Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) stands in the field after the Raiders 29-23 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL football game at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Two weeks down, and the Josh McDaniels era isn’t off to the best of starts. More notably, the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense — the strong suit of McDaniels’ coaching — has looked subpar.
The Raiders are 0-2 following Sunday’s 29-23 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals in their home opener, but that record could be flipped had Las Vegas taken care of business on offense.
“First of all, it’s two games,” McDaniels said. “We have to start learning and winning at the same time. That’s important for us.”
For a team that made the playoffs last year under strenuous circumstances, learning how to win shouldn’t be an issue.
Nevertheless, Sunday couldn’t have started any better for the Raiders, jumping out to a 20-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Derek Carr went 18 of 24 for 210 yards and two touchdowns, those going to Davante Adams and Darren Waller.
Las Vegas set the tone in dominant fashion by taking 10 minutes off the clock during its opening drive, capped by the 1-yard score from Adams. The Raiders outgained the Cardinals 256-83 in the first 30 minutes.
Then, everything went downhill.
Carr threw the ball 15 times in the second half and overtime, completing seven for 42 yards. Running back Josh Jacobs had only eight carries after getting 11 in the first half.
Adams had just two catches all game and didn’t have one in the second half, while Waller had just three receptions for 15 yards.
“They did a few things differently in the second half, I think. At the end of the day, I think you have to learn how to handle success like we had in the first half, and/or failure if that's you on the other end of the spectrum, if you're behind,” McDaniels said. “And that starts with me, I have to do a better job of getting our team able to handle a lead just as much as we were able to try to fight back last week from a deficit.”
While the attention will go to how Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray dominated the Raiders’ defense in the second half with a dazzling dual-threat display, the bottom line is the Raiders have let two winnable games slip through their grasp.
In Week 1, Carr and Adams looked like they were back at Fresno State; Carr threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns, while Adams had 141 yards on 10 receptions and one of those touchdowns. But Carr, who signed a three-year, $121.5 million extension with the Raiders in April, threw the game away with three interceptions and was sacked six times.
Much like he has in the past, Carr said the struggles on offense start with him.
“We have to learn how to win, and it starts with me, and it always will,” Carr said. “For the execution we had in the first half, we didn’t execute each play with the detail that I think we did in the first half.”
But the problem hasn’t entirely been Carr through two games. There’s no balance.
Jacobs carried the ball just 10 times in Week 1. He nearly matched that output on the opening drive with seven carries. Given the question marks surrounding the offensive line, it's imperative to give Carr some reprieve.
“I feel like that’s above my head,” said Jacobs, who is set to hit the free agent market next year. “That’s not my call to make. I was just trying to go out there and execute what I could.”
Perhaps McDaniels is trying to familiarize himself with being a coach again after being out of the head coach ranks for 13 years. Maybe it’s ironing out the early-season wrinkles since Carr, Adams, Waller and others didn’t play during the preseason.
“We're learning, and we have to learn quickly, and we have to start producing some victories here along the way,” McDaniels said.
The Raiders aren’t talking like the sky is falling, as they shouldn’t. There are 15 games left for the Raiders to figure things out. The problem is the Raiders are 0-2 and can’t afford to fall too far behind in the revamped AFC West.
The Raiders face a banged-up Tennessee Titans defense in Nashville on Sunday but are staring at an 0-3 start if they don’t find that working formula offensively. Las Vegas hasn’t started 0-3 since 2018 when that year ended with a 4-12 record.
“You know me, I’m optimistic. This crap ain’t over,” Carr said. “We feel crappy right now, but we’re still a good football team.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
