Oakland Raiders Still Unable To Make Plays Under Pressure

By Kevin Saito @Kevin_Saito on October 19, 2014

For the second straight week, the Oakland Raiders pushed a division leader hard all day. And for the second straight week, they came up just short. The Raiders got off to a slow start once again, falling behind the Arizona Cardinals 14-0 before waking up. They took bad penalties at inopportune times – as well as some very questionable penalties – and weren’t able to make the big plays when they needed them the most. A host of things they couldn’t afford to do – but still did – doomed the Raiders to an 0-6 start, and a winless streak that dates back to November 2013.

Last week against the San Diego Chargers, we saw a Raiders team that had a potent rushing attack and a lethal passing game. From the opening gun, Oakland was off and running and had the Chargers back on their heels the whole game – until a late defensive collapse — spurred by some very questionable play calling by defensive coordinator Jason Tarver — allowed San Diego to score on what proved to be the winning drive.

Against the Cardinals this week, it was a different story. That corner many believed the Raiders were turning seemed to have gotten further away. Once again, Oakland found themselves in an early hole before they managed to generate any offense of their own. And once again, having to climb their way out of that hole, they had to abandon the game plan that had made them so successful against the Chargers – a healthy dose of Darren McFadden followed by an even healthier dose of Derek Carr and that potent aerial attack.

For the game, McFadden had just 14 total carries, and Maurice Jones-Drew had a paltry three rushes. The Raiders’ rushing attack, which seemed to be on the verge of breaking out after last week’s performance against the Chargers, reverted to the form we’ve seen all season long, gaining just 56 total yards. The offense, as a whole, struggled against the Cardinals’ defense and the ground game was never able to establish the rhythm it had against San Diego – but that’s going to happen when you’re dominated in time of possession the way the Raiders were, 36:57 to 23:03.

But if there has been one thing that has been a constant plague to the Raiders this season, it’s been their inability to prevent the opposition from converting their third-down opportunities. They came into the game allowing opposing offenses to hit on 51 percent of their third-down conversions. They allowed Arizona to convert nine of their 15 opportunities – a 60 percent success rate. The Raiders, through an inability to stop even third-and-long plays — as well as some incredibly inopportune penalties — allowed the Cardinals to extend drives, chew up the clock and also put points on the board.

Oakland had actually closed the gap to 14-13, and through a combination of hot pressure on Carson Palmer, as well as swallowing up Arizona’s weapons like Andre Ellington, seemed on the verge of coming back. But a bad pass interference penalty on Miles Burris – on a third-and-long play – gave the Cardinals a new life. It was a new life they eventually cashed in on when Cardinals RB Stepfan Taylor waltzed in from four yards out to make it a 21-13 game.

And unlike last week, when they matched the Chargers punch for punch, and touchdown for touchdown, the Raiders weren’t able to muster any sort of offensive spark or rhythm when they needed it most. For the game, the Raiders managed an incredibly pedestrian 220 total yards of offense, with Carr, who lit up the scoreboard last week, managing a 16-28, 173-yard, zero-touchdown performance against the Cardinals.

Though they fought and continued to play hard for interim head coach Tony Sparano, the end result is yet another loss in a long string of them – 12 straight now, and counting. The Raiders hung tough with another of the NFL‘s top teams, but in the end, the self inflicted wounds and mental errors were just too much for Oakland to overcome.

Moral victories are nice, but in today’s NFL, it’s only the victories on the football field that matter. And until the Raiders learn to stop beating themselves, moral victories may be the only sort of victories they can count on.

Kevin Saito is a fiction writer, sports junkie, history nerd, and NFL contributor to www.RantSports.com  Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or on Google