Raiders Round-Up week 4: Going to California

There’s an old saying in poker: “You can’t win the tournament on day one, but you can lose it on day one.” That saying was especially true this week as the Raiders dug themselves a first half hole that they just couldn’t crawl out of. 

 

The Raiders headed to Los Angeles without QB Jimmy Garoppolo (concussion protocol), and decided to turn the reins over to rookie Aiden O’Connell. Not to be confused with journeyman actor Jerry O’Connell, Aiden is very much the new guy on the field, and it was clear that the Chargers’ game plan was to bring as much pressure as possible. 

 

It seemed like the Raiders were going to be in for a long day right from the start, as horrible tackling and run defense allowed the Chargers offense to fly down the field. An offsides penalty on the Raiders erased a Maxx Crosby third down sack, and the Chargers took advantage by punching the ball in for an early 7-0 lead.

 

Now was the time for Aiden O’Connell. The first drive was horrible, a miserable 3-and-out that was capped off by a Kalil Mack sack. The Raiders then stepped up on defense, getting the ball back quickly, and O’Connell led a beautiful drive down the field. He took the ball over the goal line himself, and the Raiders tied the game 7-7. 

 

The team screamed in excitement and made the rest of Raiders Nation scream, too. Was this the dawning of a new era? Did we have the next Tom Brady on our hands, who would lead billions of these drives and turn us into a dynasty?

 

No. Very much no. The rest of the first half was highlighted by two pretty bad fumbles from O’Connell, and a throw behind Davonte Adams that left the all-pro receiver open for a tough body shot that sent him back to the locker room for the rest of the first half. 

 

The Chargers, on the other hand, capitalized on the mental and physical mistakes of the Raiders. Just some of the multiple errors was a very late hit out of bounds by DT Jerry Tillery that got him ejected from the game, and a would-be interception that slipped through Marcus Peters’ fingers, making that two in as many weeks. 

 

With the score 24-7 at the half, many wondered if the Raiders would switch to veteran backup Brian Hoyer. Well, O’Connell must have begged Josh McDaniels “Please coach, stand by me” because O’Connell came back out for the second half. 

 

The second half saw a marked improvement for the Raiders’ defense, as they shut out the Chargers for the entire second half, and roughed up Justin Herbert quite a bit in the process. 

The 3rd quarter saw the Raiders stall out in the red zone (again) and settle for a field goal, bringing it back to a two score game.

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An interception late in the 3rd quarter gave Las Vegas a ton of momentum, but then the secret identity of the Raiders true nemesis, the refs, was revealed. A phantom crack-back block call on Jakobi Myers knocked the Raiders out of scoring position and forced them to punt. A few drives later, Josh Jacobs was able to slide into the end zone for the first time this year, and suddenly Las Vegas made it a game. 

 

On the ensuing drive, Keenan Allen got away with obvious offensive pass interference, and it almost cost the Raiders the game. However, Las Vegas came up with a huge stop on fourth and inches and got the ball back in great position. Despite Kalil Mack pouncing on O’Connell more than Kangaroo Jack (six sacks in the game), the Raiders found themselves near the goal line, but another costly O’Connell turnover, this time an interception, all but sealed the Raiders fate. 

 

The death knell arrived when, facing third down, WR Josh Palmer got away with an even more egregious offensive pass interference, and got the first down. If football played into the 5th quarter, the Raiders likely would have won, but they ran out of time and lost their third straight game, 24-17. 

 

Make no mistake, the raiders did PLENTY to cost themselves the game. Poor run defense and QB containment by the defenders, highlighted by the completely ineffective play of first round pick, DT Tyree Wilson, along with a ton of rookie mistakes by O’Connell and dumb legit penalties would do in almost any team. But when that gets coupled with three bad calls (or non-calls, as it were) it’s just an impossible hill to climb. The refs get an assist for this game, but ultimately we beat ourselves…again. 

 

The Raiders play at home next week, hosting the 2-2 Green Bay Packers, who are also struggling in the league this year. This may be the last chance for the Raiders to turn their season around. 

 

Author’s note: There are 12 Jerry O’Connell references in this article. Can you find them all?