Empty Bucket: Raiders’ Fortunes Take Downward Turn

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The Las Vegas Raiders continued the nightmare season with an embarrassing 24-0 defeat in New Orleans.

Yesterday was Halloween, the Las Vegas Raiders kept with the spirit of the holiday and brought out one of their spookiest performances in recent history. The New Orleans Saints shut them out, 24-0. 

Stopped By The Statistically Subpar

Over the last couple of seasons, the Saints were relatively defensive-minded and kept their opponents to a lower-than-average score. However, the 2022 Saints allowed at least thirty points in each of their last three games prior to their matchup with the Raiders. Before Sunday, they were not playing even remotely inspiring football. In fact, people began to question the heart of this team.

Clowned By Kamara

To add insult to the game’s result, Saints running back Alvin Kamara trashed the Raiders all week.  A move many believed would light a fire under Las Vegas, inspiring them to add a bit of intensity to the matchup. Instead, the Raiders stuck to the Halloween tradition of donning costumes or altering their appearances to imply that everything is not what it seems. 

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Boo Them!

For the Halloween Eve matchup, the Raiders offensive line went as ghosts, alluding that five men were on the line to block for Derek Carr. However, in reality, the Saints passed through them as if there were no one there.  Speaking of Carr, the veteran quarterback chose a zombie as his Halloween alter ego and fit the bill perfectly, appearing slow-moving and generally unaware of his surroundings, almost half asleep. Carr had no urgency while standing in the pocket. The Saints made it perfectly clear that they would not be giving him much time all day. 

Where Are They?

The remainder of the Raiders’ skill positions appeared to have dressed as skeletons, haunting in appearance but generally just hanging out and making appearances. In an ode to novelty (and irony), the Raiders’ defense donned pirate costumes, but doubled their number of eye patches, leaving them completely blind as they could not keep track of any Saint all game. In all seriousness, it had begun to seem that Las Vegas had turned things around, going 2-1 in their last three, with their one loss coming as a heartbreaker to the Kansas City Chiefs. 

That’s That

But, oh, how the tables have turned. Like a brick-and-mortar Blockbuster store before and after the emergence of Netflix, the Raiders have gone from promising and intriguing to dead and empty. At 2-5, it is time to admit that Josh McDaniels “Belichick disciple” experiment has failed. But, this time things are a bit different. The Raiders ended the 2021 season as budding playoff contenders, and McDaniels has torn down a majority of the progress created by previous coaches. 

New Landlord, Same Results

The McDaniels hiring was not a “build-from-the-ground-up” situation, but was more of an implementation of a new landlord; the foundation was set, and all McDaniels had to do was let the previously set base work for him, and he has failed miserably. Unfortunately, the difference between decimating a solid team on paper and struggling to improve a bad team is that this Raiders team playoff window has been opened. When the team is set, it is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to implement a power rebuild where the team punts on a season in order to dump their unimpressive players while keeping their chances for success next season. Typically, this leads to a team tearing down its entire base, no matter how impressive the foundation may be. 

What’s Next?

The McDaniels signing, the Davante Adams trade, and the Raiders 2022 season currently stand as abject failures, but these decisions could evolve into franchise-altering in the coming days. While having a week off in between games is necessary to allow players to recover from their various bumps and bruises, it is unfortunate for teams like the Raiders after the game they just had. Instead of being able to attempt to bounce back in the next day or two, the Raiders must let this disgusting loss sink in until next Sunday. They will have a chance to take their frustrations out on the Jacksonville Jaguars.