Raiders Week 3 Team Grades: Raiders Lose First Game Of The Season Against Redskins
By Shawn Lealos
The Oakland Raiders opened the 2017 NFL season with two big wins and looked to be on their way to replicating their big 2016 season, where they finished with a 12-4 record. However, after their 2-0 start, it seems the Raiders might have overlooked the 1-1 Washington Redskins in Week 3 of the season. In what might be a minor shock to Raiders Nation, the Redskins welcomed the Raiders into their house and then proceeded to dominate Oakland, winning the game 27-10.
Here is a look at the Raiders team grades for their first loss of the 2017 NFL season.
Offense: D
Derek Carr was a finalist for the NFL MVP last season despite his season coming to an early end due to injury. However he came back down to earth in the loss to the Redskins. Carr had his first multi-interception game since 2015, tossing two interceptions and only throwing for 118 yards and one touchdown in the game. The Redskins sacked him four times, and Seth Roberts was the only wide receiver to have more than one reception in the game. Carr's quarterback rating was an abysmal 3.5.
In all, when the 22 lost yards on sacks were added into the stat line, the Raiders ended up with only 128 yards of total offense in the game. Marshawn Lynch had six carries for 18 yards to lead the rushing attack. Tight end Jared Cook had a high in receiving yards with four receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown, while running back DeAndre Washington had five receptions for 24 yards and Seth Roberts had four for 20 yards. One week after exploding for three touchdown receptions, Michael Crabtree had one catch for seven yards.
Defense: F
If the Raiders offense looked bad, then their defense was horrible. Kirk Cousins shredded the defense for 365 yards passing and three touchdowns while completing 25 of 30 passes. The top receiver was running back Chris Thompson. After rushing for two touchdowns last week, he caught a touchdown pass this week, and now has four of the seven Redskins scores this season. In last night's contest, he caught six passes for 150 yards and ran the ball eight times for 49 yards.
With Rob Kelley out of the lineup, Samaje Perine ran the ball 19 times for 49 yards. Vernon Davis and Josh Doctson chipped in touchdown receptions as well. Overall, the Oakland Raiders defense gave up 365 yards to the Redskins and put their offense in a 21-0 hole, taking away their chances to win the game. The only bright spot for the defense was linebacker James Cowser, who recovered two fumbles in the game. Those fumbles were caused by Khalil Mack and Cory James, who also led the team with 12 tackles.
Special Teams: B+
Giorgio Tavecchio remained perfect on the season as a replacement for Sebastian Janikowski. He hit his only field goal attempt from 22 yards out and one extra point. He is now a perfect 5-for-5 in field goals and eight-for-eight on point after attempts. Marquette King was also solid in the punting game. With Oakland unable to move the ball, King punted it away seven times and put four of them inside the 20.
Coaching:
The Raiders were thrown off their game plan due to early mistakes and a very powerful Redskins offense. Derek Carr threw an interception on the second offensive play of the game, and things went downhill from there. Because the Raiders fell behind early, Carr was asked to throw the ball 31 times compared to handing it off only 11 times in the game. This helped the Redskins defense focus on stopping Carr, which they did successfully. The Raiders had little chance to win the game and couldn't recover from their early mistakes.
Up Next: Next week, Oakland will try to rebound with a divisional game against the Denver Broncos. With the Raiders now sitting at 2-1, they fall into a tie with Denver for second place in the AFC West behind the still unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs. Denver is also coming off a tough loss after starting the season with two straight wins, and the two teams will be fighting to keep pace behind the Chiefs while hoping for a Kansas City slip up.