5 takeaways from the Raiders’ blowout loss to the Patriots
By John Buhler
The wide receivers just loved dropping everything.
Dropping passes is what this Raiders wide receiving corps does best. The Oakland receivers dropped five passes on the afternoon. That was more than 10 percent of Derek Carr’s throws, as he completed 28 of 49 passes.
Though this was far from a good game for Carr, his receivers didn’t really give him a chance in this one. The blame should go to both parties. Maybe Carr doesn’t throw an overly catchable ball? He led the league in dropped pass attempts a year ago. However, some of these drops aren’t his fault.
A lack of focus on passes between the hash marks has caused too many incompletions in the Raiders’ passing game. It is an important part of Todd Downing’s approach to moving the sticks to attack the middle of the field. Frankly, that was the best course of action to attempt to slice up the New England defense on Sunday.
It’s been a frustrating season for the entire Oakland offense. After being one of the most explosive offenses in all of football a year ago, this group has resolved to being bottom-tier. The running game was never going to carry this team. Unfortunately, the receiving corps is anchoring this offense because it cannot collectively hold on to the football.