Sunday Night Dud: Raiders Stagnant vs. Redskins

Welcome to an impromptu recap of last night's game where the Raiders didn't look their best in front of a nationwide audience. Derek Carr throws for 2 INTs as the Raiders get crushed by the Redskins 10-27 behind Kirk Cousins' 3 TD game.

Listening to a very melancholic Greg Papa on 95.7 The Game while at work is not always a good thing. This was a terrible game overall by the Raiders. The fact that they were down 0-21 against a very short-handed Redskins team spoke volumes that this team got punked around last night. It was like the Raiders of the last 14 years came back to life and took the souls of this team. Pathetic performance all-around. The other fact that this game was nationally televised, the verdict is in and America and the rest of the world are not convinced that this Raiders team is a legitimate Super Bowl contender after this shellacking. 

(+)

There were not a lot of positives to point out of this game. There are highlights though. Cowser's two fumble recoveries that helped the Raiders get back into this game for a bit. Khalil Mack's 2nd sack this season. Jared Cook's TD to end the depressing shutout. But other than that, there was not a lot of major positives to point out of this game.

(-)

The entire offense. From top to bottom, the offense deserved a big fat negative after this game. As mentioned Derek Carr threw 2 INTs to start. The offensive line gave up 4 sacks. The receivers were a non-factor. The running game was a non-factor. I'm looking at the stats sheet right now on Yahoo Sports, the offense only managed 128 total yards compared to the Redskins' 472 total yards of offense. For a team that was leading in scoring, that performance was beyond pathetic. I looked at Carr's INTs in the highlights. The first one looked like a lame duck to Cooper. The ball hung in the air for a long time and the Redskins' secondary took advantage of it and made a play. The 2nd one was all Carr. Seth Roberts was almost double covered on that 2nd INT. That was a pretty bad decision on Carr's part. I don't know if it was the National Anthem protest, but the entire offense didn't play like a unit. Too much miscommunication between Carr and the Receivers and the O-line was inexplicably getting beat and not doing much to get the run game going.

Sean Smith. Vernon Davis is not the player he once was. Last night, he beat Sean Smith like a bush twice. I'm sorry, if you get burned by a past-his-prime Vernon Davis, that is embarrassing. When the Raiders got Smith last offseason, I had high hopes for him. I really did. I saw from a knowledgeable poster in Raider Nation forums that Smith only played 3 snaps last night. At this point, it is countdown to the end of the season when the Raiders can finally release without adding dead money to the salary cap.

David Amerson. Amerson continues to regress since he got that extension. I mean this game was the game where you show up your old team. And after this game, Amerson just proved the Redskins right in releasing him two seasons ago. The most noted lowlight in this game from Amerson was that he got absolutely "Moss'd" by Josh Doctson on the Redskins' third TD of the game.

MVP

James Cowser, 3 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries

Cowser was one of the lone bright spots this game. He kept the Raiders alive by recovering a pair of fumble recoveries both on Special Teams and Defense. In a game where nobody deserves MVP, I gotta thank Cowser for at least giving the Raiders a pulse in which they were pretty much dead throughout the game.



Conclusion

Well, the silver lining from this loss is that it's better to get punched in the mouth now while it's still early in the season. It also reminds the Raiders that they're still a young team. 2-0 to start, confidence is riding high. The team feels as if they're on top of the world, then they get hit by reality with the loss. The loss last night should serve a reminder for the Raiders to respect every team they face from here on out. There are no "gimmies" in the NFL. The Raiders will look to rebound next week in a very critical divisional game early in the season. Von Miller, the "No Fly Zone" unit of Talib and Harris, and the rest of the Broncos defense are always a tough test. The Broncos clearly took advantage of Carr's injury the last time the Raiders traveled to Denver. With Carr back, expect this to be another chess match because this team matches up well with the Broncos with all their pieces in place. I'll be back to provide another recap like this next week. But after Week 4, it'll be back to Open Thread and Full Recap posts. I'll see you guys later.