The Las Vegas Raiders fell to 3-2 on Sunday after losing to the New England Patriots 45-17. While Vegas has looked like a competent team to start the year, Sunday’s loss was the first time this season when the team looked like the struggling franchise it has been in recent years.
The hope is that Sunday’s game was just a one off. Just about every team has a game where they are completely out of sync, but it doesn’t mean their entire season will be doomed. While the Raiders had plenty of bad to worry about, there were also a couple of good things that fans can feel optimistic about moving forward.
If Las Vegas can do more of the good and less of the bad moving forward, the team will be able to get back to winning.
The good and bad from Raiders’ loss to the Patriots
Positives
1. Brock Bowers
Having a player like Brock Bowers on your team is always a positive; win, lose, or draw. The elite tight end showed why that’s the case on Sunday. Although the Raiders as a team were being embarrassed, Bowers was arguably the best player on the field, from either team.
The tight end was targeted 10 times, catching eight of those passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Aside from a lost fumble, Bowers was unstoppable. While the team clearly has a lot to clean up, fans can still feel good about having one of the league’s best players.
2. Fernando Mendoza experience
One silver lining of the Raiders being blown out is that rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza got some valuable reps. Vegas fans have been eager to see the No. 1 overall pick, but no one wanted his first real action to be a result of the team being blown out.
Either way, it was nice to see Mendoza get out on the field and operate. The rookie quarterback completed 6-of-8 passes for 48 yards, and also rushed for three yards. It is worth noting that New England was playing pretty conservative defensively, since the game was already decided, but still, Mendoza made the most of the opportunity.
Negatives
1. Defense
The defense, in its entirety, was awful on Sunday. The embarrassment started early, with the Patriots getting their first touchdown because of a blown coverage by the Raiders secondary. Even when Vegas’ defenders knew where they were supposed to be in coverage, it didn’t matter, as the unit gave up 371 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air.
The rushing defense wasn’t much better, allowing 165 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. With the Patriots running the ball 31 times, that breaks down to 5.3 yards per rush. If the Raiders are allowing offenses to go for over five yards a carry, the defense will see many more games like Sunday.
2. Run game
Football is really hard when you can’t run the ball, and that was on full display for the Raiders on Sunday. Running back Ashton Jeanty carried the ball 10 times for just 27 yards. That’s 2.7 yards a carry, which isn’t going to cut it.
As a whole, Las Vegas ran the ball 18 times for just 38 yards (2.1 per carry). That makes the Raiders’ offense completely one dimensional, and much easier to defend. If Las Vegas continues to struggle to run the ball, it will be a lot of tough sledding.
3. Penalties
Sunday’s game was sloppy for both teams, and the Raiders were actually the least penalized team, as the Patriots had 12 accepted penalties for 116 yards. Las Vegas, however, was still very undisciplined with its eight penalties for 101 yards.
It’s already hard enough trying to beat other teams, so it’s extremely unproductive to beat yourself as well. From putting their own offense behind the sticks, to extending drives for New England, penalties were a big problem for the Raiders on Sunday.
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