Can the Las Vegas Raiders overcome the slow starts? Here’s what needs to happen
No comeback this time for the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders faced another 14-point deficit. This time against the Los Angeles Chargers, and unlike in the two games the Raiders fell behind early, they couldn’t recover even though they mounted a second-half comeback.
Final score: Chargers 28, Raiders 14.
It was another slow start for the Raiders offense, particularly the run game that has been absent for the first quarter of the NFL season except for the game against the Miami Dolphins where Peyton Barber ran for over 100 yards.
In Monday’s game? The Raiders ran for 48 yards. Take that away and it’s all bad for the Raiders offense which had 0 yards in the first quarter.
“I think, if anything, hopefully it wakes us up a little bit,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said. “I think we need to start a lot faster, if I’m honest. We started the season great, but we don’t start games nearly good enough, yet. I think that is something we need to be better at.”
What needs to happen?
The Raiders need better protection at the guard position to give Carr time in the pocket and give running backs lanes to run.
Guard Richie Incognito hasn’t played a snap this season because of a calf injury and Denzelle Good was placed on injured reserve.
On Monday the Raiders started left guard John Simpson and right guard Jermaine Eluemunor. Both struggled against the Chargers.
Jordan Simmons came in late in the first quarter at right guard and got beat by the Chargers’ Jerry Tillery for a sack.
Raiders rookie right tackle Alex Leatherwood is also struggling.
The Chargers took advantage and sacked Carr four times, including a crucial one in the fourth quarter by Christian Covington. Daniel Carlson then missed a 52-yard field goal.
The Raiders got in position after a 51-yard pass play by Carr to Henry Ruggs III to the Chargers 35.
“I think for us to just keep going forward, we just need to be consistent,” Carr said. “We can’t have any big eyes. Just play football. We got some moving parts that we’re trying to help everyone as a unit going forward, and the expectation never changes. The expectation is to win every game.”
Here is how Pro Football Focus graded the offensive linemen: Leatherwood (36.6), Simmons (44.5), Andre James (48.1), Eluemunor (55.1) and Simpson (55.2).
Left tackle Kolton Miller had an overall PFF grade 73.6, but his pass-blocking grade was an 82.4. The other linemen were way below that (James 56.9, Leatherwood 48.5, Simpson 48.4, Eluemunor 42.8, Simmons 26.5).
Other area of concern in first half
The Raiders had more penalty yards (53) than total yards (51) in the first half.
“We had penalties that were ridiculous,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “We gave up some plays in the passing game today that you cannot give up. We didn’t play well in the first half.
“We cannot come out and take that many punches in the first round. I’m proud of our guys for showing the toughness to keep fighting, but that was ridiculous. They got on us and got after us in all three phases. And we found a way to make it a football game and give ourselves a chance, but it’s too hard in this league against good teams.”
Final analysis
The Raiders sit at 3-1 this season.
That is a surprise considering when the schedule came out that the Raiders could have started 0-2, but big plays by Carr, the offense and defense gave the Raiders those wins.
A win against an AFC West rival would’ve been sweeter for the Raiders, but a loss like this could help them in a long season.
The Raiders will next host the Chicago Bears (2-2) at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.
It will be a short week for the Raiders who will look at their injury report after losing several players, including starting cornerback Travyon Mullen Jr. because of a foot injury.
The Raiders need to make improvements on the offensive line in advance of their matchup against the Bears, led by defensive star and former Raider Khalil Mack.
The offensive line needs to play much better than the first four weeks of the season. If not, Mack may be saying hello to his former teammate.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 8:38 AM.
