At the midway point of the season, the Raiders were all kinds of disastrous in a 24-0 loss to the visiting Atlanta Falcons.
Opening night against the Broncos was a better showing, as Oakland falls to 2-6.
Combined with last week in Baltimore, this is the Merriam-Webster definition of regression.
“Quite simply, we just did not do anything in terms of what we were trying to do offensively,” interim coach Tom Cable said. “It was not a very good effort today by the Oakland Raiders.”
After a first half with -2 yards of total offense, the Raiders got their very first, first down a few minutes into the 3rd quarter.
Shortly after, Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell fumbled. He later threw an interception in the end zone to Falcons safety Erik Coleman from the Atlanta 10 yard line.
The battle of the first two quarterbacks taken in the past two NFL drafts was a TKO in Round One.
Atlanta owned this one from go. ATL rookie QB Matt Ryan was in complete control — something of a Peyton-junior, cool and collected.
The Falcons were organized… their game precise. First 3 drives = 3 touchdowns — the third a Ryan to Michael Jenkins 27-yard TD. Jason Elam added a 48-yard FG on Atlanta’s fourth drive.
The Raiders first 5 possessions… all three and outs.
On the second ATL score, Jerious Norwood took a pitch 12-yards into the Black Hole end zone.
Ryan heaved a 38-yard TD pass to Jenkins over former Falcon, now much maligned Raiders CB DeAngelo Hall to start the scoring.
Falcons running backs Michael Turner (3rd in the NFL in rushing this season) and Norwood churned out first down after first down.
The Raiders defense kept Atlanta off the scoreboard in the second half.
Oakland faces the NFC South again next Sunday, as the Carolina Panthers visit the Coliseum.
Notes:
No ‘Run DMC’… Raiders running back Darren McFadden was inactive for the game, dealing with a turf toe injury. Derrick Burgess was also inactive, missing another contest with a biceps injury.
The field was mostly dry. The grass a bit slick at kickoff, but with heavy rain in the Bay Area Saturday, the field was in very good condition.
