Raiders go scoreless in NOLA ; Fall to 2-5
This week, the Las Vegas Raiders entered Mercedes Benz stadium for a meeting with the New Orleans Saints, and they were met with a 24-0 loss. The offense never got themselves going, punting every single drive on the day and not entering the red zone a single time.
A lot can be said about Sunday’s top to bottom loss. Starting with Derek Carr, throwing for only 100 yards. He was sacked 3 times for a total loss of 20 yards and threw in an early interception in their only drive that had some life. He ended the day with a disheartening QBR of 13.
They didn’t beat the Saints on the ground either, Alvin Kamara and Taysom hill ran for 60 yards a piece and Josh Jacobs, on the other hand, was unable to gather more than 43 yards. The wideouts couldn’t do much more, with Mack Hollins being the only Raider let alone receiver, to gather more than 50 yards. Opposed to leading the offense Adams and Renfrow were held to a combined 11 yards.
While the Raiders couldn’t get anything going, the Saints had Andy Dalton, and his serviceable 224 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kamara not only picked up a TD on the ground but 2 in the air, as well with his 96 yards. Not to mention the 36-yard pass that Kamara collected in the third quarter.
As you can tell the Defense didn’t have much of an effect either. The defense was struggling; as is with the Raiders relying on the 3rd highest-scoring offense in the NFL. With that offense struggling as it did, it’s even more important that this defense finds some sort of cohesiveness sooner rather than later. The raiders had only 2 TFLs compared to the Saints 7, along with not a single sack in the backfield. These stats are all you need to see to understand this defense’s flaws.
The 25th-ranked defense will not cut it and changes need to be made, in order for this Raiders team to pick up some wins. It’s the middle of the season, and as it stands, this roster is not going anywhere. A loss to the saints at this time of the year is not a good sign, but with the next 3 following games being against below .500 teams, the Raiders, still yet may have a chance to turn the season around.