The Las Vegas Raiders have been mostly bad for years. So, ranking and comparing rough moments in the franchise is a difficult task. There are so many to consider.
And this season has been a series of disappointments under new coach Pete Carroll. Every week, the Raiders see to make more mistake and lose in more unseemly and embarrassing ways.
But Sunday, they truly may have reached a new low as they were completely outplayed by the Cleveland Browns in a battle of 2-8 teams in a 24-10 loss and it was
never really close and the Raiders were beaten by double digits once again.
The Browns were starting rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders for the firs time and he became the first Browns quarterback since 1999 to win his first start.
The Browns are bad, but this game was never in doubt. All of the same Raiders’ problems showed themselves Sunday. This season is going nowhere and it’s getting worse.
Pete Carroll, Chip Kelly, Geno Kelly; why should any of them come back next year? This is one of those games, where the Allegiant Stadium fans booed from the start, where somebody could get fired.
This team is just not competing. They haven’t won six Week 6 and they have been beaten by double digits six times. They have scored 10 or fewer points in five times. The Raiders clinched their fourth straight losing season in the process of the Browns’ defeat.
They just can’t compete. It’s just all so bad.
Here are some key aspects of the game:
10 sacks:
This was a bad matchup going in and it was even worse than expected. The Raiders’ offensive line has been awful all season and the Browns, led by Myles Garrett, have a hot defense. In the end, the Browns sacked Smith 10 times. It was the most sacks allowed in a game by the Raiders since 1998. The Raiders have allowed 21 sacks in the past three games. Garrett had three sacks. He has 13 sacks in the past four games and 18 on the season. It was pure dominance.
Likely won’t get better soon:
The Browns dominated the Raiders and they are bad team. The Raiders won’t be facing many bad teams the rest of the way. They finish the season at the Chargers, at home against the Broncos, at the Eagles, at the Texans and at home against the Giants and the Chiefs. Only the Giants have a losing record of the Raiders’ remaining opponents.
Draft-pick win:
On the bright side, Sunday’s loss helped the Raiders’ draft -pick cause. They are now projected to pick fifth in the April draft.
Injuries on offense:
Not that the Raiders’ offense can use any more challenges, but tight end Michael Mayer suffered an ankle injury that forced him out. Carroll said it was a sprained ankle after the game. Also, Carroll said rookie running back Ashton Jeanty tweaked an ankle late. At the moment, it seems like Mayer’s injury may be more concerning, but it’s a fluid situation.
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More bad play on special teams:
The Raiders played their second game since special teams coach Tom McMahon was fired and replaced by assistant Darius Swinton on an interim basis. The season-long struggles on the unit continued Sunday. They were two penalties on punts and Daniel Carlson missed his sixth kick of the year. Remember, the Raiders recently signed Greg Joseph on the practice squad. So, if they want to make a change, they have an exit path from Carlson, who used to be so automatic.
Sanders does enough:
Sanders won his first NFL start. Sanders, whose father Deion Sanders was in attendance Sunday, wasn’t perfect but he was good enough against the team many people thought would draft him. But the Raiders bypassed Sanders several times before the Browns took him in the fifth round. Sunday, former Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said the Raiders would have not let him drop in the draft if he was still the team’s head coach. Pierce also said Raiders’ owner Mark Davis was on board with adding Sanders as well.
Penalties pile up:
The Raiders didn’t help themselves as they bad many sloppy mistakes. They had 13 penalties for 109 yards.
Jeanty continues as receiving threat:
Raiders’ running back Ashton Jeanty continued to be a force as a receiver. He had eight catches for 58 yards and a touchdown to go with 50 yards on 17 carries. Jeanty has 37 catches on the season.
Porter starts again:
After not starting last week against Dallas, third-round pick Darien Porter started for the fourth time this season Sunday.
Another hot defensive start:
The Browns went three-and put to start the game. It was the eighth time in 11 games the Raiders’ defense accomplished a three-and out to start the game. That’s leads the league.
Big Crosby accomplishment:
Raiders’ star defensive end Maxx Crosby matched Garret for brilliance by a defensive end in this game. Crosby had five tackles for loss in the game. He has four straight season with, at least, 15 tackles for loss. And there is a lot of season left. This was also Crosby’s 32nd game with multiple tackle for losses. He’s tied with T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in the NFL since 2019. This was his third game this season with three tackles for loss.
Same O-line:
For the second straight game, the Raiders had Will Putnam at center and Jordan Meredith at right guard as the navigate life with guard Jackson Powers-Johnson injured. Alex Capp replaced Putnam in the third quarter. Putnam replaced Meredith in the fourth quarter at guard. Still no Caleb Rogers.
Two down:
Linebacker Jamin Davis and defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway were both inactive Sunday after playing some on defense last week. Sixth-round pick defensive tackle J.J. Pegues was active.
Rogers active:
It was a big deal when third-round pick Caleb Rogers was inactive against Dallas last week after he was expected to play. The guard was active Sunday for the second game this season.
AOC is emergency QB:
The Raiders activated Aidan O’Connell to the 53-man roster last week. In his first game of the season, O’Connell was the emergency quarterback behind Geno Smith and Kenny Pickett. It will be interesting to see if that changes soon.
