NFL Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders’ Inept Offense Dooms Them To Another Loss In Week 11

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By @Kevin_Saito

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

If you needed an indicator about how bad the day was going to be for the Oakland Raiders, their very first play from scrimmage should have told you all you needed to know. With the offense lined up and ready to run a play, QB Derek Carr took a step forward – perhaps to call an audible – but C Stefan Wisniewski snapped the ball, which bounced off of Carr before hitting the ground. The San Digeo Chargers fell on the ball and stuck it in the endzone two plays later for a 7-0 lead. And after falling behind early yet again, the Raiders’ offense never seemed to recover.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a full calendar year since the Raiders last won a game. But then, seeing the offensive ineptitude on display in San Diego on Sunday afternoon, it makes it a little more believable.

Oakland’s offense wasted a solid effort by the defense, one in which they played for the full 60 minutes. The Raiders’ defense did a decent job against the run, didn’t get burned by a lot of big plays, put a lot of pressure on Chargers QB Philip Rivers and in general, kept the San Diego offense in check. The Raiders’ defense knocked Rivers around for much of the game, with standout rookie Khalil Mack notching his first NFL sack.

But it all went for naught as the Oakland offense once again sputtered, stalled and couldn’t manage to get anything going. Though Carr was only sacked once by the Chargers, he faced constant pressure as the San Diego defense did a good job blasting their way through the Raiders’ offensive line. With defenders in his face and running for his life most of the day, Carr was harassed into yet another poor performance. Despite making some terrific throws, he finished the day 11-24 for 87 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and a miserable 55.4 QB rating.

In what is becoming an all too familiar refrain, the OC Greg Olson and the Raiders once again abandoned their running game. It was a close game and though they were trailing, it wasn’t like they were so far behind they had no choice but to throw the ball. But for reasons that are as inexplicable today as they have been all season, Olson and HC Tony Sparano continue to avoid even giving the running game a token nod. Darren McFadden touched the ball eight times – with the majority of his carries coming up the middle, rather than utilizing his speed to get him to the edge – for a total of 21 yards. Maurice Jones-Drew had four carries for six yards. Marcel Reece carried once for one yard, and the highly talented but vastly underutilized Latavius Murray carried the ball three times for a total of 42 yards.

By the time Murray had energized the offense though, it was too late. Though he was gashing the Chargers’ defense and ripping off big runs, it was too late in the game to establish a rushing attack – one San Diego would have to respect. Instead, Olson and Sparano threw far more often than they should have, and allowed San Diego to sit back in coverage rather than make them account for a running back.

The Raiders are a mess. They had a solid defensive showing in holding the Chargers, who have one of the league’s more explosive offenses, to a mere 13 points. But their offense has done nothing in weeks, and the ineptitude we see on the field is in large part due to the ineptitude on the Raiders’ sidelines. The play calling has been atrocious, the overall game planning even worse, and when you add it all together, you understand why this club – despite having a load of talent – is now 0-10 on the season.

And with just four days to go until they square off with the Kansas City Chiefs, they have very little time to figure it out if they hope to avoid taking another step toward a winless season.

Kevin Saito is a fiction writer, sports junkie, history nerd, and NFL contributor to www.RantSports.com  Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or on Google

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