Everything went right for the Las Vegas Raiders this weekend .. .. until they hit the playing field Monday night.
The Raiders had a great opportunity in Week 2 as they closed out the week on “Monday Night Football” in front of the country.
They saw the Denver Broncos (1-1) and the Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) both lose Sunday. They were playing in front of a pro-Raiders crowd at Allegiant Stadium (that’s not always the case), part owner Tom Brady was in the coaching booth. Pete Carroll, coaching at home for the first time in Las Vegas, turned 74 Monday.
It was supposed to be a party.
Then the game started and the Raiders were beaten easily by the Los Angeles Chargers 20-9.
Here are some key aspects of the game:
The story of the Raiders’ Week 1 win at the New England was the play of Geno Smith. He threw for 366 yards and had nine passes of 20-plus years. He was terrific. But Smith has been known to be somewhat erratic over the years and Monday night was definitely one of those games. Smith was 0-11 on passes of 10 yards or longer. He threw an interception on the first play of the game and he ended up throwing three picks. He was never comfortable. For an offense that was held down by Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell last season, Smith was as lousy as those two in Week 2. He needs a fast reset.
**Tough night for Chip Kelly:**
Kelly, the Raiders’ new offensive coordinator, was lauded like Smith was after last week. He was questioned after this game. The Raiders offense looked stagnant in all phases and he was slow to get star tight end Brock Bowers involved. The offense was in a rut all game and it wasn’t all Smith’s fault. By the way, the Raiders’ long red-zone woes have continued. They are 1-7 in the red zone this season. New quarterback, new offensive coordinator. Same results near the goal line.
This was Carroll’s fourth game as a head coach on his birthday. It was his first defeat. Not a great way to mark becoming the first 74-year-old head coach in NFL history.
**Another rough game for Jeanty:**
It wasn’t all his fault. The run blocking has been rough, but Ashton Jeanty hasn’t been able to get going so far this season. He had 43 yards on 11 carries and one yard on three catches. He has skills and great balance. The ability is there, but it just hasn’t come together yet.
The Raiders’ defense played pretty well late in he game. But Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert did what he had to do when he ended it most. It wasn’t an awful performance by the Raiders’ defense, though,
On his first play as a Raider at home, Smith threw a bad interception and the Chargers got the ball inside the Raiders’ 30-yard line.
The Las Vegas defense did hold, forcing a three and out and a field-goal attempt. The Chargers converted a 38-yarder to make it 3-0. It wasn’t an ideal start for Las Vegas, but it could have been worse.
**Good home-field advantage:**
The Carroll era kicked off with great fan support. Most of the Allegiant Stadium was filled by Raiders’ fans. As we all know, that’s not always the case. I think the fact that it was the first home game of the season and that Chargers’ fans aren’t known as great travelers played a role. But it was a good start and it needs to continue the rest of the season. The next home game will be a test. The Chicago Bears are coming to town and their fans are solid travelers.
**Brady in the box:**
Brady sat in the coaching box and had headphones on. While he very likely didn’t have a huge role (he in not in the building most of the time) he was clearly privy to the decisions all game Monday. He rarely gets to Raiders’ games because of his own broadcasting schedule. By the way, after the game, Carroll said the report that Kelly and Brady met two-three times a week is inaccurate. Yet, Carroll said say he and Kelly talk to Brady regularly.
**That guy again:**
Former Raiders’ star pass-rusher Khalil Mack had a first-quarter sack of Smith. Mack, who played for the Raiders from 2014-17, has 12.5 career sacks against his former team. He did hurt his elbow early in the second quarter and departed. He did not return.
Raiders’ star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby had two tackles for loss. It was his 28th game with multiple TFLs since he entered the league in 2019. Only Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt has more with 29. Crosby also forced a fumble late Monday night.
Raiders’ kicker Daniel Carlson had a 54-yard field goal in the first quarter. According to the Raiders’ PR department, it was his 34th field goal of 50-plus yards in his career. It’s the second most of any kicker in their first eight seasons since 2000. He trails on Justin Tucker, who had 39. Yes, Carlson has time to surpass Tucker’s mark.
Second-year defensive tackle Jonah Laulu had two sacks Monday night and now has three in two games. He is a nice rotational player.
**Streak:
**The Raiders have a sack in 37 straight games. It is the second longest active streak in the NFL behind the Baltimore Ravens, who have done it in 57 straight games via the Raiders PR team.
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