After starting 2-0, Oakland finds itself in a four-game skid
OAKLAND >> Just three weeks ago, the Raiders were one of three undefeated teams left in the NFL.
Now they’re on a precipitous downfall with no clearcut solution to stop the bleeding, and arguably the best football team in the world marches into the Coliseum in just four days.
Everyone within the team insists the Raiders are so close. According to Sunday’s score, a 17-16 loss to the Chargers (24) at the Coliseum, that would be so. Yet four straight losses have Oakland light years from where it started at 2-0. The 5-1 Kansas City Chiefs visit for a prime-time matchup on Thursday night. The 2-4 Raiders, after Nick Novak’s field goal split the uprights as time expired, suddenly occupy the AFC West’s cellar.
Not long ago, the Raiders were thought to be a Super Bowl contender. But through just six weeks, Oakland has already equaled last year’s loss total.
“If you ever go into a fight an you get punched, you don’t just stop,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said. “If you do then that says something about you.”
Regardless of their actions or their fight or anything else, the Raiders aren’t good on offense. The supposed strong suit of this team has posted fewer than 20 points in four straight games. Almost three of those have been with a Pro Bowl quarterback at the helm.
For the second time this year, Carr threw an interception on his first pass of the game. A pick ended the Raiders’ first drive of the second half, too. Carr didn’t own a single two-interception game last season but has two such games of the five he’s played this year.
Carr, who returned after missing only one game with reportedly three transverse process fractures in his back, insisted his ailing lower back didn’t hinder him.
“It’s good to have him back,
I know that,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. “He mis threw a couple things, but I thought for the most part he was fairly sharp.”
After being outscored 31-3 in the first quarters in Weeks 3-5, Oakland struck first Sunday. A Carr-to-Michael Crabtree 23-yard connection put the Raiders ahead for their first lead since the final buzzer against the Jets four weeks ago. The fourth lead change of the day three quarters later saw Oakland take a two-point lead after Cordarrelle Patterson’s 47-yard touchdown run, but Jon Condo’s errant snap led to Giorgio Tavecchio’s first missed extra point of the season.
The Chargers, notorious for losing close games with Philip Rivers at the helm, had under five minutes to work with. They only needed a field goal to take the lead. Melvin Gordon’s 25th rush, a 5-yard carry for a first down, gave the Chargers a chip shot. Four seconds remained and Novak had a chance to win from 32 yards. And a field goal is exactly what they got.
“It just seems like when it rains it pours for us right now,” Condo said. “Nothing has gone right for us.”
Key plays
CARR’S SECOND INTERCEPTION >> With a chance to stretch his lead to two scores, Carr tossed a pick in the red zone on the Raiders’ first drive of the third quarter. Carr methodically worked his way downfield with a 10-7 lead before his pass intended for Marshawn Lynch over the middle was picked. The ball deflected off Lynch’s left hand and into the grasp of Hayes Pullard. The Chargers gained possession at their own 11-yard line. While L.A. didn’t do anything with the ensuing drive after a third-down sack by Bruce Irvin, Carr’s pick kept the Chargers within a field goal for that much longer.
DAVID AMERSON FUMBLE
RECOVERY >> Rivers found Tyrell Williams on a crossing route on third-and-9 for 16 yards late in the third quarter, but Dexter McDonald punched the ball out at the end of Williams’ run and Amerson pounced on it just inside Chargers’ territory. It was only the Raiders’ third defensive takeaway this season, along with James Cowser’s fumble recovery at Washington and Karl Joseph’s fumble recovery against the Jets.
MELVIN GORDON’S LAST
FIRST-DOWN RUN >> The Chargers faced a thirdand-3 from the Raiders’ 15-yard line with 1:40 left. Oakland had just used its final timeout, so a stop would presumably give the Raiders possession with about a minute left, down one. All they needed was one last stop. But they didn’t get it, and Gordon’s 5-yard run allowed Rivers to kneel twice before setting up Novak for a chip shot.
Key players
MELVIN GORDON >> Los Angeles’ dual-threat running back was Rivers’ main weapon all afternoon. The third-year back, like Washington’s Chris Thompson, tormented the Raiders in the passing game. Gordon caught nine passes for 67 yards and a go-ahead receiving touchdown early in the fourth. He also ran 25 times for 83 yards and a score.
MARSHAWN LYNCH >> None of Lynch’s first 57 carries this season went for more than 14 yards. His first on Sunday went for 15. In the first half alone, Lynch ran for the second-most yards he’s tallied in a single game this season. His 49 yards in the opening 30 minutes only trailed his 76 rushing yards from Week 1 at Tennessee. Against the Chargers league-worst rushing defense, Lynch probably didn’t fare as well as he should’ve after a lackluster second half, though. Still, for him, it was improvement. Lynch finished with 63 yards on 13 carries — good for 4.8 yards per carry. He came into the game averaging less than 4 yards per rush.
HUNTER HENRY >> The young tight end caught five passes for 90 yards, including two crucial catches totaling 57 yards on the Chargers’ final drive. One brought L.A. from its own eight-yard line to the 42, and the second advanced the ball from the Chargers’ 44-yard line to Oakland’s 33. Henry has assumed the bulk of the tight end work over future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates, and the Raiders fell victim to what he’s capable of Sunday.