Las Vegas Raiders are the only 0-3 team in the NFL
The Las Vegas Raiders desperately wanted to against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday to avoid going 0-3. Apparently, they weren’t desperate enough.
The Las Vegas Raiders started the season with two ugly losses; one against AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers and the other against the Arizona Cardinals after blowing a 20-0 lead. Several other teams joined the Raiders in starting the season 0-2, such as the Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, and of course, the Tennessee Titans. All of those teams, except the Raiders, won on Sunday.
Leaving the Raiders as the only team with an 0-3 record in the NFL in 2022.
The Las Vegas Raiders are off to a horrible start in 2022
The Raiders once again came out of the gate slow in Tennessee allowing the Titans to run down a “Derrick Henry-themed” drive lasting 7:38 which ended with a touchdown. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill had no problem finding open receivers and Henry crashed his way to what seemed like an endless amount of first downs.
The Raiders did not answer back with a touchdown until the second half with a short pass to Davante Adams, who was in double coverage. After that touchdown, the Raiders did not find the endzone until the final two minutes of the game. While the Raiders’ defense shut down the Titans’ offense in the second half the Raiders’ offense could not capitalize, even with wide receiver Mack Hollins ending the day with 158 yards on 8 receptions (10 targets) with a touchdown.
While the Raiders came within two points of tying it up against the Titans they could not execute on the two-point conversion and the comeback attempt was neutralized. Besides the lack of defensive effort in the first half, the glaring issue was the offensive play calling and a variety of mistakes ranging from interceptions to penalties. The screen pass to Brandon Bolden on a 3rd and 18 and a failed jet sweep with Davante Adams stick out above the rest and the overall flow of the game left analysts and fans alike scratching their heads in confusion.
On the subject of Davante Adams, he has 44 receiving yards in his last two games with the Raiders. The last time Adams had such a low amount of production was in 2015. While he has scored a touchdown in every game with the Raiders the lack of overall production is startling.
As stated earlier, the Raiders hold the less than “prestigious” position as being the only team in the league without a win. The Raiders may have only lost by 5 (Chargers) 6 (Cardinals) 2 (Titans) wins are the only statistic that truly matters. The Raiders roster has the ability to be a top 5 unit however they aren’t living up to the hype and everyone is noticing.
The questions will come all week throughout the sports media;
Is Josh McDaniels the right guy to be the Head Coach? Should there be a change in coordinators? Should the Raiders draft a quarterback next year? Is Derek Carr getting traded? Why did they sign Davante Adams just to lose?
Many of these questions should be answered but as we know most will not be addressed. The Raiders have a must-win game at home in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos to avoid falling to 0-4 and further embarrassment.