1 Problem Continues to Cost the Raiders Games

For a team to 1-3 during any four-game stretch is a sign of bigger issues. The Las Vegas Raiders have started the season 1-3 for the second time in three seasons, and their glaring issues have been on display for all to see.

Many of Las Vegas' biggest weaknesses have been exploited during the season's first four games. The Raiders have lost three consecutive games, but their flaws were evident even in their lone win of the season in Week 1.

Teams that have played the Raiders since Week 1 have simply replicated the New England Patriots' gameplan against the Raiders but did so while executing better than the Patriots did. Las Vegas has more than a few issues that must be corrected as soon as possible.

Raiders' Nagging Issue

The Raiders have worked hard to fix their most pressing issues along the offensive line and the ground game. Las Vegas' defense has continued to improve, after being the team's most dependable unit over the first four weeks of the season.

However, the third phase of the game has cost the Raiders at least one win, possibly two. Las Vegas' special teams have given up big plays each of the past two weeks. Those plays swung momentum into the other team's favor in one game, and lost the Raiders the game in Week 4.

Following the Raiders' loss to the Bears, Pete Carroll sounded off on the team's issues.

"Now, the other problem is, we've had some issues in the kicking game that have
been significant. Getting the game winner blocked is significant, and the week before, we weren't very good. The Washington game was really an outlier for how we played, and that's done also, but I think we can feel it. By the end of this meeting today and by the time I get with our guys and show them what we're talking about, we're going to have a feeling of what we are going forward," Carroll said.

"This was a really important game for us to demonstrate to
ourselves of what we are when we play at home, and the effort and the mentality and the willingness to hang with it no matter what happened, was demonstrated that that's the mark of a team that I recognize and that I'm trying to build. And so, I felt good about that stuff. And unfortunately, we lose by a point, so that's kind of what it felt like."