Raiders get humbled in overwhelming loss in Washington
ALAMEDA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders have prided themselves on always being competitive in two-plus seasons under coach Jack Del Rio.
That sure wasn’t the case on national television Sunday night when the Raiders delivered a performance more reminiscent of the struggles that preceded Del Rio’s arrival in 2015 than the play that had many labeling them a Super Bowl contender after two wins to open the season.
Oakland was thoroughly dismantled by Washington in a 27-10 loss that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated. The Raiders were outgained 472-128 for the fifth-most lopsided total in franchise history and looked lost on both sides of the ball from start to finish.
“We’re taking our lumps today,” Del Rio said. “We know it’s a miserable Monday when you don’t get it done on Sunday. We’re dealing with that. We’ll take it like men and move on. Clearly, it wasn’t anything close to what we know we’re capable of. We’ll go back to the drawing board, we’ll make our corrections and we’ll move on.”
Now the Raiders (2-1) must fix the problems that arose in Washington before they travel to Denver for a showdown with the Broncos (2-1) that will leave the loser in third place in the ultra-competitive AFC West.
The offensive woes started early as a usually stout offensive line struggled to give Derek Carr his usual time to throw or clear holes for Marshawn Lynch and the running game. The tone was set when Carr threw an interception on the second play from scrimmage on a deep pass to Amari Cooper and things only got worse from there for the offense.