Raiders suffer embarrassing loss to Saints in road shutout

The New Orleans Saints hosted the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday for a bout in the bayou, which led to what seems to be the most embarrassing loss for the Raiders in recent memory.

Despite the team showing plenty of promise just last week, Sunday’s game was full of mistakes, starting in the first quarter with the Raiders offense stalling on their first drive for a three and out. The Raiders defense was able to get a stop on the Saints’ first drive, but after that, the Raiders defense struggled. Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill led the Saints down the field, which led to an Alvin Kamara touchdown run to end the first quarter with the Saints up by seven.

During the second quarter, the Raiders faked a punt, which would have been their third of the day, but the Saints snuffed it out and shut down the attempt. The Saints started their next offensive possession with great field position, which led to three points after the Raiders defense was able to keep them out of the end zone.

It didn’t take long for the Saints to get the ball back due to a Derek Carr interception by Saints S Tyrann Mathieu after a tipped pass intended for WR Hunter Renfrow. The Saints were able to make their way down the field with ease and Kamara finished off the drive with six points.

The Raiders looked defeated entering the locker room down 17 points, their largest deficit of the season. At the start of the third quarter, not much changed. On the Saints’ first possession of the half, Kamara found the end zone for his third touchdown of the game, putting the Saints up by 24.

Derek Carr and company could not get the ball past the 50 yard line all game. The only time the Raiders offense could get past midfield was after QB Derek Carr was replaced by QB Jarrett Stidham, who led the offense down the field in a last ditch effort to get points on the scoreboard before the end of the game.

“That wasn’t good enough in any way shape or form, and that’s my responsibility,” Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels said after the game. McDaniels continued to place the blame on himself for the loss during his remarks, even going as far as saying, “If you want to point a finger, then point it at me,” and, “I apologize to Raider Nation for that performance, and I own that.”

The Raiders’ poor performance was highlighted by Carr’s 15/26 passing for 101 yards and an interception, WR Davante Adams catching only one pass for three yards, and WR Hunter Renfrow also catching only one pass for six yards.

The Raiders looked confused and lacked urgency the whole game, and it’s apparent that their star studded roster is struggling to take off to the heights of success many assumed they could achieve under McDaniels. Owner Mark Davis and general manager Dave Ziegler could very well make some shocking changes in the coming days before the trade deadline on Tuesday in an attempt to get this team on track for a playoff push in a challenging AFC West division.