Photo credit: Oakland Raiders
By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer
HYATTSVILLE, MD — Boy, you didn’t see that one coming from a mile away.
Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders were straight out humbled by Washington 27-10 Sunday night at FedEx Field to brought their record to 2-1 on the season.
Carr and the offense were completely out of sync, registering just 128 yards of total offense. The Raiders signal-caller completed just 19-of-31 passes for 118 and threw two interceptions (with a 52.9 passer rating) that led to a 14-0 lead for Washington at halftime.
Last season, Carr didn’t have a game in which he threw two interceptions in the contest. Before tonight’s two-interception clunker, Carr’s last two-interception game was in Week 15 of the 2015 season against the Green Bay Packers.
“Man, we just got our butt kicked,” Carr told reporters after the game, “This isn’t alarming, but we did get punched in the mouth.”
Punched in the mouth is an understatement.
Washington (2-1) took a pair of rusty pliers to Oakland’s mouth and pulled their teeth out. Oakland took care of the football in the first two games this season, but tonight was a different story.
Oakland couldn’t move the ball on third down, finishing 0-for-11 while Washington converted 7-of-15 on third downs. Washington controlled the time of possession, holding on to the football for 38:06 to just Oakland’s 21:54.
Oakland gained just seven first downs the entire night.
The Raiders didn’t record a first down until 11:34 into the second quarter, and that came off a penalty on Washington.
Wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree were virtual no-shows, combining for two catches for 13 yards on eight targets on the night. Crabtree left the game in the fourth quarter after taking a wicked hit to the chest and didn’t return.
Running back Marshawn Lynch racked up 18 of Oakland’s 32 rushing yards and was a non-factor after Oakland had to abandon the run after Washington took a 21-0 lead at the 10:37 mark in the third quarter following a 52-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins to wide receiver Josh Doctson.
Trust me, the offense had a hand in this debacle, but Oakland’s defense got pushed around and were hammered by Washington.
Doctson jumped over Oakland and former Washington cornerback David Amerson up the right sideline that was a gut-punch to a Raiders defense that surrendered 472 yards of total offense.
Cousins ripped Oakland to shreds, completing 25-of-30 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns with a 150.7 passer rating.
Washington running back Chris Thompson was unstoppable, dominating Oakland with six receptions for 150 yards and a 22-yard touchdown catch from Cousins.
Tight end Vernon Davis went back into the time machine, hauling in five catches for 58 yards, which included an 18-yard touchdown catch after gaining a step past cornerback Sean Smith down the middle of the field.
But what makes this loss so gruesome for the Silver and Black was that it occurred in prime-time in front of the entire country.
The over-priced offensive line, and rightfully so, was just out-worked by a speedy and powerful Washington defensive front that gave Oakland problems from the opening kickoff.
Carr, who was sacked just twice coming in two games coming into Week 3, was sacked four times by Washington. On Oakland’s second possession of the game, Carr was sacked on back-to-back drop-backs and the offensive line couldn’t maintain Washington’s speed on defense.
If it weren’t for a fumble by Washington wide receiver Jamison Crowder on a punt that Oakland recovered to set up a 21-yard touchdown pass from Carr to tight end Jared Cook (four receptions for 43 yards) to cut Washington’s lead to 21-7 with 3:52 left in the third quarter, the Raiders could’ve been shut out.
At one point, I’m looking at the stat sheet and the Raiders had just 74 yards of total offense. One of the league’s premier offenses was a shell of itself in the first of their franchise-record five prime-time games this season.
It will be a long flight back to the Bay Area for the Raiders and to a man, everyone on that team plane has to be upset. Everyone from the coaches to the players had a hand in this no-show of a football game.
Oakland has to now turn their attention to Week 4 and prepare for a trip to Denver for a key AFC West game next Sunday.
With both teams looking up at the undefeated Kansas City (3-0) in the division, the matchup against the Broncos (2-1) at Sports Authority Field at Mile High is now a must-win for Oakland.
