In their home opener, the Oakland Raiders engaged in yet another shootout, this time with the Atlanta Falcons. After coming away with the win against the New Orleans Saints, Derek Carr and the Raiders came up just short at home. However, the young quarterback is not to blame.
Oakland Raiders Week Two Takeaways
The Defense
The defense was bad yet again this week. They gave up well over 500 yards and 35 points against the Falcons, and they failed to make the plays that mattered. Towards the end of the game, the Raiders desperately needed a stop and the defense couldn’t deliver. Instead of playing in a 3-4 or the Cover Three defense that the Seattle Seahawks have revolutionized, they’ve been playing a lazy Tampa-two defense without the proper personnel.
Instead of letting linebackers Bruce Irvin and Khalil Mack stand up and rush the passer, they’ve been stuck playing defensive end. This has to change as Mack has yet to register a single sack this season. The Raiders continue to misuse corner Sean Smith, and rookie Karl Joseph remains inexplicably absent from the starting lineup.
The Offense
Yet again, Derek Carr and the Oakland offense played great. Carr threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns and looked fantastic. Any questions about how good the Raider offense really is should be thrown out the window. Amari Cooper played well, Clive Walford had a long touchdown, and Michael Crabtree has become Carr’s favorite receiver in the redzone. Carr connected with eleven different receivers, often opting to take the safe, effective play over the deep aggressive play.
Many people will criticize Crabtree for going out of bounds of the final play of the game, but honestly, there’s not much he could’ve done. The big lateral finish hardly ever works, and the Raiders were already doomed.
Bad Luck
Only one team in NFL history has won every single game, and it hasn’t happened in the modern era. The Raiders are a young team on the rise, but they’re not going to win every game. Oakland put on a show and were only a couple of plays away from winning the game and starting out 2-0 for the first time since 2002. The Raiders can’t be expected to win them all, and the Raider Nation shouldn’t lose hope just yet. Especially with the beatable Tennessee Titans on the horizon.
The Raiders need to find an identity on defense. On offense, they could probably run the ball more, but Carr and company have played great. This Raiders team has a ton of potential, and impatient fans should remember how bad things used to be.
