Oakland Raiders quarterback EJ Manuel speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND — The season is starting to look grim for the Raiders, who lost for the third-straight week losing to the Baltimore Ravens 30-17 at home in Week 5 following a 2-0 start.

Coming into the game, Oakland had “W” written on paper, seeing that Baltimore was outscored 70-17 by their opponents in their last two losses following a 2-0 start of their own.

Oakland (2-3) did start backup quarterback EJ Manuel for the injured Derek Carr and Manuel did a good job, completing 13-of-26 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. Manuel stepped in a ran the Raiders’ offense as best as he could on Sunday, finding a connection with wide receiver Michael Crabtree early and often.

Crabtree finished with team-highs in catches (6), targets (8) and receiving yards (82), most of those yards coming on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Manuel in the second quarter after Baltimore was already leading 21-3.

Crabtree leads Oakland with four touchdown catches this season after today’s game.

But where was fellow wide receiver Amari Cooper today? In fact, where has Cooper been this entire season?

Cooper didn’t record his first and only catch of the game until 12:35 in the fourth quarter, for eight yards. He had just two targets on the day.

After recording nine catches on 18 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown in Oakland’s first two wins of the season, Cooper has just four catches on 15 targets for 23 yards and zero touchdowns in the last three losses for the Silver and Black.

Cooper has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his first two years in the Bay Area and is considered to be Oakland’s best play-maker, but he has looked nothing like it or the ‘superstar’ every Raider fan believes he is this season.

Is it a mental thing?

Leading the league with seven drop passes according to Pro Football Focus can have that affect on a wide receiver. Maybe the drops are becoming a mental block for No. 89?

Oakland has played teams with good secondaries in recent weeks like Washington and AFC West rival Denver and better wide receivers than Cooper have had trouble this season finding success against those teams, but Cooper has to perform better if the Raiders have any chance of winning football games and making a run at the Super Bowl this year.

The Raiders are expected to get back Carr from his transverse process fracture he suffered in Denver (possibly as early as next week with the visiting 1-4 L.A. Chargers coming to town) and Cooper could reignite his season with Carr’s return.

If Carr and Cooper are on the same page, Oakland’s offense will take off without an issue.

For Oakland’s sake and their season, will the real Amari Cooper please stand up?