Yesterday’s loss was something else. It’s one thing to come up short in a close matchup, but Sunday’s game versus the New Orleans Saints was just, well, disheartening. Now that it’s been nearly 24 hours since the Las Vegas Raiders’ Week 8 disaster, Josh McDaniels shared some insight into what’s going on. Needless to say, it doesn’t exactly instill confidence. If anything, you have to wonder if this current staff is fine with this type of result.
Immediately following the game, McDaniels expressed an apology to Raiders fans, “We’re better than that. I apologize to Raider Nation for that performance. I own that. That’s my responsibility.” One can only imagine the frustration of having bought tickets and invested so much money to make the trek to New Orleans just to see your team shut out.
McDaniels: "We're not the only team that loses games. Hopefully we learn from yesterday and get better." #Raiders
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) October 31, 2022
What’s even more frustrating for many fans is how McDaniels is apparently dismissing Sunday’s 24-0 annihilation as just another loss. “We’re not the only team that loses games. Hopefully we will learn from yesterday and get better,” said McDaniels this morning in his most recent press conference.
Where do the Raiders and Josh McDaniels go from here?
As Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report put it this morning, “Once you get comfortable with losing, you’re destined to be a loser.” Had McDaniels expressed more emotion, more fire, heck, an ounce of frustration, that would’ve been acceptable. If you admit that you were outcoached and outplayed in an embarrassingly historic fashion, but you’ll fight to come back this week, maybe McDaniels wouldn’t be receiving so much backlash.
Moments like these are what define a head coach in the NFL. From the outside, it appears that this was just another loss for McDaniels. That’s certainly concerning if you’re a fan. The Raiders’ “offensive genius” was outmaneuvered by a defense that could hardly be classified as “elite.” Heading into Sunday, the Dennis Allen-led defense was giving up nearly 10-plus yards per passing attempt and almost five yards per rushing attempt (4.5). Yet, McDaniels and Derek Carr couldn’t even get into their opponents’ territory. A complete shut down on national television.
Most fans and media analysts figured that sooner or later, an opposing team would cancel out Josh Jacobs. Once his tendencies were neutralized, Carr was going to have to carry the offense again. On Sunday, it just wasn’t clicking. Instead, McDaniels and Carr had to sit back and watch Alvin Kamara make good on his statement about whooping their *ss. Let’s call it what it is; it was an *ss whooping. The problem is that McDaniels’ words have a vibe of negligence, just another day at the office.
*Top Photo: NBC Sports/Boston
