‘Bad day at the office’ for Raiders leads to ‘Monday Night Football’ loss

The Raiders rolled out Desmond Ridder, their third different starting quarterback of the season, against the Falcons on “Monday Night Football” at Allegiant Stadium.

It changed absolutely nothing.

Atlanta left every door imaginable open for the Raiders to steal an upset win, but Ridder was simply not up to the challenge in a 15-9 loss that extended the team’s losing streak to 10 games.

This is a flawed football team, from coaching to personnel. It’s why the Raiders are tied for the worst record in the NFL at 2-12.

At the top of the team’s list of deficiencies is quarterback play. Ridder’s clumsy performance followed in the footsteps of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, who was inactive Monday with a knee injury, before him. All three have been given opportunities this season. All three have proven they’re not the type of players the Raiders can move forward with.

Ridder completed 23 of 39 passes for 208 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against the Falcons, the team that drafted him in the third round in 2022. But those numbers are somewhat misleading. Ridder got 135 of those yards on the Raiders’ last two drives.

He had an opportunity to stick it to his former team at the end of the game. Ridder was given two chances to launch the ball from the Atlanta 35-yard line for a potential game-winning touchdown.

But, like Minshew and O’Connell before him, Ridder came up short. His second attempt landed in the arms of Falcons safety Jessie Bates III for a game-ending interception.

“At the end of the day, we all gotta be better,” Ridder said. “I gotta be better.”

Searching for positives

The 25-year-old is not solely to blame for the Raiders’ latest loss. Their special-teams unit allowed the Falcons to get their hands on two punts and block an extra point. Running back Ameer Abdullah caught a punt at the Raiders’ 3-yard line instead of letting it bounce into the end zone. Atlanta tackled running back Alexander Mattison in the end zone for a safety to go up 9-3 in the second quarter two plays later.

One blocked punt led to a Falcons’ field goal. Add that to the safety and the missed extra point, and special teams cost the Raiders six points in a 15-9 game.

“Bad day at the office,” coach Antonio Pierce said.

The Raiders defense at least played admirably without star defensive end Maxx Crosby, who is out the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

Cornerback Jack Jones still made a critical mistake in the first quarter, letting wide receiver Drake London get behind him for a 30-yard touchdown that put Atlanta up 7-0. Running back Bijan Robinson also rushed for 125 yards on 22 carries.

So Ridder, who has only been with the Raiders since Oct. 22, is not entirely to blame for the loss. But he is a symptom of the disease that plagues this franchise.

The Raiders will continue to be vulnerable to games like Monday’s until they solve their quarterback problems.

“It’s tough being in the position we are,” Ridder said. “We’re just searching. Searching for a win, searching for positive energy.”

O’Connell, who was carted off the field in the Raiders’ last game Dec. 8 with his injury, worked out Monday to see if he could play. But the Raiders decided to make him inactive and give Ridder a shot against his former team.

It didn’t go well, though he at least threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Abdullah with 2:54 remaining to give the Raiders a chance. The pass cut the team’s deficit to 15-9. The Raiders then forced a punt and got the ball back once more with 1:50 left.

Ridder, who was 8-9 as the Falcons starter over his first two NFL seasons, couldn’t complete the comeback. The Raiders are set to pick No. 2 in April’s NFL draft as things stand as a result. At least that may give them a chance to fix their biggest issue.

“I’m blessed to have the opportunity to be able to go out there and play along with those other 10 guys on the field,” Ridder said. “So it doesn’t matter who it’s against. I’m always gonna be joyful and grateful to be out there.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.