Raiders Review: Dog Day Sunday Afternoon

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The Raiders left Los Angeles with a loss. Games like this will do nothing but test the mettle of a team. Folding isn’t an option.

Although the NFL season has the fewest games of any major professional sport, there are still enough games for teams to drop a “stinker” or two while still remaining successful. Unfortunately, it appears the Las Vegas Raiders opted to get one of their more disappointing games out of the way in the first week of the season. Although it is disheartening to hand a game to a divisional rival, it implies that future games will be better. Admittedly, it would be difficult for the team to consistently struggle as much as they did on Sunday, as the defense recorded zero sacks and forced zero turnovers while the offense allowed five sacks and logged three interceptions.

Carr Trouble

Derek Carr has been referred to as a quarterback that will not lose many games for his team. He may not have the elite talent of some quarterbacks, but he can keep the team hanging around and, given the opportunity, pull victory from the jaws of defeat. However, Carr struggled immensely in the first game of the 2022 season. Perhaps a combination of porous offensive line play and excitement to play with his former college teammate Davante Adams clouded his judgment, but Carr seemed like anything but his usual self. Adams directly played a role in the team’s success, as he combined with Carr for seventeen targets and 141 receiving yards. Strangely enough, however, he also indirectly played a role in Carr’s lack of judgment.

Forcing The Issue

Whether it was an incompletion or an interception, there were multiple throws sent Adams’ way that would be described as forced or unwise. Meanwhile, Hunter Renfrow hardly logged more than cardio in the first half, as he was the first to succumb to the “too many mouths” struggle the Raiders have stumbled into. Carr’s interceptions and struggles obviously cannot be placed on Adams, but Carr being overexcited to work with someone he has great chemistry with is more believable than him being a completely changed (for the worst) quarterback over the span of one offseason.

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Legs For A Reason

While he may not be the quarterback most eager to run to pick up yards, Carr displayed increased contentedness to sit in the pocket and let Adams get open, despite his offensive line repeatedly collapsing around him. In the past, Carr has shown an ability to scramble and slide or get out of bounds without any major threat of injury, but on Sunday, he treated things like a game of parking lot football, in which scrambling typically is not allowed.

Targets Everywhere

The brightest silver lining from Carr force-feeding Adams is that this was their first time on the field together since college, as neither took the field in the preseason, and some throws may have been simply kicking the tires on what Adams still has in the tank. Head coach Josh McDaniels may deserve some credit for shifting Carr’s focus at halftime, as he seemed a bit more willing to share the ball amongst the fairly impressive group of talent that the Raiders display at the receiver position.

Stagnant Defense

While there is not a defensive equivalent to throwing three interceptions in a game, the Raiders’ defense certainly would not have met it. The defense executed a bend-don’t-break strategy quite well, as allowing only 24 points to one of the more high-powered offenses on their schedule this year should be taken as somewhat of a win. Essentially, the defense did enough for the offense to keep up, but the offense could not pull the same weight.

Passive Play Poses Perpetual Problems

However, the defense still needs work. The blame for the lack of sacks may fall on both the defensive line for not getting pressure and the defensive backs for not holding coverage long enough, but only Maxx Crosby had Justin Herbert scrambling out of the pocket on multiple occasions. When the Raiders added Chandler Jones, many saw the Raiders defensive line as an intimidating force that could hurt you from either end, but Jones was unable to join Crosby in the backfield.

The Bright Side

Positively, the Raiders’ offense could not have performed that much worse, and the team still kept it close. Should the team have been able to trade a single interception for a touchdown, the result would have changed. Considering the Chargers have been garnering respect as an outside-shot Super Bowl team, the Raiders certainly have much to build on.

Long Term Focus

The season is far from over (16 games from over, in fact), and the Raiders obviously still control their own destiny to the playoffs, there just cannot be many more games like this throughout the year. Despite the Raiders opening as 5.5-point favorites against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2, this game will be a massive test. Not only for Carr’s resilience but also for Josh McDaniels to prove he has the ability to keep the team focused and driven after a disappointing loss.