Raiders-Falcons score: Too many mistakes cloud another high-effort game

The results are the same, though for beleaguered Antonio Pierce

It was the final minute of the game and the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense, desperately trying to steal an unlikely win, made another critical penalty.

Their head coach, Antonio Pierce, stared blankly at the field, shaking his head.

We’ve seen this scene before. The Raiders play hard, they try, but they fall short in a sea of mistakes. Their 15-9 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night was a microcosm of their season.

Despite being undermanned because of an onslaught of injuries, the Raiders hang around, but in the end, they aren’t very competitive. They are now 2-12 and have lost 10 straight games, their longest losing skid in 10 years.

The Raiders have trailed by double digits in all 14 games this season. The had dumb mistakes, three turnovers, massive mistakes on special teams, odd play calling on offense and were just not equipped to win.

Pierce is now 7-16 as the Raiders coach and questions remain if he will be kept in 2025. Last week, Raiders owner Mark Davis had a chance to give Pierce a vote of confidence, hut he declined. Davis said he wants to see progress. it’s difficult to say progress was made against the 7-7 Falcons, who lost four straight games coming into Monday night.

So, Pierce’s future remains in flux.

In the grand scheme, the Raiders are tied with the New York Giants for the worst record in the NFL and currently slotted to pick second in the 2025 draft. But that is fluid. There are seven teams with three wins or loss, which, according to the Associated Press, is the most ever after 15 weeks. So, there is a lot to be figured out in the draft-pick case and the Raiders host the 3-11 Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in a pivotal game for draft-pick watching.

Here are some key aspects of the game:

Bad day for Turner:

The Raiders’ offense showed some late life, but it was a pretty rough night overall. Interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner (the team is averaging 15.4 points a game in five games under him) didn’t call a great game. There were two handoffs from the shotgun in their own end zone (one resulted in a safety), there were game-management issues, the team didn’t target a wide receiver until the third quarter and didn’t complete a pass to a receiver until the fourth quarter. Turner is reportedly a candidate to join Bill Belichick’s staff at North Carolina, but regardless, there is likely to be a new offensive coordinator in Las Vegas.

Ridder is so-so:

Predictably, Desmond Ridder was uneven in his first Raiders’ start. He completed 23 of 39 pass attempts for 208 yards. He had one touchdown pass and threw two interceptions, including on in the end zone on the final play of the game. Ridder did show off his legs and had a team-high 28 yards on the ground on five rushes. Still, if Aidan O’Connell, who was the emergency quarterback Monday night, can play against the Jaguars, he will.

Can’t stop Bijan:

Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson had 125 yards rushing on 22 carries and Atlanta had 168 yards rushing.

Tough ground day:

It’s tough when the opponent runs the ball and you can’t. But that’s what the Raiders were dealing with. Young running back Sincere McCormick had eight yards on seven carries before leaving the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury. The Raiders had just 65 yards rushing on 22 attempts.

Some pass-rush:

Playing without Maxx Crosby, who is out for the season with an ankle injury that will require surgery and Charles Snowden, who was arrested on dui charges last week, the Raiders played with K’Lavon Chaisson, Tyree Wilson and Janarius Robinson at defensive end. The Raiders had three sacks. Wilson had one and defensive tackles Jonah Laulu and Adam Butler each had one.

Quiet game for Bowers:

Raiders’ star rookie tight end Brock Bowers had three catches for 35 yards and has just six catches in the past two games. He now had 90 catches this season, which is a rookie tight end record.

Another takeover:

Another game at Allegiant Stadium, another game where there were so many fans of the visiting team. Vivid Seats projected alst week that the stadium would be filled by 46 percent of Falcons’ fans. There was an “ATL” chant going at times. Yes, if the Raiders start winning that will change some, but Las Vegas will ALWAYS be a big draw for visiting teams.

Early aggression then ugliness:

The Raiders have lacked aggression this season on offense, but Pierce was spunky on the first drive of the game when he went for it on fourth and 1 at the Raiders’ own 37. Ridder converted with a keeper. They then converted another first down. Then, things got ugly. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers lost 10 yards on a flea flicker, then there was a tackle for loss and then Alexander Mattison lost a fumble on third down and 23. It was a nine-play, nine-yard drive. Not pretty. It was the Raiders’ 26th giveaway of the season, the third most in the NFL and the most for the Raiders since 2020 and there’s three games to go.

Streak over:

Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins came into the game in a major tailspin. He had thrown zero touchdowns and eight interceptions in the past four games. However, his touchdown skid ended in the first quarter when he and wide receiver Drake London hooked up o for a 30-yard touchdown (after Atlanta got the ball at mid-field after tipping an A.J. Cole punt) in which London put a nasty move on Raiders’ cornerback Jack Jones.

Record set:

Raiders’ kicker Daniel Carlson hit a 52-yard field goal in the second quarter, It was the 159th field goal in the league this season of 50+ yards. That is an NFL record. There are three weeks remaining in the season. It was Carlson’s 31st career field goal of, at least, 50 yards. He has made 31 of 42 of those attempts (73.8 percent via the Raiders’ public relations department). It is the third highest percentage in the league since 2018 when Carlson entered the league. Carlson has the fifth best percentage in attempts of 50-+ yards in league history.

Bad night for special teams:
Raiders’ punter A.J. Cole had a punt blocked and another tipped. Ameer Abdullah fair caught a punt at his own three-yard line and it setup a Falcons’ safety. Yikes. Cole had a punt blocked earlier this season as well. He didn’t have a blocked punt in his first five NFL seasons. Then, in the fourth quarter, Atlanta blocked a Carlson extra-point attempt.

Spillane doing work:

Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane doesn’t get enough credit. He had an interception Monday night. According to the Raiders’ PR staff, he is the only linebacker in the the NFL to have 250 tackles and five interceptions since the start of last season. He is a free agent in 2205 and should be brought back.