Raiders Challenge Now Is To Keep Bottom From Falling Out

The Las Vegas Raiders left the field feeling very different after their 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots. It was a complete 180 from their 30-27 losss to the Kansas City Chiefs, which left the Raiders thinking they could compete with anyone. 

But New England dominated Las Vegas in all facets of the game, and the blowout on the scoreboard told a fairly complete story. The Raiders were able to do some things offensively and score 17 points, but this game was never really close after the two teams swapped touchdowns in the opening quarter. 

Thankfully, coach Klint Kubiak showed a high level of urgency about what happened, according to a piece by Sam Warren of The Athletic. He called it a “very disappointing performance” from everyone, and Kubiak made it a point to include both coaches and players in that statement. 

The urgency is justified. Defensive end Maxx Crosby summed it up by pointing out that it’s possible to feel like the best team in the world one week and come crashing down the next, and he kept to his current mantra about getting better. 

The big problem was that the Raiders looked outmatched from the start, as Warren noted. Kubiak blamed himself for abandoning the run too early, but it’s hard to fault him for that decision given how easily the Patriots were moving the ball and scoring touchdowns. 

The coach also elected to stick with a banged-up Ashton Jeanty at running back despite the availability of rookie Mike Washington Jr., but it’s hard to see how this would have made much of a difference. 

Kubiak said that playing from behind made it a “passing game” as the reason Washinton wasn’t more involved, which somewhat contradicts his earlier statement about abandoning the run too soon. 

The Raiders also struggled to protect quarterback Kirk Cousins, which became a bigger isssue as the game continued to unfold. The counter to that was that Patriots quarterback Drake May had all kinds of time to throw, as he was pressured on just 26.3 percent of his dropbacks, per Warren.

The larger question now is whether this is simply about personnel and talent. As Warren pointed out, rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses got beat for a pair of touchdowns, but his backup, Darien Porter, also got beat for multiple big plays. The season is only five games old, but the Raiders may have already reached their ceiling.