While the Las Vegas Raiders suffered their first loss of the season, the passing game was front and center. Here’s how they fared against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4.
First Half
The list of things that the Raiders offense did well in the first half is blank. Simply put, the Las Vegas offense did not show up prepared to play a football game. Contrary to the first three games of the season, this was not a typical “slow start” as the offense never got going. The inexperienced offensive line was fully taken advantage of by L.A. It appeared the Chargers were able to get pressure on every play. In addition, Carr was rattled early on and struggled to connect with any of his top targets. The game plan all around was terrible.
There is honestly not much else to say about how this team performed in the first half. They had negative yards of offense at halftime. Truly one of the worst offensive performances you will ever see from a team, so let’s move on.
Second Half
After going into halftime down 21-0, the Raiders finally turned it on. Carr, in particular, was much better in this half as he routinely hooked up with the likes of Hunter Renfrow, Darren Waller, and Henry Ruggs III. The touchdown pass to Renfrow, who again ran his patented “China” route, was one of Carr’s best plays of the season.
Needed that.@derekcarrqb to @renfrowhunter for the clutch TD.
Watch #LVvsLAC live on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Gbnx22FCFC
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 5, 2021
The touchdown pass to Waller was a classic case of Carr just giving his guy a chance to make a play. Of course, Waller came through. The biggest play of the game for the Raider offense was the 51-yard bomb to Ruggs at the start of the first quarter. The speedster is becoming everything they thought he would be after getting drafted in the first round.
Going Forward
There are many things to take from a performance like this. The first of which is the utter waste of the first half. Of course, this cannot happen again, but neither can the slow starts that have plagued the Raider offense throughout the season’s first month. Luckily, the team is cognizant of this.Â
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see what the Raiders’ plan is for the first quarter of football games. For now, however, the Raiders finished the game playing offense at the level they know they’re capable of, and that is a good thing. The bad thing is the Chicago Bears’ defense will provide a similar challenge in Week 5, so the Silver and Black better get ready.
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*Top Photo: Michael Clemens/Las Vegas Raiders