‘They Made A Few More Plays, We Have To Clean Things Up’: Familiar McDaniels Refrain After Another Raiders Loss Sunday
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA — Raiders owner Mark Davis’ dour expression as he walked the concrete bowels of SoFi Stadium conveyed the Raiders’ performance against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday.
It was another loss by a Raiders team that showed a lack of discipline with unacceptable penalties while committing too many mistakes to overcome a 24-7 halftime deficit against their AFC West division rivals.
In the end, a late-game rally by Las Vegas fell short as the Chargers defeated the Raiders, 24-17.
After the Raiders squeezed by the Denver Broncos by a point in the season-opener in the Mile High City, the Silver & Black has dropped three games in a row to Buffalo, Pittsburgh and the Chargers.
Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels broke out a familiar script to explain yet another loss. After the Raiders made the playoffs with a 10-7 record in 2021, Davis hired McDaniels to take the team to the next level.
Unfortunately for Davis, that next level is a lower rung in the standings as McDaniels has coached the Raiders to a 6-11 record in 2022 and a 1-3 mark so far in 2023.
McDaniels said the other team “made more plays” and his team “has to clean things up.”
Same postgame comments and another loss. Similar script. pic.twitter.com/6mJSgx6y7D
— LVSportsBiz.com (@LVSportsBiz) October 1, 2023
The mental flubs, the dumb penalties, the quarterback fumbles — plus former Raiders quarterback rusher Khalil Mack who sacked Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell — were just too much for the Raiders to overcome.
Mack was unstoppable, registering his half-dozen sacks. McDaniels quipped he did everything he could to stop Mack like using a second blocker and even “hitting him in the ribs.”
After the game, Mack was in a happy mood.
The Raiders’ next game is a Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas Oct. 9.
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The big pickup truck rumbled down Century Boulevard near SoFi Stadium, the indoor/outdoor NFL stadium that’s home to the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers.
Thing is, the big flags in the truck bed zipping by the shopping centers and seas of asphalt were not Chargers flags for today’s Raiders vs Chargers AFC West showdown.
They were Raiders flags billowing in the air outside the Chargers stadium on the first day of October as the Los Angeles Chargers prepped to host the Las Vegas Raiders.
In much the same way that fans from Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Kansas City make the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium their home-away-from-home for road games in Las Vegas, the Raiders faithful of Southern California settle in nicely at SoFi Stadium to give the Raiders a loud voice on the road.
That’s life as an NFL team when you chase revenue-generating, amenity-filled stadiums. And leave former towns here kids grew up with your teams.
Raiders fan Luis Hernandez from Oakland saw how Pittsburgh Steelers fans took over Allegiant Stadium a week ago and quipped that the Raiders-Chargers tilt at SoFi Stadium as the Raiders’ “first home game of the season.”
“Funny, Pittsburgh took over our stadium and we’re going to take over this stadium,” Hernandez told LVSportsBiz.com before today’s game.
Both the Raiders and Chargers moved into their new stadiums in 2020.
But the one twist is that the Chargers moved into a city once dominated by Raiders fans, who rejoiced in Los Angeles when the Silver & Black were based in LA and won one of their three Super Bowls in 1983. Indeed, many Raiders fans from the LA area made car rides to Las Vegas just to see the Raiders stadium under construction.
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The stadiums of the Raiders and Chargers could not be more different.
Allegiant Stadium is a fixed-domed stadium on a small site off an interstate financed with $750 million in public dollars, while SoFi Stadium is an indoor-outdoor stadium several miles from an interstate privately financed on a sprawling site that is being developed into a variety of uses.
Do you like the indoor-outdoor feel of SoFi Stadium? pic.twitter.com/htQNqHnBiQ
— LVSportsBiz.com (@LVSportsBiz) October 1, 2023
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The Raiders’ legacy was always well-defined — a take-no-prisoners, blue-collar team with players that inspired a generation of Black Hole fans.
But these days, the reputation is based on losses. Coach Josh McDaniels inherited a 10-7 playoff team and has gone 6-11 and 1-2 in 2022 and 2023 so far.
Aidan O’Connell gets the start at the helm of the offense because quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is in concussion protocol. The Chargers, meanwhile, will be without their premier defender, Joey Bosa.
After one quarter: Chargers 7 Raiders 7
The Raiders’ undisciplined, error-laden second quarter was hard to watch for the team’s loyal fans.
Defensive tackle Jerry Tillery was kicked out of the game for a late hit on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who was out of bounds when Tillery blasted him.
The Raiders also coped with the loss of star receiver Davante Adams, who left the game with an injured shoulder and was termed, “questionable,” to return.
O’Connell also fumbled — a turnover the Chargers converted into a touchdown.
It was a brutal second quarter for the Raiders.
Halftime: Chargers 24 Raiders 7
The Raiders rallied in the second half, cutting the lead to 24-17 in the final minutes before O’Connell threw an interception near the goal line.
The Chargers sealed the in with the pick.
