Las Vegas Raiders suffer a third straight loss and QB Derek Carr admits, ‘I’m fed up’
.JPG "Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr throws the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, in Las Vegas.")
Another slow start by the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense again spelled doom.
Despite the defense doing about all it could to help keep the team in position to score.
It all added up to another Raiders loss, this time to the Cincinnati Bengals, 32-13, on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.
A promising start, won-loss wise, to the year is turning into another disaster in what many had hope would be a season in which Las Vegas would trend upward. The Raiders dropped to 5-5.
“Being a Raiders fan for a long time, 20 years of this crap is enough. I’m fed up. I just want to be a part of the moment it changes,” said Raiders quarterback Derek Carr who finished with 215 passing yards and a touchdown, but also threw an interception and lost a fumble. “I want that so bad. That’s what keeps driving me.
“I get pissed off and I get upset and I stand up here and I’ve done this way too many times than I like to do it because in my heart, the men in our room, the way we work and the way we go after things, it shouldn’t always end like this crap.”
The upcoming schedule does not favor a turnaround by any stretch.
Las Vegas now has a short week ahead of a Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys. The next three games on the schedule after that include a home game against the Washington Football Team before traveling to cold weather cities Kansas City and Cleveland.
The Chiefs and Browns have a combined record of 13-9.
Las Vegas had started the past two seasons at 6-4, only to then struggle and extend the franchise’s streak of missing out on the postseason. The Raiders last reached the playoffs in 2016 and last won a postseason game in 2002.
The defense, at fault throughout much of the playoff drought, has offered glimmers of hope this season. But the offense continually has struggled; even in games in which Carr and Co. have put up points and won, slow starts have been common.
Las Vegas talked this week about taking advantage of opportunities in the red zone, where it ranked 26th in the NFL entering Sunday’s game. But the Raiders were just 1 for 3 inside the 20 against the Bengals.
The Raiders’ defense helped set up the offense in the first quarter when Yannick Ngakoue forced a fumble that was recovered by Dallin Leavitt, who ran the ball for 30 yards to the Cincinnati 9.
Did the offense capitalize? Barely.
Peyton Barber ran for 3 yards and Carr threw for minus-2 along with an incomplete pass. The Raiders settled for a Daniel Carlson field goal.
Las Vegas had second-and-4 from the Cincinnati 29 early in the second quarter, but after Josh Jacobs ran for a yard, Carr was pressured and had to throw the ball away, and Carlson came back on to give the Raiders a 6-3 lead.
With under 3 minutes to go in the half, Las Vegas had third-and-6 at midfield but tried to run instead of pass and Kenyan Drake was stopped after a 3-yard gain and the Raiders had to punt.
A third-quarter connection, with Carr hitting Foster Moreau for a 19-yard touchdown to make it 16-13 provided some hope, but the Bengals scored the next 13 points.
Cincinnati capitalized on a Carr interception with 4:51 remaining, capped by a Joe Mixon 20-yard touchdown to put the game away for good.
Now a loss at Dallas would mean an uphill battle to finish even respectably in a season that was marred by Jon Gruden’s resignation and the team releasing Henry Ruggs III after a fatal, suspected DUI crash.
The defense should continue to be enough to keep the team in most games. It is up to to the offense, which even interim coach Rich Bisaccia described as “out of sync.”
Carr is hoping the tide changes.
“All I want to do is win a game,” Carr said. “We got one coming up and hopefully it’s a different feeling.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2021 at 6:04 PM.
