Colts Gash Raiders

Final Score: IND 44 LV 27 [L] (7-6)

There's something extra sour when losing to a team with Philip Rivers under center. The Colts dominate the Raiders on the ground and through the air in a 44-27 rout. This loss puts a little dent on the Raiders' playoff hopes.

This is the repercussions from last week's ugly. You struggle against the worst team in the NFL, what more with a playoff contender coming to town? Although, the Raiders play up to par against playoff contenders throughout this season. It looked that way when the Raiders took the lead 14-10 in the 2nd quarter. Then a 41-yard bomb to T.Y. Hilton from Philip Rivers pretty much sucked all the momentum away. It wasn't until the 4th quarter where this game really got away from the Raiders.

The run defense got exposed last week after giving up 104 yards to a "no-name" in Ty Johnson. With the Colts' strong running game behind the trio of Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines, and Jordan Wilkins, it was going to be a tall task to stop them on the ground. And this game proved it. Taylor got the majority of the carries and gashed the defense with 120 rushing yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries. Hines added 58 yards on the ground with 7 carries. The Colts were able to dominate the time of possession early on. They also got a pair of TDs through the air as T.Y. Hilton got 5 receptions for 86 yards and 2 TDs. The last TD, Johnathan Abram got burned big time. That is something he's going to need to work on to be an effective Safety for the Raiders.

The passing game was the only thing that was working for the Raiders, but they had a mixed performance overall. Josh Jacobs is not clearly 100% for the running game to be effective. So, all eyes were on Derek Carr. He got off to a good start, finding Foster Moreau wide open for 47 yards for the Raiders' first score. Then he dished out another dime TD to Nelson Agholor to briefly give the Raiders their first lead and it was their only lead that game. Carr finished with 31 passes of 45 attempts with 2 TDs, 1 Rush TD to add at the end of the game. But, the 2 picks were costly. The first INT, it was an impressive play from Kenny Moore, outjumping Darren Waller with a one-handed grab. The 2nd pick pretty much sealed the game as Carr threw a pick 6. You can make the argument that the 2nd INT was not his fault as the ball ricochet off Jalen Richard's hands. But, that pretty much signaled game over. The Raiders racked up another score after, but it didn't matter anyways.

We've been here before if last year was any indication. The Raiders were in the hunt at 6-4 and they just either ran into the better teams or embarrassed by teams they were supposed to beat. Standing at 7-6, there's no room for error. Miami is still a threat. There's heavy implications there, but that's not until Week 16. The Raiders are gonna come off a short week to take on the Chargers in a divisional matchup. The last time these two teams met, the Raiders were able to get away as the would-be Chargers go-ahead TD was waived off. Regardless, they're gonna be a handful. Justin Herbert has been a standout rookie QB for them. Playoffs is not out of the question. But, these last few games after the Sunday Nighter against KC, I have not been impressed. Suspect play on defense. Inconsistency on offense. It's not looking good these last few weeks. I'll see you guys on Thursday.

Update: Raiders Fire Paul Guenther - So, they finally pulled the plug after two and a half seasons. Guenther was going to get canned eventually with the way this defense has performed during his tenure. Let's be honest, the defensive talent is leaps and bounds away from where they needed to be. And Guenther's defensive schemes didn't mask it well. It also begs the question that maybe the Raiders need to abandon the 4-3 scheme completely. You think about all the Raiders DCs, they've ran the 4-3, but it's the same stuff, different year, different coordinator. Run defense is trash. The pass rush is always one or two steps behind. Linebackers and defensive backs look lost. It's always the same stuff every year even if they think they have the talent to take the next step. But nonetheless, the writing was already on the wall for Paul Guenther. We gave him the benefit of a doubt in his first year since the Raiders traded Khalil Mack and were crying for more pass rush. But since then, no improvement whatsoever. Whether it's the talent or the scheme, something has to change. And with Rod Marinelli taking over, by all accounts, I still have zero expectations that this defense is going to get better from here on out.