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Raiders Wild Card vs Bengals: 3 studs, 3 duds from the loss

By Khaled Abdallah

CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 15: Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders calls a play in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on January 15, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 15: Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders calls a play in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on January 15, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 04: Peyton Barber #31 of the Las Vegas Raiders returns a kickoff during a 28-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on October 04, 2021, in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 04: Peyton Barber #31 of the Las Vegas Raiders returns a kickoff during a 28-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on October 04, 2021, in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Raiders Wild Card vs Bengals: 3 studs, 3 duds from the loss

Duds – Mental mistakes from the Raiders

The Raiders knew they had to play a great game to beat the Bengals and they failed to do that on Saturday. They made a series of mental mistakes in different phases of the game that forced them to scramble for a game-tying drive in the final minutes rather than beating the Bengals outright.

The most easily identifiable mistake is what Peyton Barber did on a first-half kickoff when it was still just 10-3 in favor of the Bengals. Evan McPherson boots a kick that looked to be going out of bounds and rather than letting bounce out or stepping out before catching it, Barber caught it at the 2-yard line and stepped out immediately, backing the Raiders up to their own goal line.

Had Barber let it bounce out they would have gotten the ball on their own 35 and could have scored or pinned the Bengals deep. Instead, they go 3 and out and hand the ball back to Cincinnati with great field position at the Raider 45. This is the type of play that loses you games and is completely inexcusable for a veteran player.

The other mistakes were the easy drops that several Raiders players had but the most egregious was Desean Jackson’s drop in the red zone in the second quarter. The Raiders had 3rd and 8 from the Cinci 10 and Carr found Jackson coming open across the field and hit him in the hands but the pass was dropped.

Had Jackson caught it, he had the speed to likely get the first down, possibly score a touchdown, or at the least give Rich Bisaccia a chance to go for it on 4th and short rather than 4th and 8. It was another inexcusable play from a veteran receiver and one that ultimately cost the Raiders 4 points in a game where they lost by 7.

The Raiders were not a perfect team this year and they had issues all over the board but we did not expect all of them to come up once again in their final game of the season. These mistakes kept the Raiders from winning this game and will keep them from being a contender in 2022 if they persist.

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