Oakland players at a loss to explain dismal results
There were a few numbers one could have used to express the totality of the Raiders’ loss to the 49ers on Thursday night.
The Raiders’ defense allowed Nick Mullens, a third-string quarterback playing in his first NFL regular-season game, to compile a nearperfect passer rating (151.9).
The Raiders’ offense allowed more sacks (eight) than their defense has recorded (seven) this season.
Before a national TV audience, the Raiders were beaten 34-3 by a San Francisco team that, like them, had one win entering the game.
Yet in the visitors’ locker room at Levi’s Stadium late Thursday night, none of these
made the result easier to explain.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” tight end Jared Cook said, “because we know that the talent we have in this room is way better than that and way better than what we portray on the field. That’s the toughest thing, is just knowing you have all the pieces but the pieces aren’t doing right.”
“We have guys in there that can make big plays,” cornerback Daryl Worley said, “that can do it play-in and play-out. That’s why it’s just so baffling when things aren’t turning out in our favor, or we are giving up big plays and things are happening negatively for us.”
The Raiders are 1-7 halfway through their first season under head coach Jon Gruden, with Thursday’s loss following several themes that have loomed large this season.
In his NFL debut, Mullens led touchdown drives on his first two possessions. The first was a six-play, 75-yard breeze ending with Mullens finding a wide-open Pierre Garcon for a 24-yard touchdown pass. The second was a 13-play, 66-yard march that wore 7:24 off the clock.
“He had a couple of wideopen receivers early and inexcusable errors by us,” Gruden said of Mullens. “But if you can run the ball like the 49ers ran it tonight, it makes playing quarterback a whole lot easier.”
The Raiders entered with the NFL’s worst rushing defense, allowing 144.7 yards per game, and allowed the 49ers to gain 143. After Thursday’s game, their defense overall is allowing 31.5 points a game (31st in NFL) and 6.8 yards per play (32nd).
“It just seems like when we give one thing up, guys are trying to overdo or overcompensate,” Worley said. “On that first drive, for example, they were gashing us on the run a little bit. So when they got to the play-action, it did exactly what play-action was supposed to do, set guys up, and they were able to make a play down the field.”
After being sacked six times once in his first 67 regular-season NFL games, Derek Carr has been sacked six or more times twice in his past three games. On Thursday night, he was replaced by backup AJ McCarron with 11:45 left in the fourth quarter.
“We had a hard time protecting,” Gruden said. “The play selection was limited at that time. We were clearly behind. And we wanted to make sure that we took care of Derek.”
Carr completed 16 of 21 passes to eight receivers, but only running back Jalen Richard (four catches for 45 yards) had more than 30 receiving yards. Cook, who had two catches for 20 yards, admitted frustration with those results.
“It’s very frustrating,” Cook said. “I never quit, I never gave up. But it’s definitely a frustrating thing to be sitting at the record that you have, to be still going through some of the things that we’re going through as an offense and still not being able to put points on the board.”
Players said they did not question the effort Thursday night, even as results continued to elude them.
“Coming out of training camp, did I think this would be the first half of the season like this? No, I didn’t,” defensive tackle Frostee Rucker said. “But I do know guys work their tails off and I know guys do care and they’re passionate about their job. If we can string some wins together, it’ll look a little bit different. But it didn’t happen tonight.
“I’m sure we’re going to hear about it tomorrow. No one’s packing it in. Coach hasn’t quit. It’s not about next year, or the year after. It’s not about that. We’re trying to win. It’s just not happening right now.”