When a team faces adversity, a good team rages, while a below-average team crumbles. Just seven days after holding their own against the Chiefs, the Las Vegas Raiders showed up to Atlanta and disintegrated.
Mental Errors
Ridiculously careless penalties (11 for 141 yards, missed tackles, and lack of pass rush surfaced. The defense appeared to do everything in their power to keep their offense off the field.
Drought
Las Vegas’ only points arrived from two Daniel Carlson field goals. Derek Carr could not sustain much against the Falcons’ struggling defense. To combat the defensive struggles, the Raiders turned the ball over five times. Plus, they allowed five sacks, as essentially nothing went well for the Silver and Black. It is quite difficult to tell what happened to the team that has been the Chiefs’ worst nightmare. However, any repeat of this lackluster performance could result in a failure to secure a playoff spot.
Alarm
This is not a call for anyone’s job, but it is certainly a wake-up call. The Raiders cannot treat games against lesser teams like a walkthrough. Either the Raiders came into the game, still stinging from last week’s late loss or far too overconfident. Regardless, the Raiders see a major test ahead of them. Not only are they now on the outside of the playoff hunt, but every game just became so much more significant. Las Vegas cannot afford any more hiccups.
Eyerolling Spin
The Raiders’ social media team spun the game as “one to forget”. This game requires a rewatch and reexperience every day until things improve. Hang a picture of the score in the locker room. Letdown losses late in the season will ultimately end seasons.
Painful Loss
Although it would be nice to chalk this loss up as an astronomically terrible series of mistakes and move past it, this performance was too horrendous to look past. It is going to be difficult to recover from not only this beatdown but this loss in the win column as well. The worst record in the wildcard is currently 7-4, meaning the Raiders have gone from fully controlling their own destiny to needing other teams to lose.
At the end of the day, a loss is a loss but getting crushed by an inferior team stings.
