The Las Vegas Raiders once again dashed out to a big lead only to watch it wither away in yet another loss, collapsing for a 27-20 road defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Vegas generated big plays early to build a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. But those vanished as Derek Carr and the offense earned just four second-half first downs on five drives, opening the door for the Jags to storm back.
"There's no reason why we should be losing games like this, and it's frustrating," wide receiver Davante Adams said after the loss, via ESPN. "If we played for a s---ty team, then it's one thing. But that's not what it is."
Adams' production mirrored the Raiders' hot start and cold finish.
The dynamic receiver caught nine passes for 146 yards and two TDs in the first half, becoming one of five players since 1991 with nine-plus receptions, 140-plus receiving yards and two-plus receiving TDs in the first half of a game (first since Houston's Andre Johnson in 2009 vs. Seattle).
In the second half, Adams had one catch for zero yards on eight targets. He became the first player with eight-plus targets and zero receiving yards in a half since Miami's Chris Chambers in 2006.
"The way we were attacking in the first half was working, to a certain extent," Adams said. "I feel like we got away from that and started playing the game a little different, and that's not the way we've got to do it.
"But at the end of the day, if I'm rolling in certain situations like that, or if the pass game is something that's helping us move the ball and win games, then, obviously, that's the idea. You want to stick with what's working."
Sunday marked the Raiders' third blown lead of at least 17 points the season, tying them for the most such losses by any team in NFL history (2003 Falcons, 2020 Chargers). In the franchise's previous 62 seasons, the Raiders only blew five total games with at least a 17-point lead.
"You know, I think there is a lot I want to say, you know, but if I'm honest, I don't need to say it here," Carr said, per the team transcript. "There are things that will be said. There will be things that need to be addressed and all these things.
"But I think as whole, the urgency part of it, after 30 minutes of football, we have to learn that the game is not over. I feel like I've been in this situation a lot where new coaches or this or that and you have to teach the new guys like this is how we do it and this is the mentality. That gets tiring, but at the same time, it's my job. There is some of that. I'll say that right now for those things. But there are things in-house that we'll talk about man to man and all that kind of stuff that could be addressed."
Vegas entered the season with a lot of hope that this would be the season everything coalesced for a long postseason run. Instead, the Raiders are off to a 2-6 start and back to the cellar in the AFC West.
