Okay. Time to drive this double time on the blog home with this. The Raiders returned home after an ugly loss in New England last week. Still, it was the same old story as the Raiders couldn't rebound in a 30-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills who are riding high to a 4-0 start.
This was pretty much a repeat theme from the Patriots loss last week. A lot of points left out there on the field, but you can only do so much with so many injuries. I mentioned last week, that I wouldn't put too much blame on the defense. This week, yes they are a negative this game. They were disappointing to start. No push, no pressure whatsoever. I'm pretty sure the gameplan was not to let Josh Allen run out of the pocket because he's prone to do that when he feels pressure. But it backfired in a hurry as Allen was able to sit in the pocket and find targets with ease.
It didn't help that the secondary was dropping like flies and coming in and out of the game to create a lot of inconsistencies. That showed on the first TD of the game for Buffalo. Amik Robertson filled in with injuries to LaMarcus Joyner and Nevin Lawson. He gets burned for a 26-yard TD to Gabriel Davis.
The defense overall didn't play well this game. I'm not surprised that Paul Guenther is on the hot seat. What bothers me more is that I'm not seeing the impact play from Clelin Ferrell on the D-line. Four weeks into the season, I just don't see it. The fact that the Raiders reached him that high last year is still a headscratcher to me. He was a decent prospect, but definitely not top 5 pick material.
For the offense, it was the same story this game. I won't put the blame too much on Derek Carr. Although, he did fumble the ball late in the 4th to deny the Raiders a bid for a comeback. There was a lot of points left out there on the table. Untimely penatlies, drops, and a crucial fumble by Darren Waller in a one-score game cost the offense so many positive drives this game. Going back to Carr, it's not completely his fault today. He put the ball where it needed and Waller and Nelson Agholor, as solid of a game they had in the receiving game, didn't put enough effort to make a play in critical situations. Like last week, the offense was most effective in scoring during the 2-minute drill in the first half and in garbage time when the game is well out of reach.
The injuries to the offensive side of the ball is catching up to the running game, which is the Raiders' strength. This is where the extended absences of Henry Ruggs, Trent Brown, and Richie Incognito make an impact. The Raiders rushed for only 86 yards. Josh Jacobs certainly struggled to find holes to the open field with 48 rushing yards on 12 carries. He only had 2 big 10+ yards this game, but that's not saying much. It's frustrating to watch that run game struggle without Brown and Incognito on the O-line and Ruggs out there to stretch the field. As I said, these injuries are hindering on what is the biggest strength of the Raiders' offense.
As I mentioned, the Raiders get the toughest 5-week stretch to open up the season before their bye week. The only surprise was the win against New Orleans, but everything else has been expected. The last two losses, Buffalo and New England are expected go neck-and-neck in the race for the AFC East. Next week, the Raiders visit Patty Mahomes earlier than expected in Arrowhead. And judging by these recent losses, they are still far away from catching up to the Chiefs in terms of talent. But, the Raiders have to show us they can hang around for 60 minutes. Last year's matchups against these Chiefs were brutal with the blowouts.
Most of all, next week is probably Derek Carr's legacy game. There are two black marks on Carr's career with the Raiders: his Win-Loss ratio and the fact that he's 0-6 at Arrowhead. Mahomes is everything that we expected out of Carr and more. As devoid of talent he has on the offense, Derek Carr has to elevate what he currently has around him. This week is not his fault entirely. But next week, he has to play like a franchise quarterback. No exceptions. No garbage time stats. I'll see you guys next week.
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