The Oakland Raiders just have not looked the same since the loss in Pittsburgh. A week after getting beaten badly at home by the Minnesota Vikings, the Raiders lost to the Lions in a game where they never looked comfortable.
The final score was 18-13, but it never really felt like the Raiders were going to win the game, even when they had a lead entering the fourth quarter. The first half was absolutely dominated by the Lions, but an inability to complete drives resulted in three field goals and kept the Raiders in the game despite failing to put any points on the board.
The Raiders were able to take the lead with a touchdown and a couple of field goals in the third quarter, but even with the lead the Raiders just never seemed in control.
For the second straight week, the offense had no rhythm and the defense gave up huge chunks of yards at a time. Detroit dominated the time of possession and eventually, the inability of the Raiders’ offense to maintain drives caught up to them.
By the fourth quarter, with the offense unable to keep putting up points, a bend-but-don’t-break style of the defense was enough for Detroit to get the win. The Lions put up two more field goals which, along with a safety thanks to a hold by Donald Penn in the end zone, was enough to sink a Raiders team that was barely still treading water.
It wasn’t a pretty win for the Lions, but a win is a win. Neither offense was very impressive, but the Raiders were just flat out bad. Oakland finished with a measly 214 yards and only managed seven first downs, two of which came as result of a penalty. Derek Carr looked average and Amari Cooper was a complete no show while dropping two more passes.
The defense wasn’t whole lot better, but that was expected. When the Raiders have managed wins this season, it’s been on the shoulders of their offense– an offense that was top-10 in the league in scoring and looked outright dominant at times.
With another road trip on the horizon, the Raiders had better figure out what’s happened to their offense and fix it fast. If not, this season that was once full of hope could start looking a lot like years of past as far as their record is concerned.
