Well, that was something yesterday. The only thought Las Vegas Raiders fans will have after this weekend’s abomination will be to try and figure out the quickest way to erase that game from their memory. The Raiders started off about as well as possible. They led 20-0 at halftime and 23-7 as the third quarter came to a close. That absolutely did not last, and they lost 29-23 in overtime. Here are the Raiders’ three biggest disappointments from this week’s loss.
Josh McDaniels’ Play Selection
This is a tough decision, but somebody has to be at fault for the poor play-calling in the second half. That’s ironic, because McDaniels’ play-calling in the first half of the game was superb, and Las Vegas seemed to be able to do whatever they wanted on offense.
Then, in the second half, the Raiders did something we’ve seen them do so many times. They got conservative with the lead, and the offense soured as a result. Las Vegas couldn’t get anything going in the second half, and the only time they showed any life came in the overtime period, before Renfrow’s fumble. As the play-caller, McDaniels has to be at fault for this, and he’ll be the first to admit it.
Raiders QB Derek Carr
This is a tough decision as well, mainly because of the very impressive first half from Derek Carr.
No. 4 was able to spread the wealth in the first half and threw the ball with ease all over the Cardinals’ defense. However, in the second half, Carr was extremely poor and failed to lead the offense to any sort of sustainable success after halftime.
In 127 games played, Derek Carr has thrown for 7,511 yards in his career with a lead
This ranks in the bottom 10 of all QBs since 1994 who have appeared in at least 120 games as a starter
Kirk Cousins is the next closest with 126 games – 9,668 yards pic.twitter.com/dM13kplyPL
— RaiderRamble.comâ„¢ (@TheRaiderRamble) September 19, 2022
After the halftime period, Carr’s second half-stats are as follows: 7/15 for 42 yards, zero touchdowns, and a passer rating of just 53.5. With Carr at the helm, the offense scored just three points in five drives, including the overtime drive in which they actually gave up six points. Carr simply did not get the job done when it mattered, and it resulted in another Raiders’ loss, making Carr one of the Raiders’ biggest disappointments on Sunday.
Where is Chandler Jones?
Chandler Jones was signed to replace Yannick Ngakoue, and many fans figured that to be an upgrade. Unfortunately, through the first two games, he hasn’t done much. Jones has been a bit of a no-show through two weeks, and the Raiders have only had one consistent pass-rusher, which would be Maxx Crosby. Considering the money they spent on Jones, that just can’t happen.
His pass rushing skills were really needed on Sunday, particularly on the several plays in which Kyler Murray quite literally ran all the way around the Raiders defense. Mobile quarterbacks are the new norm. That is part of the reason why the Raiders made such a big investment in Jones. Unfortunately, through the first two weeks of the season, that hasn’t paid off yet.
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*Top Photo: Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal