Shrinkage: Raiders Wither In Chilly Cincinnati

For the first time since 2016, the Raiders made the postseason. Unfortunately, like their previous appearance, they fall on the road. The Bengals slipped past the Raiders, 26-19. With a chance to tie, Derek Carr could not make the play he needed to. Instead, he threw a pick to Germaine Pratt. The Raiders end their 2021 season with an offseason of uncertainty awaiting them.

Defensive Depth Issues

As the second half began, Las Vegas played without Quinton Jefferson and Divine Deablo. Jefferson provided an interior pass rush, while the rookie Deablo earned his snaps with coverage ability. On the first drive of the third quarter, the Raiders lost Brandon Facyson.  On a team that lacks quality depth at multiple positions, losing anyone served to be too great for anyone to overcome. Desmond Trufant played more snaps than he really should. Ja’Marr Chase feasted on the thin secondary depth.

Mistakes

In the first half, the Raiders could not stop shooting themselves in the foot. If they didn’t commit drive-killing penalties on offense, any semblance of common sense left. Peyton Barber grabbed a kickoff at the two-yard line. Instead of stepping out first, the reserve gave the Raiders atrocious field position. Of all of those, allowing Foster Moreau to block Trey Hendrickson one on one ranks as one of the worst. What happened? Hendrickson turnstiles Moreau, forcing Derek Carr to fumble. These miscues cost the Raiders points and set the team behind. Furthermore, a hold by Alex Leatherwood negated a deep pass to DeSean Jackson. Later, in the third, a John Simspon hold erased a Jacobs run that would set Vegas up inside the one.

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Carr Notes

In the biggest game of his career, Derek Carr could not carry this team to the next round. After eight years, multiple coaches and opportunities. The early fumble hurt. The reticence and happy feet hurt more. With Larry Ogunjobi out for the second half, Derek Carr enjoyed breathing room, but the offense stalled due to penalties. With 6:30 left, Carr took the ball. from the 26. After exchanging penalties, the legacy drive began. After a miscommunication with Bryan Edwards, Carr took yet another timeout. On fourth-and-five, Carr connected with DeSean Jackson for twenty-three yards. The offense sputters, leading to Daniel Carlson’s fourth field goal of the afternoon. After the defense stopped the Bengals, the offense drove down the field. The quarterback could not capitalize. The season ended with an interception.

Meaning

The Las Vegas Raiders ended their season on yet another disappointing note. After the Bengals lost three defensive linemen via injury, the offense still struggled. If penalties didn’t stop them, it was conservative play. People will complain about the inadvertent whistle, but a whole half of football existed. The Raiders, as an organization, must look inward first, the outward to fix the problems.