The Las Vegas Raiders sent up two Hail Marys at the end of Monday night's 15-9 eyesore loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Each went unanswered.
Falcons safety Jessie Bates intercepted Desmond Ridder on the last-second prayer, sending the Raiders to their 10th consecutive loss.
"We need a break, we need a prayer … it just didn't go our way," Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said after the game, via The Athletic. "Guys are all in, we're just not winning. I don't know what else to tell ya, we're just not winning. S---, do I want to win? Hell ya, I want to win. Do I want to keep looking at the same thing every week and have the same discussion with ya'll? No."
Frankly, given how they played, the Raiders, sans star defender Maxx Crosby and on their third starting QB, were lucky to have a prayer of pulling out the win. They can thank the Falcons' offensive ineptitude for keeping things close.
The Raiders offense couldn't move the ball for long stretches, turned it over three times, and was stuffed for a safety. On its first 10 possessions, Vegas generated 96 total net yards. The special teams were an epic disaster, with two blocked punts, a blocked point after try, and a fair caught punt at the 3-yard-line that led to the safety.
"Bad day at the office, really bad day at the office," Pierce said. "We need all three phases to play well."
The 10th consecutive loss is the longest losing streak by a team this season and tied for the second-longest streak in Raiders history (13 games in 1962).
Pierce's team continues to battle, but the mental miscues, questionable coaching decisions, play calls, and lack of playmaking continue to sink the crew.
"We'll keep fighting," Pierce said. "It's a blue-collar group. It's just not going our way … we understand where we are at and we're fighting for each other. These guys just showed you, going down to score and giving us a chance to win."
