Not even Tom Brady in the booth can bolster Raiders’ offense in 20-9 loss to Chargers
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Hours after announcing he’d unretire to play in a one-day flag football tournament, Las Vegas Raiders co-owner Tom Brady took a seat with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly in the coaches’ booth for the team’s Monday night clash against the Los Angeles Chargers.
It didn’t help.
The Raiders’ offense looked lost and muddled during their 20-9 loss to Los Angeles, marking the second time in franchise history they’ve lost four straight home openers.
“What that really feels like is a real missed opportunity, just in general,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “We didn’t play well enough on the offensive side.”
One week after putting on an air show during a 20-13 win in New England, quarterback Geno Smith was haunted by the Chargers’ suffocating defense, in particular linebacker Daiyan Henley, who finished with 10 tackles, a sack, one quarterback hurry, two tackles for loss, two pass deflections and an interception.
Smith, who completed 24 of 34 for 362 yards with one touchdown and one interception against the Patriots, threw for 169 yards on 22-of-36 passing with three interceptions, including one on the first play of the game. It was Smith’s fifth career three-interception game.
“I know that the picks are a big issue, but that’s not my concern,” Carroll said. “My concern is why we didn’t get the ball thrown and caught underneath, and we wound up taking those shots (downfield).”
Smith was just the third player in the last 20 seasons, and the first since 2015, to go 0 for 10 or worse on passes 10 or more yards downfield, per Sportradar.
“Those are things that I got to learn from and be better at,” said Smith, who finished with a 37.0 quarterback rating. “Anything that doesn’t look right out there, you put that on my feet, put that on my shoulders. I feel like I got to be a lot better for our guys. I know I have to, and I will be.”
It didn’t help that tight end Brock Bowers, who figures to be Smith’s key target all season, was playing at less than 100 percent. Bowers, who was nursing a left knee injury all week and was questionable coming into the game, finished with five receptions for 38 yards.
“We were concerned about it, he only practiced one day during the week, and he seemed okay and all that,” Carroll said. “You saw us go to him more in the second half, because he survived the first half and made it through it.”
Rookie Ashton Jeanty finished with 43 yards on 11 carries, but for the second straight week, the rushing game did nothing to complement the passing game.
Through two weeks, the Raiders’ rushing attack has generated 124 yards – second-fewest in the NFL.
“We’re going to have to run the football better, more effectively,” Carroll added. “We got to get more yards. I mean, 50 or 60 yards or something rushing, that’s not enough. We got to get more than that.”
Meanwhile, Brady’s dual role as Raiders part-owner and Fox analyst continues to come into question, though the league seemingly remains unconcerned.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner and five-time Super Bowl MVP is scheduled to call next week’s game between the Cowboys and Bears in Chicago.
One week later, the Bears travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders.
“We have conversations, I talk to Tom., Chip talks to Tom regularly,” Carroll said. “I mean, we have a tremendous asset. And so, we all get along well and we respect each other. And so we just talk about life and football … and he has great insight. So, we’re lucky to have him as an owner.”
With a road trip to face the Commanders on deck, though, it appears it’ll take more than a conversation and Brady in the booth to fix things.
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By W.G. RAMIREZ
Associated Press
