By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
It’s been that type of year for Mark Davis, the Raiders’ unique owner who must wake up and ask the Ghosts of Willie Brown, Cliff Branch and Kenny Stabler what in the Black Hole is going to happen today.
Davis said there were accounting issues that led to the former team president and other financial staffers leaving. He was ticked off that he was blindsided by toxic emails written by former coach Jon Gruden when they were leaked by the NFL to reporters.
And then this week, a brutal tragedy caused by former Raiders player Henry Ruggs, who was charged of DUI for driving his sportscar into the car of an innocent woman, leading to her death at 3:40AM Tuesday. The Raiders released Ruggs later that day.
The team has been coping with a gamut of emotions during the first half of a season that also requires fans to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter Allegiant Stadium.
The team played two solid games after Gruden resigned, with wins over Denver in Colorado and Philadelphia in Las Vegas.
But the up-and-down season — both off the field and on it — included Sunday’s error-filled loss to the New York Giants at the Meadowlands, 23-16.
Quarterback Derek Carr threw two interceptions, including a pick six early in the second half. And he coughed up a fumble in the red zone as the Raiders threatened to tie the score in the final minute.
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Carr completed 30 of 46 passes for 296 yards, but he was intercepted twice and also fumbled on the final drive.
The Giants red zone defense won the game for the 3-6 New York team, which limited the Raiders to a sole touchdown on the Raiders’ first drive of the game in the first quarter.
The Raiders outgained the Giants, 403-245, but could not convert drives into touchdowns. Normally reliable placekicker Daniel Carlson also missed a 25-yard field goal attempt — the shortest missed FG in the National Football League this season.
The Giants’ running back, Devontae Booker, had a solid game for the G-Men in the game.
The Giants had 149 yards rushing to the Raiders’ 117 on the ground.
New York’s bend-but-don’t-yield-a-TD in the red zone was the difference, harkening the times when the Giants used their D and running game to squeeze out wins and Super Bowl championships.
Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia was asked whether not having Ruggs was a factor in not having big plays. Bisaccia did not think so: “I don’t think that’s a part of it. We had a big explosive with [Darren] Waller down there and another one late that we ended up getting a 15-yard penalty for going down there to push the pocket a little bit at the end, pushing the run. Even on defense, some of the explosives we ended up doing a good job there. We had a 15-yard penalty, a hand to the head and I think we had another one late, two of those late on [Nate] Hobbs. So, they eliminated some of the explosives that we did have by some uncharacteristic penalties. We haven’t had those in the last two weeks”
Here’s Bisaccia’s opening statement: “I’ll just start off by saying obviously it’s a heck of an effort out there by the Giants for the game to go down to the bitter end like that. I thought we competed all the way down to the last series, certainly the last play of our particular offensive drive. We knew coming up here that we were playing a physical football team that had come back in a bunch of second half games. We just saw what they did on the night game last Sunday night.
“So, in our opinion, we just ended up minus 2 in the turnovers, three in the second half, and one of them certainly turned into points, went against us there with the interception. We gave up an explosive play in the first drive. For the giants, obviously that 30-yard touchdown in the corner of the endzone. We just didn’t have enough explosives on offense really to keep us where we could finish a little better than we did. Field position wise, it was a poor decision out there, Hunter [Renfrow] catching it that deep and the ball game out and we ended up getting it.
“We were backed up a little bit on that drive and were backed on one of the punts early in the game as well. And then in the fourth quarter, obviously we missed the opportunity. We missed a short field goal like that, it’s like missing a P-A-T. The game changes. You start going through your charts. What are you going to do when you score? And then obviously on the last drive, we turned it over again at the end.”
The Raiders return to Las Vegas to host the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday.