The Raiders finished the first quarter of the season at 2-2, but after their second-straight loss, a 30-23 defeat against the Bills, there was certainly no reason to celebrate.
After playing mistake-free football for the first two weeks of the campaign, costly miscues cropped up last week against the Patriots and increased against a skilled and battle-tested Buffalo squad. Quarterback Derek Carr was openly frustrated postgame while doing his best to remain positive.
“We are in all these games. We have moved the ball up and down the field these first four games. You’re blind if you don’t think that. But what’s killing us is ourselves,” Carr told reporters after the game.
Besides settling for three Daniel Carlson field goals while running more plays and gaining more yards than the Bills’ offense, the Raiders had two costly turnovers late in the game. Tight end Darren Waller lost the ball while fighting for extra yardage when Las Vegas was down just six points in the fourth quarter. Carr was stripped of the ball in the pocket two drives later.
Plus, the Raiders had seven penalties for 66 yards, including an illegal formation that negated a 49-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nelson Agholor in the first half.
“That’s the frustrating part,” Carr said. “The things that are hurting us in these close games is not them. It’s us. That’s the hard part to swallow. You wake up early, trying to outwork everybody. And it’s one thing here and there. It’s like, dang.
“It’s encouraging, but at the same time you go home and you’re hot. I got to take a deep breath before I go in my house so I don’t take it out on my wife and my kids because it means so much to me. But enough’s enough. We’ve got to correct this right now.”
A renewed effort to play mistake-free football and capitalize on scoring opportunities should help the Raiders, especially with the imposing Chiefs as their next opponent. Las Vegas has to do more than talk about it, however. Results on the field are needed immediately if the Raiders are to fight for a playoff birth.