If the Las Vegas Raiders were a serious team they would have won Sunday.
It was all set up for them.
The Commanders were extremely banged up and were playing without star quarterback Jayden Daniels who was out with a knee injury. The Commanders were quarterback by Marcus Mariota, who was making his first start in three years.
The game began a critical four-game stretch in which the Raiders seemingly had a chance to go 4-0. Then, they went out and showed they are not a serious team so far in the Pete Carroll era.
The Raiders were completely outclassed in all three phases of the game and were manhandled by the undermanned Commanders by a score of 41-24 (it wasn’t that close) to fall to 1-2.
It was the Raiders’ second straight loss by double digits. Remember, one of the reasons why Antonio Pierce went one and done last season was the fact that the Raiders were beaten by double digit nine times.
That trend is continuing under Carroll, who brazenly said multiple times this summer the Raiders “were going for it” and he expected them to win big right away. Sunday, he said that he didn’t see this blowout loss coming. He took the blame for the loss and said he was disappointed in himself.
Three games into the season, it is clear this team has a lot of problems.
Here are some key aspects of the game:
Awful offensive line:
Geno Smith was sacked 54 times (the third most in the NFL) as a member of the Seattle Seahawks last season. It was supposed to be better with the Raiders this season. So far, it hasn’t been better. Smith was sacked five times Sunday and was under constant pressure. He was under non-stop duress. Plus, the line didn’t run block well, either. This unit, other than left tackle Kolton Miller, is a mess.
Smith does what he can:
Smith wasn’t great, but he was better than last week. Most of his yardage (he finished with 289 yards passing and three touchdown) came in garbage time. His troubles were more of a product of the offensive line than his own mistakes. Still, we haven’t seen the explosive firepower Smith showed in Week 1 in the past two games and that’s on everyone involved, including offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Jeanty has his moments:
Raiders rookie running back again didn’t have much room, but he did have three 10-plus yard runs and showed some burst that was missing in the first two games. He wasn’t perfect, but he flashed some and finished with 63 yards on 17 carries. The Raiders still must work to get him on track consistently.
Quiet day for Bowers:
Star tight end Brock Bowers had just four catches for 38 yards. It was just a product of this game getting out of hand. Still, Kelly must work to make Bowers the focal point of every game.
Not much pressure on Mariota:
The Raiders were outplayed in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The Raiders didn’t put much pressure on Mariota as he he threw for 206 yards and had 40 yards rushing. he was sacked just once.
Running right through them:
The Commanders are playing their first game without injured running back Austin Ekeler. No problem so far. The Commanders had 201 yards rushing and had 174 yard sin the first half. It was the most the Raiders have allowed in the first half in 15 years. It was just a dreadful day for the run defense.
Terrible on special teams:
The Raiders allowed a 69-yard kick return by Deebo Samuel to start the game an then allowed a 90-yard punt return for a score by Jaylin Lane in third quarter. What a disaster.
Awful start:
The Raiders won the coin toss and deferred. Samuel made them play as he took the opening kickoff 69 yards to set up a short Washington drive in which they ran all over the Raiders, culminating in a 2-yard touchdown run by Mariota. It was a 27 yard, five-play drive (all running plays). Less than ideal.
Cappa starts:
Veteran guard Alex Cappa started at guard instead of Jackson Powers-Johnson. The second-year player player missed Week 2 with a concussion. After the game, Carroll said Cappa started because it was a short week.
Booker has been good:
Raiders’ defensive tackle Thomas Booker has been playing well. He made a great effort play, knocking the ball loose from Mariota after a long run deep into Raiders’ territory an cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly recovered the ball inside the Raiders’ 30-yard line. Booker has been a pleasant surprise since coming over from the Philadelphia Eagles in a trade for Jakorian Bennett.
Got too cute:
The Raiders iced Washington kicker Matt Gay on a 56-yard field goal by calling a time out just before halftime, but his kick was no good. Yet, the time out gave him a second chance. Of course, he nailed the second attempt to make it a 20-10 game.
Big day for Tre Tucker:
The third-year starting receiver had been pretty quiet this season as he had five catches for 66 yards in the first two games. He had eight catches for 146 yards Sunday with three touchdown catches, two coming in garbage time. Tucker has had his moments in his young career, but he has not been consistent. He needs to build on this game. He is the first Raiders’ wide receiver with four touchdown catches in the first three games of the season.
Early Washington dominance:
In the first quarter, the Commanders had eight first downs to the Raiders’ one. Washington outgained Las Vegas 164 to 50 yards and the Raiders had just two rushing yards. However, the Commanders lead was just 7-3 due to a fumble deep in las Vegas territory and a missed short field goal.
Decent answer:
The Raiders caught a break, getting the ensuing kickoff at their 40. Then, quarterback Geno Smith shook last week’s tough game by hitting wide receiver Jakobi Meyers all the way down at the Washington 15. on the first play of the drive. Meyers was wide open. Yet, the Raiders’ red-zone woes continued and they had to settle for a short Daniel Carlson field goal to cut the Commanders’ lead to 7-3 with 9:46 to go in the quarter.
Unbalanced rest period:
While the Commanders were the much more banged up team going into the game, they were much more well rested. The Commanders played on Thursday night in Week 2. The Raiders, on the other hand, finished their game at 1 a.m. Eastern Tuesday and were playing at 1 p.m. Eastern Sunday after a cross-country flight. Carroll aid the Raiders didn’t bounce back physically from the short week.
Four rookies sit:
Draft picks, offensive linemen Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant and defensive tackles Tonka Hemingway and J.J. Pegues were inactive. Grant and Pegues have been inactive all three weeks and Rogers and Hemingway have been inactive two of three games. Having four of the nine draft picks on the roster (two were cut) is a lot for team trying to build.
Why keep Mostert?
Veteran free-agent addition, running back Raheem Mostert has been inactive all three games behind Jeanty, Zamir White and Dylan Laube. Does it make any sense to keep a 33 running back who doesn’t play on the roster?
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