Las Vegas Raiders at Rams 2022 Week 14: Things we learned

Las Vegas Raiders at Rams 2022 Week 14: Things we learned

Red zone inefficiency creeps up once more

The Raiders walked into Week 14 ranked 28th in red zone scoring percentage (touchdowns), highlighting an Achilles heel of the offense this season. While Las Vegas’ talent jumps off the page and they have the capacity to move the chains, when it comes down to finishing drives they leave points on the table. Thursday night was another illustration of the problem at hand.

The Raiders went 1-for-4 in the red zone, consistently settling for three points when they should have ended their drives in the end zone. That rings especially true for a defense that was gutted with injuries on the outside, as well as a unit that was missing star defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Not only did Las Vegas leave puts on the board, one of those failed red zones drives ended in a costly turnover.

With 49 seconds left in the first half and the Raiders knocking at the Rams’ 10-yard line, Derek Carr was pressured and brought down, but not before throwing an ill-advised lob that fell straight into the hands of the Rams’ defense. It was a head-scratching error that was unlike Carr, but it proved to be costly when looking back on the number of missed opportunities.