Analyzing the Raiders' Loss to the Commanders

The Las Vegas Raiders have several things they must figure out, quick, fast, and in a hurry. Las Vegas' loss to the Washington Commanders was alarming for more than one reason.

Why the Raiders Lost

The Raiders' loss on Sunday was one that saw so many things go wrong that there was plenty of blame to go around. Las Vegas failed in every facet of the game at one point or another and most of those failures led to points for the Commanders.

Thomas Valentine of Pro Football Focus analyzed the reason every team won or lost this season. There is no question about why the Raiders lost to the Commanders.

"The Raiders' offensive line has been problematic to start the season, and that has left Geno Smith scrambling for his life at times. Smith was pressured on 58.8% of his dropbacks, but still completed 9-of-15 pass attempts for 99 yards. However, Smith was sacked five times and pressured 26 times in total by the Commanders' defense. That’s no way to live," Valentine said.

Following the Raiders' loss to the Commanders, Carroll explained what it will take for the offensive line to improve. Las Vegas' offensive line is bad enough to derail all of the improvements the Raiders made to the roster on the offensive side of the ball.

Carroll knows Las Vegas' offensive line must figure things out soon.

"Well, it turns us back to [how] we have to balance out what we're doing so we can mix better. We didn't run the football at all early. And then when we did, we drove the football, we made our scores. So once we got going, I thought [RB] Ashton [Jeanty] did a really good job with his opportunities. He got a lot of carries today. 

"It was a good ball game for him. It was tough, and he played tough and showed you how he does it. But we didn't start out well at all. We came out of the chutes getting hurt, and so until we got going, you couldn't see much. But we do have to mix better so that we feel the run and the pass mix that gives us an advantage. Instead of feeling like we're getting knocked around."