The Oakland Raiders were brought back down to Earth in humiliating fashion on Sunday Night Football, getting dominated by Washington in almost every aspect of the game. Though it was painful, I did  second watching of the game this morning to do my weekly “Quick thoughts and impressions piece” and I’m sad to say that a second viewing of the disaster did not look any better.
To start, I wanted to look at the few positives the Raiders had because it might be the only positivity from me this week. Here we go:
-
Marquette King had a hell of a game punting the ball (and he got a lot of opportunities to do so). Giorgio Tavecchio was also very good on his limited opportunities.
-
James Cowser had a nice game as a backup. He’s never going to be much more than a rotational guy, but as a rotational guy, he does offer good value to the team.
-
I thought Cory James had a nice game and is continuing to grow and improve. He’s not great but he’s solid and getting better which really lowers my concern about inside linebacker.
-
The defense actually kept the Raiders in the game for much longer than I expected they would. That’s a positive in my book.
-
I tried guys. I really did. I tried to find more than four positives. I couldn’t. Let’s get to the pain.
-
Nothing on offense worked. Not the play calling. Not the play execution. Not the blocking. Not the throwing. Not the catching. Nothing.
-
Amari Cooper had a drop on what should’ve been a catch early in the game that helped stall another offensive drive. Not the biggest of deals but given his recent history, it’s now become an issue. Six drops through two games is really bad.
-
The line of scrimmage was chaos. The offensive line was beaten consistently and Derek Carr never once looked comfortable, even in the few clean pockets he was given.
-
It really felt like Todd Downing went away from the run game way too quick. The game sure felt out of hand by halftime but the reality was, the Raiders were only trailing by two scores. There was plenty of time to recover and get a rhythm with Marshawn Lynch and the ground game but it never happened.
-
Both of Derek Carr’s interceptions felt like he was pushing. Trying a bit too hard. Even though one came at the very start of the game. This felt like preseason Derek Carr who takes risks he wouldn’t normally take in the regular season. Except it was the regular season.
-
Jared Cook is really the only person on offense who had even a decent day. He finished the game with four catches on six targets for 43 yards and a touchdown.
-
The Raiders did not convert on a single third down. Let that sink in for a moment before your brain explodes.
-
The Raiders actually lost yards on four different pass plays. That’s almost impressively bad.
-
The Raiders looked completely unprepared to play at the start of the game and uninterested in playing the rest of the game. They took a punch to the jaw early and played scared the rest of the game. An all around let down.
I to felt the team lacked focus from the start of the game. Was wonderimg if the days issues with Trump or Pledge of Allegiance had anything to do with it? We looked like the 10am ET #Raider team of old. Now we get a motivated Broncos team at home that will most certainly copy what Washington did.
I just wrote an article for the Ramble stating that the reason comes down to one thing; attitude. The Skins felt disrespected by the Raiders, fans and media and the Raiders seemed to be cruising. Typical trap game. Sometimes a loss like this is exactly what the Dr ordered to get a team back in track. It’s not all about Xs and Os. The mental aspect of the game is too often overlooked and was primary reason we lost.