Another wasted lead for the Raiders.
The Raiders had a strong start Sunday against the Jaguars, thanks to Derek Carr and Davante Adams as they bolted to a 17-0 second-quarter lead.
But the defense failed … again. For the third time this season, the Raiders blew a big lead.
And all those have resulted in losses in a 2-6 season, the latest a 27-20 debacle in an NFL Week 9 game.
The Raiders had a 20-0 lead against the Cardinals and lost 29-23 in overtime. Las Vegas played the Kansas City Chiefs and led 17-0 only to lose 30-29.
The Raiders’ defense couldn’t get off the field against the lowly Jaguars (3-6). Jacksonville’s two touchdown drives lasted 11:56, keeping the Las Vegas offense on the sideline for long stretches.
“We did a decent enough job to still put ourselves in a decent position moving into the second half and then, we just, basically fell apart,” Adams said.
“I don’t even know how else to even characterize it. But it’s frustrating. Ain’t no way .we should be losing games at the rate we are, let alone the way that we are.”
What should the Raiders do about what now appears to be officially a lost season?
Fire coach Josh McDaniels? He’s on the hot seat and so, too, should Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
“Obviously we’ve had to swallow some difficult ones this year,” McDaniels said. “I have a lot of confidence and faith in the way that these guys will respond. They always do.”
The Jaguars offense kept having its way against the Raiders.
Jacksonville scored on back-to-back touchdowns for a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter. In fact, the Jaguars scored the final 20 points.
The Raiders could never get it going again after a field goal made it 20-7 late in the first half. The Raiders’ final five offensive possessions ended punt, punt, punt, loss on downs and a fumble on a final desperation fourth-down series of laterals.
Inexcusable for the Raiders after a 17-0 lead when Carr and Adams created some quick magic, only for all that to go to waste.
Adams finished with 10 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Said Carr: “We have to learn that the game is not over. I feel like I’ve been in this situation a lot where new coaches or this or that and you have to teach the new guys like this is how we do it and this is the mentality. That gets tiring, but at the same time, it’s my job. There is some of that. I’ll say that right now for those things. But there are things in-house that we’ll talk about man to man and all that kind of stuff that could be addressed.”
What’s next?
Will Raiders owner Mark Davis consider firing McDaniels in-season? Probably not, but he should give such a move strong consideration after the season at the very least.
Davis is big on making big-time hires like he did when he brought back Jon Gruden on a 10-year, $100 million contract — only to see Gruden abruptly resign last season after emails surfaced that detailed disturbing comments.
Rich Bisaccia served as the interim head coach, leading the Raiders to the postseason.
He wasn’t brought back as the permanent replacement for Gruden. Instead, Davis chose McDaniels who didn’t have a strong résumé as a head coach when he was with the Broncos.
It’s been a colossal failure.
Fans want him and Graham gone. And you can’t really blame Raider Nation for feeling that way, after boosters looked forward to the season given a huge trade for Adams and coming off a playoff appearance.
Mark Davis Please Sell us Your Ruining our Raiders Franchise FROM RAIDER NATION
— RAGIN RAIDER RHINO (@corykuz78) November 6, 2022
Could the Raiders possibly lure former Saints coach Sean Payton, who joined the Fox broadcast team this season, if Davis decides to take the franchise in another direction? Why not? Raider Nation deserves better than what McDaniels has delivered.
Fans want results, but aren’t likely to seem them this season, now that the big-time hopes of the preseason and dreams of a repeat run to the playoffs are seemingly gone.