Raiders’ early-season momentum dims in ugly loss to Panthers

Black jerseys and clothing were all that was visible for several blocks Sunday morning outside Allegiant Stadium three hours before the Las Vegas Raiders’ home opener.

Unlike most other home games since the Raiders moved into their new $2 billion home across from the Strip, road fans were in rare supply. Hints of Carolina Panthers’ blue and black barely dotted the stadium even when kickoff drew closer, and no cheers were audible when the visitors ran onto the field for the first time.  

The Raiders’ contingent, on the other hand, was boisterous. Chants and the sounds of a marching band playing inside a bar behind a Black Hole sign cut through the breezy air under a temperature in the mid-80s pregame.

The temperament among the silver-and-black faithful matched the setting, as hope sprung eternal with the Raiders coming home after a massive upset victory at the Ravens last week.

“I appreciate the crowd, everybody showing up,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “They did their part. We did not.”

It took all of five offensive plays for the optimism to unravel, as subtle boos began to circulate when the Raiders ran running back Zamir White into the middle of the line for the fourth time. He had nowhere to go, and neither he nor his teammates would for most of the rest of the game either.

The hits kept coming and so did the jeers, only louder. The Raiders followed up one of their best victories since relocating to Las Vegas in 2020 with one of their worst defeats, getting pummeled by a Panthers’ side that had been outscored by 46 points in their first two games.

Panthers 36, Raiders 22.

“I would have booed us too,” Pierce said. “Offensively, defensively, we didn’t do a good enough job.”

Las Vegas did end up scoring on the drive where it first got booed, tying the game at 7-7 after Alexander Mattison rushed in a two-yard touchdown to complete a 10-play, 92-yard possession. But Carolina had already completed a nine-play, 70-yard jaunt to open the game and went on to maintain the efficiency.   

The Panthers scored the game’s next 26 points behind veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, who took over for benched 2023 first-overall NFL Draft pick Bryce Young, to all but clinch the result by the start of the fourth quarter.

Togetherness was the theme of Las Vegas’ win a week ago in Baltimore, with Pierce praising it as a terrific team effort. The Raiders were all on the same page again; this was just a terrible team effort.

The Las Vegas defense allowed Carolina to more than double its season average with 6.2 yards per play. The Raiders’ offense had one stretch in the middle of the game where it failed to convert a single first down in four of five possessions.

The one drive where the Raiders did move the chains was all for naught as  kicker Daniel Carlson sailed a 57-yard field goal attempt wide left for this second miss of the season.  

“We haven’t established anything as a team on either side of the ball or special teams — any of it,” wide receiver Davante Adams said. “I think special teams has probably been our most consistent over the last year and a half, two years, whatever, but it’s about converting and being what you put on tape.”

The Raiders appeared to find an identity during their comeback against the Ravens, letting quarterback Gardner Minshew improvise to an extent to find his two best playmakers, Adams, and rookie tight end Brock Bowers, in the passing game. But they disowned that approach immediately against the Panthers.

Adams and Bowers had only six targets in the first half, with the former winding up with four catches for 40 yards on the day and the latter posting three catches for 41 yards.  

Even with the Raiders having to throw aggressively in the second half facing a big deficit, Adams and Bowers totaled only 13 targets as opposed to the team’s 16 rushing attempts that yielded only 55 yards.

“We’ve got to find a rhythm, find what we are best at and just do that,” Adams said. “Just try to be more efficient all together.”

Inefficiency wasn’t what bothered Pierce the most against the Panthers. The first-year full-time coach’s biggest gripe was his players’ effort level.

Pierce said Las Vegas had a great week of practice and came in ready to play, but something changed when it fell behind.

“As the game went on, I don’t think it was the team, but I think it was some individuals that made business decisions,” Pierce said. “We’ll make business decisions going forward as well.”

The Raiders are supposed to be led by their defensive line, but superstar edge rusher Maxx Crosby is dealing with an ankle injury and might have been moving a step slower than usual. And no one helped pick up his slack.

After scoring the game’s opening touchdown, Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard raced past a forest of arm tackles throughout the second half to pad his statistics line to 114 rushing yards on 21 carries.

The Raiders’ secondary wasn’t any better. Receivers were often wide open with top target Diontae Johnson hauling in eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.

Raiders No. 1 cornerback Jack Jones said he would speak to a contingent of media after getting dressed in the locker room, but then exited without a word.

“That’s not what we’re fighting for,” Pierce said of the performance overall. “That’s not what we’re striving for. We showed up today, and if I could say I saw that coming, I would tell you that but I didn’t see that coming. Inconsistent play is something we’ve got to constantly keep working on.”

Pierce threatened changes to everything from schemes to personnel after the game, but he had already made one switch on the field. For all the Raiders’ failings, they hadn’t turned the ball over through the first three and a half quarters.

Then, a drive after Minshew found Jakobi Meyers for a 13-yard touchdown pass to cut the Panthers’ lead to 33-16, the quarterback had a miscommunication with Adams.

A pass went straight to Carolina cornerback Mike Jackson, and Pierce decided to give backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell the reins for the Raiders’ last offensive possession.

O’Connell took Las Vegas 70 yards down the field on 13 plays against a half-engaged Carolina defense, leaning on Meyers before connecting with receiver Tre Tucker for a 13-yard touchdown.

Tucker and Meyers tied with a team-high seven catches apiece. Tucker had 96 receiving yards to Meyers’ 62 receiving yards.

“I want to execute any time my number is called,” O’Connell said. “Obviously the game is a lot different when I’m out there versus the entire game. It’s a different situation, we hope to be winning and not coming from behind. I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity but, as a team, as a whole, we’ve got a lot to get better at — myself included.”

Pierce said the move to O’Connell, whom Minshew beat out to win the starting quarterback job, was not permanent. Most fans may want it to be, however, as they chanted “AOC” at the end of the game and booed Minshew off the field.

It was an ugly end to a day that started so bright and with so much promise.

“Not good enough all around,” Minshew said. “I thought we came out a little flat today and just didn’t have the execution, the focus to sustain drives and stay on the field. That was frustrating.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or