The Las Vegas Raiders did not get the job done at home on Sunday. Well, it was a road game, but the Raiders had more fans there than the Los Angeles Chargers did, but, that's beside the point. The Raiders lost a game that they had full control of all the way until the last seconds of halftime. Frankly, they should be 1-0 right now, and head coach Antonio Pierce feels the same.
The Raiders are now tasked with going on the road and playing an even better team the Baltimore Ravens, all while having the pressure on them to get their issues fixed. And, the fan base is feeling that this season is already chalked up as a waste. So, there is certainly pressure.
For Pierce, he kept it real, and let everyone know what happened last Sunday is not the brand of football they wish to display every week.
"Yeah, I thought interior O-line, short-yardage football, missed opportunities," Pierce said on Wednesday. "We crossed the 50 several times and didn't put any points on the board – excuse me, two times. The other ones just didn't go our way, either penalties, sacks, turnover, it just wasn't good enough.
"I think when our offense looks at it, you always want to give credit to the other team, granted, but there's some self-inflicted wounds there that we obviously can fix, and we can detail and fine-tune. We talked about that and went in depth. And then obviously, Raiders can't beat the Raiders when it comes down to just simple things, just doing those things better."
The Raiders offense is the issue at hand. And, you could kind of say special teams. Daniel Carlson, one of the most consistent kickers in the league and maybe all time, missed a field goal that he never misses. Now, that didn't lose the game, but everyone is accountable.
As for the offense, they have to find a way to get Minshew to throw the ball downfield. On Sunday, he averaged just 4.4 air yards per pass attempt. That's not good. He attempted just two passes of more than 20 air yards. The offensive line is also partly at fault for not giving him much time, but if you watch the tape, in some plays, you will find Minshew with a clean pocket, and he escapes for no reason.
Those are the issues the Raiders are working with, and Pierce isn't happy about it.
