Gordon: Raiders can kiss this season goodbye after latest debacle

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.

Derek Carr wanted to say more.

“But I don’t need to say it here,” the dejected Raiders quarterback said Sunday from the bowels of TIAA Bank Field — inside a tiny room adjacent to the visiting locker room, where his teammates silently showered off the stink of their 27-20 loss to the woeful Jaguars before departing the scene of their latest embarrassment.

“After 30 minutes of football, we have to learn that the game is not over,” Carr added. “I feel like I’ve been in this situation a lot where … new coaches and you have to teach the new guys ‘this is how we do it. This is the mentality.’ That gets tiring. But at the same time, it’s my job.

“So I’ll say that right now.”

And I’ll say this right now: The season is all but over for the Raiders.

If they haven’t learned how to protect a 17-point lead or play four quarters by November, then there’s no reason to think they’ll figure it out and qualify for the NFL’s postseason. They had blown five such leads from 1960 when their storied franchise was founded through 2021 when former interim coach Rich Bisaccia helped them reach the postseason for the second time since 2002.

They’ve blown three this season under first-year coach Josh McDaniels, who fell to 7-23 as the leading man following his fluky 6-0 start in Denver. Sunday’s lead was against a feeble franchise fastened to the bottom of the AFC South — with a 1-116 record when facing deficits of 17 points or more.

“We’ve got to learn how to play a full four-quarter game,” said McDaniels, who, it would seem, needs to learn how to coach a full four-quarter game.

Any adjustments?

Unlike last week in New Orleans — where he seemingly didn’t coach a single quarter during a 24-0 shellacking against the Saints — McDaniels had an effective game plan against Jacksonville that served the Raiders well in the first half.

He designed and called plays that freed one of the NFL’s best receivers.

Carr responded accordingly, feeding Davante Adams the football nine times for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the first half en route to a 17-0 advantage and 20-10 halftime lead.

Adams caught one pass for no gain the rest of the way. Carr completed 5 of 15 for 36 yards in the second half.

“Give them credit,” McDaniels said. “They did a better job, certainly, of making some adjustments.”

Adjustments apparently so precise that the Raiders couldn’t muster a point in the second half.

Either McDaniels didn’t adjust, or his adjustments were as ineffective as 25 plays for 65 yards would suggest. Carr didn’t do his coach any favors, missing an open receiver here and another one there in the continuance of his worst statistical season since 2017.

“The way we were attacking in the first half, it was working to a certain extent,” said a befuddled Adams, who experienced six regular-season losses in his previous two seasons combined. “I wouldn’t say there was any magic thing that was done. We could have continued doing what we were doing in the first half.”

So much for practice

Instead they continued to do what they’ve done in the first half of the season: squander sizable leads and the victories that should accompany them.

Carr said he felt confident amid his preparation, noting the Raiders “had a really good week” of practice in nearby Sarasota.

“Like we always say, having a really good week doesn’t give you a week on Sunday. It gives you a chance,” Carr said. “We’ve shown spurts of being a good football team. But showing spurts of being a good football team gets you two wins. You have to do it all the time. The good teams do it all the time. And we have not done that.”

Better luck next season.

Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.