on the Raiders’ third offensive drive. That helped Las Vegas get a field goal to take a temporary 6-3 lead. Inexplicably, that was Bech’s lone target of the game.
—Linebacker Devin White led the Raiders with 10 total tackles (three solo). Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn followed with nine and six total tackles, respectively. Defensive end Maxx Crosby totaled five tackles and recorded Las Vegas’ lone sack and forced fumble.
—Kicker Daniel Carlson accounted for 10 of the Raiders’ 16 points with three field goals and a point after. Carlson finished 3-for-3 on his attempts with a long of 45 yards. Punter AJ Cole III booted the ball three times for 160 yards (53.3 average per punt) with one being stopped inside the five-yard line.
—The Cowboys showcased offensive balance with 33 pass attempts and 31 rushing attempts for 114 yards. Running back Javonte Williams led the ground game with 22 carries for 93 yards. Wide receiver George Pickens finished with a game-high nine receptions for 144 yards and a score.
Quotes of Note
“I always want to run the football more, but I don’t care about when we run the football more. I like to win the games, get ahead, and kill it in the fourth quarter and run 15 times in the fourth quarter. We haven’t had that opportunity because we’re not ahead. You guys know I’ve been doing this for a long time, and those thoughts and approaches, that’s in the books. We’ve done it that way for a long time, and we’re just not getting the chance, because we’re not ahead in the game. We’ve got to get out ahead.”
—Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll
“I thought Will (Putnam) and Jordan [Meredith] did a fine job. I thought they competed their butts off. Again, they were up against a really tough front. They got great guys on that side of the ball, especially in the interior, but I thought they did a great job at just competing and giving me as much time as they could. A few plays broke down here and there, but for the most part, I was able to set my foot and get the ball off. That’s really all you can ask from the guys.”
—Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith
Up Next
Las Vegas gets another home game this coming Sunday as the Cleveland Browns (2-8 overall) stroll into Sin City for an afternoon AFC matchup. The Browns had the Baltimore Ravens on the ropes leading 16-10 last Sunday but got hit with a haymaker in the second half as Cleveland got shutout and eventually lost 23-16. It was a defeat that saw rookie quarterback Shedur Sanders enter the game for fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel (concussion protocol). The Browns’ lone touchdown in that defeat was linebacker Devin Bush’s 23-yard pick six.
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