LANDOVER, Md. -- At 1-1 after a Jekyll and Hyde-ish first two weeks of the season, the Las Vegas Raiders were presented with a golden opportunity to push themselves above .500 against the Jayden Daniels-less Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Not only that, it was the first real chance for the Raiders to prove that this first season under coach Pete Carroll wouldn’t be more of the same in terms of the shortcomings that have continuously plagued the franchise.
Mission failed.
The Commanders trounced the Silver and Black 41-24 and led by four possessions at one point, led by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. The former Raider seamlessly filled in for the absent Daniels, completing 15 of his 21 pass attempts for 207 yards and a touchdown while also taking six carries for 40 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The highlight of the game was a 90-yard punt return touchdown by Washington’s Jaylin Lane, his first NFL score, that stretched the Commanders’ lead to 27-10 in the third quarter and was ultimately the blow that put the game out of reach for the Raiders.
"It looks like a real miss bouncing back from (Monday night) and getting back for this ball game," Carroll said. "We did the things we thought we needed to do to get right, but we didn't play well in the first half at all. You could see it across the board, special teams and offense and defense. We weren't physically back as much as they were. They played really well. They were strong from the beginning and it put us behind them, but we weren't out. At all.
"Mentally, we were okay. But physically, we just didn't seem like we made the bounce back as well as we normally do, coming back after the Monday night thing. I've got to do a better job."
After his three-interception performance cost the Raiders last week, Geno Smith finished with a clean stat sheet that looks more impressive than the product on the field was. Smith completed 19 of 29 pass attempts for 289 and three touchdowns, although two of those three touchdowns came in fourth quarter garbage time with the game already out of reach.
"I felt like we made our plays throughout the game, but just wasn't consistent enough," Smith said. "That's where I felt like we sputtered throughout the game. We had some big plays and then we had some drives that didn't look right. I put that on me. I put the onus on me and I've got to get better and be better for my guys."
Ashton Jeanty continued to get no help from the Raiders’ offensive line, but he did rip off three rushes of at least 10 yards, including an 18-yarder and a 16-yarder that are the two longest gains of his career to this point. Jeanty finished with 63 yards on 17 carries, 20 yards more than his previous high but still only good for 3.7 yards per carry.
One of the few bright spots for the Raiders was the performance from third-year receiver Tre Tucker. Tucker caught eight passes for 145 yards, scoring three touchdowns, including a 61-yard house call in the fourth quarter.
Jakobi Meyers was the Raiders’ next leading receiver with three catches for 63 yards, but it was a relatively slow and unproductive day for the non-Tucker pass catchers otherwise.
The Raiders are back at home next week for a date with the Chicago Bears, in a game that could end up being make-or-break for a team that appears to be at a legitimate fork in the road this early in the season.