The Las Vegas Raiders — after an impressive 2-0 start — were handed their first loss of the season against the New England Patriots in Week 3. Head coach Jon Gruden’s defense looked all out of sorts, giving up 36 points to a Patriots team that doesn’t have a significant passing attack.
The offense looked okay, with Derek Carr continuing the good start to his season. He was 24-of-32 for 261 yards and two touchdowns. However, the problems almost exclusively came on the defensive end. Newton was average through the air, going 17-of-28 for 162 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but the Raiders were gashed on the ground. Seven Patriots players combined for 38 carries, leading to 250 yards gained.
Gruden said that missed tackles and open gaps for the Patriots run game is what cost the Raiders, according to Levi Edwards of Raiders.com:
“Obviously we missed some tackles, and we had a couple of players out of their gap,” Coach Gruden said. “Not against the New England Patriots, not against anybody.”
Despite the mistakes, though, Gruden isn’t giving up on his team, saying that he liked where his defense is at:
“We gotta get a good-looking medical report, see who’s going to be able to play,” said Gruden. “I like our team. [They] showed at times today. I wasn’t perfect either. I made plenty of mistakes, but I do like the team.
“I like the way they hustle; I like the way they finish. We just gotta play better in some key situations.”
The Raiders’ defense is definitely young, meaning games like this are bound to happen. However, with the offense looking more in sync than ever, this season may be the time to capitalize and make the postseason.
Their schedule eases up towards the end of the season, but they have some brutal matchups ahead with the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all up in the next three games.
If the defense can survive the offensive firepower of those three teams, they should be able to make a series run at the postseason.
