LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - Derek Carr’s interception streak came to a crashing halt, and so did the invincibility of the Oakland Raiders’ offense.
Carr threw two interceptions as Oakland put up just 128 offensive yards in a 27-10 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday night. The Raiders’ only two scoring drives came off Washington turnovers deep in its territory as the running game that propelled them to a 2-0 start was stopped in its tracks.
“We got our butts handed to us,” left tackle Donald Penn said. “We came out flat and very slow. That’s not us. Good thing is it happened early in the year. We got time to get it fixed. But that’s not the Raiders offense out there.”
Behind Marshawn Lynch, the Raiders (2-1) entered with the fifth-ranked rushing offense in the NFL. They picked up 32 yards on 13 carries.
But there wasn’t much going in the passing game, either. Carr was 19 of 31 as his run of 112 consecutive pass attempts without an interception ended early in the first quarter.
Oakland was a pitiful 0 of 11 on third down and picked up just seven first downs.
“That’s not good,” Carr said. “Getting off on third down, for a defense that gives them life and for the other offense it’s joyful. It really is. We did not do a good job as an offense of executing on third down. That just sucked. There’s no other word for it. That’s just what it is. I think as a whole our guys played well, but I have to be better. Put it all on me.”
There was plenty of blame to go around for the Raiders’ rudderless offense, including drops by Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. The offensive line also struggled mightily against the pass rush of the Redskins (2-1) as Carr was sacked four times.
“We didn’t pass-protect well, and across the board we didn’t do our part,” right tackle Marshall Newhouse said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Carr was shaky and even looked unsure when he received a few snaps.
“We’ve obviously seen him play at a real high level,” coach Jack Del Rio said. “Tonight wasn’t one of those nights. … We didn’t get a lot done there with our offense and he’s the trigger man that makes it all go.”
Before the game, a vast majority of Raiders players sat on the bench during the national anthem, following the lead set by several other teams throughout the day after comments from President Donald Trump about similar protests. Del Rio said had kickoff not been so closely timed to the anthem, his team would have stayed in the locker room. He doesn’t believe that contributed to the result.
“I think the problem was that the Redskins outplayed us today,” Del Rio said. “We’ll all take a look that way individually and make sure we’re being accountable and move on.”
Oakland was looking for its first 3-0 start since its 2002 Super Bowl season. After this big a loss, defensive end Khalil Mack hopes he and his teammates can shake it off fast with the Denver Broncos up next.
“It’s always cause for concern,” Mack said. “It’s one of those things that wakes you up and serves as a humble pie.”
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