Raiders Lose 24-19 To Chargers In Season Opener
The Raiders opened their 2022 season against the division rival Chargers. Unfortunately, the score didn’t quite go their way as they lost 24-19.
The Las Vegas Raiders lost their opening game to the Los Angeles Chargers 24-19. After a slow start, the Raiders battled back and had chances to take the lead, but turnovers played a crucial role in the Raiders’ loss.
Derek Carr threw three interceptions that hurt the team’s chances of winning. It was the third time in Carr’s career he threw interceptions in a game; he blamed it on being aggressive.” I came in with a very aggressive mindset, especially with all the weapons we have and all that kind of stuff. That’s on me. That’s decisions, being way too aggressive in certain moments,” he said.
The interceptions were pretty good reads; the ball was severely underthrown. Carr finished the game with 295 passing yards and two interceptions.
The Raiders Offensive Line Struggled Greatly In Week One
The Raiders’ offensive line gave up five sacks, but a couple of them were on Carr holding the ball too long. As a result, Las Vegas was substituting offensive linemen in and out on the right side of the line. Lester Cotton and Jermaine Eluemunor started at guard and tackle, while rookies Dylan Parham and Thayer Munford played as well.
“There’s seven guys that deserve the opportunity. That’s it. They’ve earned the opportunity to do it,” McDaniels said. “I know what the ultimate sack number was; I thought we did a decent job in many ways of just giving ourselves a chance to get the ball out on time. When we ended up having to hold the ball, some of that was based on the coverage. … I thought our guys fought. Those seven guys went in there and competed hard. We knew they were going to play coming into the game. There’s a lot to learn from; we’ll see how they did.”
In the future, the team should have a set offensive line so they can gel together. In addition, it could help the offensive line as the season progresses.
Making his Raiders debut, Davante Adams finished the game with ten receptions for 141 yards and one touchdown; he was targeted 17 times. Tight end Darren Waller caught four passes for 79 yards, while Hunter Renfrow had three catches for 21 yards. Chargers slot cornerback Bryce Callahan did an outstanding job getting physical with Renfrow.
IT HAPPENED‼️@derekcarrqb ➡️ @tae15adams for the touchdown! 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/boU8hJRTpo — Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 11, 2022
Defensively, the unit started slow but picked up in the second half and gave the team a chance to win. Las Vegas’s pass rush did not have sacks, but Maxx Crosby had two quarterback hits, and Chandler Jones had one. Crosby did finish with ten tackles, but as we advance, Las Vegas will need to get more pressure. The Raiders could benefit from the defensive tackles getting a push up the middle to help Crosby and Jones.
Quarterback Justin Herbert did a good job getting out of the pocket and extending plays allowing Chargers receivers to get open. However, the Vegas secondary tightened up in the second half and played tighter coverage even when Herbert got out of the pocket.
.@based_nate said absolutely not 🚫 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/jHLmPPltOb — Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 11, 2022
Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs played a heck of a game, racking up nine tackles with two tackles for a loss. He even had a crucial pass breakup to force ad punt to give the Raiders the ball back.
It was a tough loss for Las Vegas, but there are still 16 games to be played, so the Raiders must get back to work and look forward to playing the Cardinals in their home opener this Sunday.
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