Raiders play giveaway with lack of takeaways
OAKLAND >> The takeaway from the Raiders’ third consecutive loss is that there weren’t any.
No interceptions, no fumble recoveries, and it led to the bitter end of a 30-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at the Coliseum.
For all the prolific yardage figures the Raiders gave up a year ago en route to a 12-4 season, they hung their hats defensively on being decent in the red zone and being very good when it came to turnover margin.
The Raiders were in fact tied for the NFL lead with the Kansas City Chiefs at plus-16, and it was probably the most important stat other than the seven times Derek Carr delivered wins when the Raiders trailed in the fourth quarter.
With Carr sitting it out against Baltimore with a fractured transverse process in his back, it was even more incumbent upon the Raiders to take the ball away, get their crowd into it and reward backup quarterback EJ Manuel with either points on defense or a short field with which to operate.
The Raiders came into the game without a single interception and four fumble recoveries — and two of those came as a result of muffs because of towering punts by Marquette King.
The only takeaways for the defense through four games were a strip-sack and fumble recovery by Karl Joseph against the Jets that led to a touchdown when the Raiders were way ahead, and a fumble recovery by James Cowser against Washington that set up a short field goal in a game in which they were hopelessly behind.
In other words, no takeaways of consequence.
Takeaways figured to be readily available against a Baltimore team that had lost its two previous games by a combined score of 70-16. QB Joe Flacco came in with a streak of 10 consecutive games with an interception, longest in the NFL.
Instead, Flacco completed 19 of 26 passes for 222 yards and never came close to throwing one to the Raiders.
When asked how the Raiders could get back to being more larcenous and opportunistic, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said, “Play with more confidence. Fluttered balls in the air, not coming up with them. To me it’s a confidence thing.”
To be sure, the Raiders have their issues in the secondary. Sean Smith was torched for two long completions to Mike Wallace, and Flacco always seemed to find an open receiver on third down.
Starting cornerback David Amerson was out with a concussion, and first-round draft pick Gareon Conley, after very nearly getting an interception in his debut against the Jets in Week 2, has regressed to the point of being inactive two weeks running with a shin injury.
That being the case, the Raiders need to put pressure on the passer to force the fluttering passes Del Rio referred to, and Flacco, who wasn’t sacked, had way too much time to operate on Sunday. Defensive end Khalil Mack had eight tackles but wasn’t credited with a quarterback hit or tackle for loss.
If interceptions are the byproduct of rush and coverage, the Raiders were woefully deficient in both areas against Baltimore. And interceptions are really the key, because they’re far more reliable than fumble recoveries, which carry the element of luck provided by the shape of a football and the way it bounces.
Last season, the Raiders pounced on 14 fumbles to go along with 16 interceptions while turning it over only 14 times (seven lost fumbles, seven interceptions).
“You have to be more opportunistic in practice, going after the ball,” linebacker Bruce Irvin said. “You develop the second nature when you continuously do it in practice. It translates to Sunday. Be more aware of trying to get the ball in practice.”
Any rally staged by the Raiders to return to AFC West contention is going to have to include takeaways, and it seems the only way to fix it is to work on it during the week.
“We’ve got to keep working,” cornerback TJ Carrie said. “Last year, we were excellent in turnovers, and going into Week 6 we haven’t had an interception. The lack of turnovers has really hurt us. We’re used to winning those turnover battles and capitalizing.’’
Think of how much the ability to jump a pass route or strip a ball would have come in handy against Baltimore.
When linebacker Patrick Onwuasor punched the ball free from Jared Cook in the first quarter, it resulted in a 47-yard gift touchdown by the Ravens’ Jimmy Smith for a 14-0 lead before fans had settled in their seats.
Contrast that with Cowser doing the same thing to Benjamin Watson in the fourth quarter, with the ball going harmlessly out of bounds instead of remaining on the field of play, where the Raiders could recover it.
“It starts in practice and preparation,” Joseph said. “We’ve clearly got to prepare better and practice better for (turnovers) to happen. Go after the ball, man. We’ve got to go after the ball when it’s in the air.”
After five weeks and three straight losses, we’re still waiting.