The Oakland Raiders looked to put in another strong performance after playing well but ultimately losing to the San Diego Chargers the week before. Their opponent this week was an equally impressive team in the Arizona Cardinals. The same effort was there, and the Raiders made things interesting by pulling within one in the third quarter, but the class and talent of the Cardinals proved too much to overcome.
Oakland Raiders – Last Winless Team in the NFL
Dropped balls and penalties continue to be issues for the Raiders. Head coach Tony Sparano has repeatedly said that Oakland needs to stop beating themselves and this was true once again against the Arizona. Andre Holmes dropped a perfect pass that would have resulted in a long gain, and rookie TJ Carrie had a long punt return called back due to an illegal block by Brice Butler. Both plays would have put the Raiders in scoring position.
What is more concerning though are their defensive struggles on third down. The Raiders came into the game giving up a league worst 51.4 percent third down conversion rate on defense. Against the Cardinals they gave up 60 percent. The Raiders themselves converted just four of 12 third down attempts. This large discrepancy resulted in the Cardinals possessing the ball for 36:57 compared to Oakland’s 23:03.
“It’s hard to win games like that. In my world, it’s the other way, and we have to get it that way” said Sparano. The veterans on defense aren’t sure how to correct the issues. Said long-time NFL safety Charles Woodson. “It’s killing us. We were, for the most part, able to play good football on the early downs, but for whatever reason, third downs – I don’t know if there’s a lack of focus or what it is on third downs, but it’s definitely our Achilles heel right now.”
The Raiders youth continued to impress, and this may be the only positive at this point. Derek Carr wasn’t as impressive as he was against the Chargers, but still managed to complete 57% of his passes for 173 yards, and no turnovers. On defense, rookie Khalil Mack tallied ten tackles, applied decent pressure, and even received high praise from opposing quarterback Carson Palmer.
Said Carr on if being 0-6 is wearing on him mentally, “I can speak for myself, it won’t wear on me just because the kind of person I am. If we were 6-0 right now or if we’re 0-6, I promise you I’d be talking to you the same way that I am now and I’d be praising God right now just like I am and I’d be praising him if we were 6-0. I’m never going to change. So for me, I just keep my head down and I keep working, because you’re going to be praised a lot in this game, you’re going to be criticized a lot. You’ve got to ignore both because neither matter. You’ve just got to keep your head down and keep fighting.”
Raiders fans are hoping his teammates will do the same.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @LWOSKingJonKing. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo:
