Fundamental fail: Raiders can’t get little things right in third straight defeat

Titans hold on to beat reeling Raiders in mistake-plagued game for visitors

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John Amis / Associated Press

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels answers questions after an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn.

Mon, Sep 26, 2022 (2 a.m.)

Raiders fall to Titans

Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard (31) breaks up a pass intended for Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller (83) on a failed 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. The Titans won 24-22. Launch slideshow »

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr held his index finger less than inch from his thumb to try to illustrate a couple decisive plays that went wrong in Sunday’s 24-22 loss to the Titans at Nissan Stadium.

He was describing two potential touchdown passes to Darren Waller — one that deflected off the tight end’s hands for an interception in the end zone and another that fell for an incompletion when nothing but open field was ahead — but just as easily could have been talking about the Raiders’ struggles as a whole. The Raiders now sit 0-3 to start its first season under coach Josh McDaniels with all three losses coming by less than a touchdown, and they’re talking themselves into circles trying to contextualize it all.

“At the end of the day, it’s on us,” Carr said in his postgame news conference. “We lost. We turned the ball over. It’s never, you know me, I’m never going to put it on anybody but myself, but people get mad when I do that too.”

McDaniels continued to keep his cool after the latest setback but must be fuming on the inside and every bit as confused as his players. Everything the heralded former six-time Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots thought he knew about his team hasn’t turned out how he planned.  

The Raiders started training camp before every other team in the NFL and had a week more to prepare than most of their opponents, time McDaniels repeatedly said he used to focus on fundamentals. But a lack of those very fundamentals — tackling, committing penalties, being on the same page, to name the few — are exactly what’s holding Las Vegas back and putting them in an unenviable situation going forward.

Only one team in the last 20 years has overcome an 0-3 start to reach the playoffs, and about 2% of teams over the course of NFL history.

 “We’ve been in three close games, it’s not like we’re not competitive or don’t have an opportunity at the end,” McDaniels said. “We’re just going to have to make a few more plays as we go through the ballgame. I’m looking for us to try to improve and play a full 60-minute game where we actually start well, play well in all three phases and see what that looks like. I’m not sure we’ve done that yet.”

Whereas a late-game collapse was the problem in a Week 2 loss to the Cardinals, a slow start cost the Raiders against the Titans. Namely, a slow start on defense.

The Raiders couldn’t bring Titans running back Derrick Henry down. Henry broke tackles in all three levels of the defense on both passes and runs, leading to a 143-yard day where he guided the Titans to touchdowns on each of their first three possessions.

Las Vegas couldn’t overcome a 24-10 halftime deficit, even though the defense regrouped at halftime and posted a shutout for the rest of the game.

“Overall defensively, we played better all together (in the second half),” edge rusher Maxx Crosby said. “We just took a deep breath.”

The offense remained spotty throughout, though. Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, who joined the team a day late after dealing with an unspecified illness, was efficient with 66 rushing yards on 13 carries but the game script forced McDaniels to go away from the ground game.

Facing a 24-13 fourth-quarter deficit after the second of three field goals from kicker Daniel Carlson — who’s now made 31 straight attempts dating back to last season — Las Vegas didn’t have time to run the ball consistently. And the passing game brought its share of challenges.

Las Vegas planned its offense to revolve around superstar receiver Davante Adams, but for the second straight game, a team plotted to take him away. Adams estimated the Titans double-teamed him 95% of snaps, including a first-quarter touchdown he caught over safety Kevin Byard.

“The operation is to figure it out and still be productive,” Adams said. “It’s not easy.”

Adams had five receptions for only 36 yards with the Raiders instead plotting their attack around wide receiver Mack Hollins and tight end Darren Waller. The former was perhaps surprisingly up for the task with eight catches for 158 yards; the latter was arguably more shockingly not with three catches for 22 yards.

Waller dropped a slightly overthrown, likely touchdown pass in the first quarter, and then had an even more damaging moment when a ball deflected off his hands early in the fourth quarter. Carr threw a perfect pass from the 4-yard line on the latter but Waller, by his own admission, took his eyes off it and allowed an interception by Byard.

“I tried to turn up and make it to the goal line you cant do that, especially in key moments in the game like that,” Waller said. “We preach fundamentals all the time and that was a fundamental error by me. I don’t hold my standard to perfection. I’m going to mess up sometimes, but I know I’m going to bounce back. One day can’t define me. I’m just going to give this everything I’ve got.”  

The Raiders got the ball back quickly after the miscue, and Hollins made his biggest play with a 60-yard reception down the sideline where he stiff-armed and juked his way to an extra 20 yards. But left guard Alex Bars, making his first start of the season, picked up an unsportsmanlike penalty after the play to take away 15 yards.

The offensive line blocked well Sunday but repeatedly picked up costly penalties, often deep in Titans’ territory. The Raiders ultimately had to settle for a field goal on their penultimate drive of the game to make the score 24-16 with 3:29 to play.

In six trips to the red zone on the afternoon, Las Vegas scored touchdowns only twice.

“Overall execution, we had a few penalties down there that hurt us, and we’ve got to eliminate those obviously before we’re going to be able to put it in (the end zone),” McDaniels said. “Situational football, we talk a lot about it and try to work on it a lot, and it hurt us today in the red zone.”

The defense did its part after Carlson’s final field goal by forcing its first official three-and-out of the day — Tennessee had one other three-play drive in the third quarter that ended with a Duron Harmon interception. Crosby strip-sacked Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, though the home team recovered the fumble.   

The Raiders’ offense then labored with more penalties and drops, but Hollins bailed them out again. On fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line, Hollins leapt over Titans cornerback Terrance Mitchell for a touchdown grab.

That set up a two-point conversion to determine if Las Vegas could force overtime. McDaniels called a short route to Waller in the middle of the end zone, but Carr tried to fit the pass into a tight window.

Tennessee linebacker Dylan Cole got a hand on the ball near the line of scrimmage, and then Byard knocked it to the ground.

“I was just trying to give Darren a chance high in the back of the end zone and we didn’t hit it,” Carr said.

Waller might have been able to outfight Byard for the pass if Cole didn’t ever-so-slightly tip it first. The missed connection was as close as the earlier miscues between Carr and Waller.

It was as close as several plays Las Vegas could have potentially hit over the last three games to secure a victory. But that was no solace to a Raiders’ locker room that was admittedly confounded and frustrated once again.

 “I don’t think anybody in here should be happy and content with losing especially when you have the type of men you have in this locker room,” Adams said. “Like I said from the beginning: Just because we’re good on paper doesn’t mean we’re going to be great as a team. We’re still working on that, and it’s still early, but we’ve got to start establishing who we are as a team. Frustration is O.K. as long as you do something about it.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or

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