Losing always sucks, but being on the wrong end of a gross 23-18 scoreline is a special kind of frustrating. This home loss — to a mediocre team that did not even play that well — leaves the Raiders at 1-2 on the year. The product on the field has been just as bad, maybe even worse than the record indicates. Veterans like Jimmy Garoppolo and Marcus Peters face the brunt of the criticism, and rightfully so.
It is early, but Sunday night made many in Raider Nation skeptical for the rest of the regular season. Let’s get into this week’s knee-jerk reactions, starting with the same guy as last week.
We’ve Seen Enough Of Jimmy Garoppolo With The Raiders
Ironically, Jimmy Garoppolo had arguably his best game of the year from a statistical standpoint. He completed almost 70 percent of his passes for over 300 yards and two touchdown passes. However, he also tossed three picks, bringing his season total to six. The Raiders quarterback is now on pace to finish with a 28-to-34 touchdown-to-interception ratio for the year. Those numbers would even make Jameis Winston wince.
It should not come as a surprise to anyone. We all knew this is who Garoppolo is, was, and always will be. The Raiders sold a false bill of goods. Despite his flaws as a quarterback, the former 49ers and Patriots signal-caller was a proven winner who could effectively run Josh McDaniels’ offense. So far, neither has come to fruition. The lone win for Vegas this year came against a hapless Denver team, and Garoppolo, rather than going through his progressions, is staring down Davante Adams even more than his predecessor did.
The Raiders aren’t anywhere close to contending in 2023. Honestly, even being a wild-card team next year feels like a tall order. The whole idea of bringing in a veteran like Garoppolo was to keep the team competitive while searching for a young franchise quarterback. That ship has sailed. It is time to look to the future.
Could that future lie with rookie Aidan O’Connell? Who knows? The Raiders should try to find that out this year. It would be nice to figure out if searching for a higher-upside quarterback in next year’s draft would make sense. Las Vegas could also add more draft capital by moving some assets.
It Is Time For Vegas To Set Josh Jacobs Free
In a league full of organizations doing their star running backs dirty, the Raiders are one of the worst offenders. After playing well for the first three years of his career, Josh Jacobs was not given his fifth-year option and played out 2022 with no long-term security. Jacobs proved his worth by winning the rushing title and having an All-Pro campaign. The front office rewarded him by franchise-tagging him and forcing him to play on another one-year deal.
Jacobs set out to prove his best days are still ahead, but so far in 2023, he hasn’t had a chance to do that behind a porous offensive line. The Raiders no longer have a quarterback who can take advantage of loaded boxes, leaving Jacobs to run into a sea of opposing defenders on every play. He still has plenty of talent, though. To stay productive, Jacobs is getting a massive receiving workload. While that is nice, it can’t be a satisfying role for him.
As mentioned earlier, the Raiders will not contend now or any time soon for a playoff berth. There is no point in keeping a premium running back to win six games. Given what has transpired, Jacobs is unlikely to sign for anything less than top dollar in Vegas. Also, it is doubtful he would play on the franchise tag again, especially for a losing team.
Meanwhile, there are surely contenders who would see Jacobs as a worthwhile signing. The Raiders should get what they can for Jacobs now by parting ways amicably before it ends in a messy divorce.
Marcus Peters Is Washed
Marcus Peters was a big-time free-agent acquisition for Vegas this offseason. Throughout his career, the veteran corner tortured Raider Nation with big plays in the secondary. There was a lot of excitement about seeing Peters, a Bay Area native and Silver and Black fan himself, making those big plays for the franchise.
Instead, the 30-year-old corner looks like his best days are squarely in the rearview mirror. He is getting beat in coverage routinely. Even worse, Peters has yet to make any game-changing plays that were fixtures on his early-career highlight reels. This game against the Steelers was a perfect microcosm of what Las Vegas has gotten out of the veteran so far.
Early in the game, he got torched by Calvin Austin for a long touchdown. The former All-Pro had a chance to make up for it later in the game. Peters pounced on an errant throw by Kenny Pickett and looked poised to take it to the house — but he let the interception slip through his fingers.
The dropped interception is particularly frustrating because we have seen Peters make that play countless times throughout his career. His ability to cause turnovers was the key selling point for the Raiders signing him, as they have been lacking horribly in that department for years. Teams have previously tolerated Peters’ occasional lapses in coverage because of his big-play ability. He doesn’t bring much else to the table otherwise.
*Top Photo: Raiders.com