After lighting up the scoreboard on Thanksgiving, the Las Vegas Raiders appeared to be on track offensively. However, this was not the case on Sunday versus the Washington Football Team.
Another Slow Start
As was the case for much of the early part of the season, the Raiders’ offense just simply couldn’t get it going in the first half. The story was about Derek Carr’s lack of aggressiveness. Whether it was a result of the play calling or simply Carr’s choosing, the Raiders did not take any chances down the field. As a result, the Raiders were held to just a pair of field goals in what was a defensive battle. The most unexplainable part of this half was without a doubt the lack of targets for top pass catchers. Neither DeSean Jackson nor Foster Moreau were targeted; that is simply indefensible.
Too Little Too Late
In the second half, the offense gained some life. With some downfield passes to Renfrow, Moreau, and Jackson, the Raiders at least attempted to push the ball deep. Unfortunately, it was not enough. Many times, Carr was just off-target. This was most evident on the two-point conversion attempt. On the play, Bryan Edwards popped open in the middle of the end zone and Carr just sailed it. Again, he was just a tad long on a pass to the corner of the end zone to Zay Jones. This miss was a big one as it would have given the Raiders the lead.
On the final drive, however, Carr gave the Raiders a chance to win. On a pass where he really showed off his arm strength, he hit Jones in the shoulder with a bomb way down the field that likely would have won the game for Las Vegas. Alas, Jones was unable to corral it and the same was true for the Hail Mary pass on the last play.
In this one, Carr was 28 of 38 for 249 yards. His top target was again Renfrow who had nine receptions for 102 yards. No one else had over 40 yards receiving. In a game that was played without Darren Waller, the Raiders were unable to find the end zone through the air. A tough game for the offense, the Raiders margin for error moving forward has gotten much smaller.
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*Top Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports