For the second straight week, and for the sixth time already this season, the Las Vegas Raiders suffered an embarrassing loss on Sunday. This time, it was at the hands of the hapless Cleveland Browns. In a defeat like this, there really are no winners for the Raiders, even if a few guys played well.
Pete Carroll's team is crumbling before our very eyes, if they were ever whole to begin with. It's hard to believe that this team beat anyone in the NFL, let alone two other professional football teams. It has been that bad in Las Vegas.
But, as we do every week, we found a few winners from this game, and a whole lot more losers. For brevity's sake, we grouped a lot of things together in the "losers" category, but feel free to suffer along with us for the remainder of the week as we unwrap all that went wrong in this debilitating loss.
Winners and losers from Browns' shellacking of Raiders
Winners
1. Maxx Crosby
Crosby, as always, brought his best stuff for the Las Vegas defense. He had a monstrous outing, recording 8 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss and 3 quarterback hits on Shedeur Sanders. If only he had some help.
2. Ashton Jeanty
Jeanty had 25 total touches for 108 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. This included career-highs in both catches (8) and receiving yards (58). It's shocking that Jeanty even had this much production considering the brutal circumstances surrounding the Raiders' offense on Sunday.
Losers
1. Pete Carroll
What did Las Vegas do well against the Browns? When a team is outclassed in every facet of the game against a 2-8 opponent, that falls squarely on the head coach. This team wasn't ready to go, they weren't disciplined, and Carroll is out of answers, if he ever had any to begin with.
2. Geno Smith
Don't let Smith's numbers fool you. He was completely erratic for the Raiders on Sunday, badly missing Tre Tucker on what would have been several touchdowns. Smith was also a statue in the pocket, and although the blocking wasn't great, he just refused to get rid of the ball or check it down.
RELATED: Maxx Crosby calls out 2-8 Raiders in a message they need to hear
3. Brennan Carroll and the offensive line
How on earth does an offensive line coach keep their job after giving up 10 sacks? The Browns' defensive front just bullied the Las Vegas offensive line, and Brennan Carroll's group had no solutions. This unit can't run or pass-block, and they were penalized four times as well. Something has to give.
4. Chip Kelly
It's hard to scheme on offense when the big boys up front aren't always doing their job. But it's not as hard as Kelly makes it look. The offense just looks unorganized, confused, and downright archaic when compared to the best groups in the league. Kelly rightfully got the axe on Sunday evening.
5. Special teams
Well, it turns out Tom McMahon wasn't the problem. Carlson missed another field goal, the Raiders gave up several sizeable returns and the unit got penalized several times. Special teams are hardly the biggest issue in Las Vegas, but they're an issue nonetheless.
6. Darnay Holmes
The Raiders' secondary wasn't great on Sunday against the Browns, but Holmes was definitely their weakest link. In just 8 defensive snaps, Holmes was targeted twice and gave up 2 receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, which, I guess, explains why he only played 8 snaps.
7. Raiders' pass rush
Against a rookie quarterback who is known to have bad pocket presence and drifts backward, Las Vegas managed just 1 sack on Sanders. They did get 16 pressures and hit him four times, but they just have to finish plays and get quarterbacks on the ground.
8. Tre Tucker
Tucker is not a loser because he played badly. He's a loser because he should have had several lengthy touchdown receptions against a good Cleveland secondary, but he was overthrown on each attempt. He also had a bad drop, but he was probably just shocked that the ball actually hit his hands.