Third-Down Woes Continue To Haunt Raiders In Critical Losses

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A stagnant discourtesy that continues to conflict connected 3rd downs and failed to people its archetypal touchdown until 4 minutes into the 4th fourth led to the Las Vegas Raiders losing for the 4th clip successful 5 games connected Sunday.

Las Vegas was 2 for 8 connected third-down conversions and scored conscionable 1 touchdown successful its 17-15 nonaccomplishment to Washington.

“Just a hard communicative for america successful the reddish zone, evidently coming retired of determination with tract goals,” interim manager Rich Bisaccia said. “We missed immoderate throws down determination today. We had a accidental for some. We’ve got to find a mode to people much than 15 points, obviously.”

The Raiders, however, were 1 for 2 successful the reddish zone. And the 3 tract goals from Daniel Carlson, past week’s AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, kept Las Vegas wrong striking region with boots from 52, 38, and 37 yards.

Washington’s Taylor Heinicke threw touchdown passes to Logan Thomas, connected the opening drive, and Antonio Gibson aboriginal successful the 4th quarter. Washington (6-6) allowed the Raiders (6-6) to people connected successive drives to instrumentality a 15-14 pb connected Carlson’s 37-yard tract extremity that was acceptable up by Nate Hobbs’ interception of Heinicke.

But Heinicke responded and drove Washington downfield to acceptable up the footwear by Brian Johnson, the team’s 4th placekicker who was signed earlier this week aft Joey Slye went down with an injury. Las Vegas information Tre’von Moehrig dropped a imaginable sealing interception connected Washington’s last drive.

Once again, it was Las Vegas struggling to person connected 3rd downs. Making matters worse was it came against a Washington defence that entered the crippled ranked past successful the league successful allowing opponents to person 51.4% of the time.

During the Raiders’ 1-4 slide, they fertile dormant past successful converting 11 of 49 (22.4%) connected 3rd downs.

Suddenly, the Raiders’ acquainted inclination of late-season collapses is haunting the squad that opened the docket 3-0 and 5-2.

In 2019, the Raiders were 6-4 earlier closing the play connected a 1-5 descent portion scoring an mean of 14.6 points aft averaging 22.5 successful their archetypal 10.

Last season, the team’s archetypal aft relocating to Las Vegas, the Raiders were 6-3 and looking similar they could drawback a three-year playoff drought, past mislaid 5 of their past seven.

Derek Carr came into Week 13 starring the league with 3,414 yards passing, and the squad is 6-0 erstwhile helium eclipses 300 yards done the air. Carr, who intelligibly missed injured choky extremity Darren Waller, finished 28 of 38 for 249 yards, was sacked doubly and spent plentifulness of clip nether unit from an improved defence that held a squad to little than 20 points for the 4th clip successful 5 games.

“I thought we truly mixed our coverages up, we tried to disguise them an atrocious lot,” Washington manager Ron Rivera said. “Credit to them, too, due to the fact that they were taking vantage of immoderate of the things that we were doing and they were moving the shot systematically down the field. Fortunate for america we were capable to marque a halt and unit a punt astir midfield oregon person them footwear tract goals, And that’s 1 of the things that assistance you.”

And portion Bisaccia suggested it’s clip “to travel up with immoderate plays somehow, find a mode to marque a play with radical connected us, and find a mode to marque a propulsion adjacent erstwhile we’re nether duress,” Carr abruptly unopen down the notion. When asked if helium was contented with violative coordinator Greg Olson’s play calling oregon if helium thought changes successful the strategy should beryllium made, a visibly frustrated Carr responded: “To reply your existent question, I emotion Oly and he’s doing a large job.”

Nevertheless, Las Vegas was averaging 25.7 points per crippled done Week 8, and successful its 4 losses since is scoring an mean of 14.5 points per contest.

“We person to person 3rd down and we person to get amended astatine scoring touchdowns and not tract goals,” said receiver Hunter Renfrow, who caught a career-high 9 receptions for 102 yards. “Until we get that fixed, we’re gonna support losing games.”

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