Penalties once again doom Raiders in blowout loss to Bengals

The Raiders had a 3-0 lead and were celebrating another big third-down stop that was going to give them the ball back when the first yellow flag appeared on the field.

By the time they were flagged for their seventh and final infraction of the game, the joy had long since been sucked out of Allegiant Stadium.

The penalties were a major factor in the Raiders’ crippling 32-13 loss to the Bengals on Sunday, but it was the timing and significance just as much as the number.

“There were concentration penalties, alignment penalties. It was really a cornucopia of penalties,” interim coach Rich Bisaccia said. “We had concentration penalties where we lined up in the neutral zone. Then we have the 15-yarder where we had our guy put his hands on the back of the quarterback when he’s throwing it away and we’re going to get off the field.

“We just didn’t do a very good job.”

Bisaccia was referencing a roughing-the-passer call on Yannick Ngakoue in the first quarter. After the Raiders scored three points off a forced fumble, they got another stop when Joe Burrow floated a pass harmlessly out of bounds to avoid a sack.

Ngakoue gave him a quick shove to the ground after the throw, giving the Bengals 15 yards and allowing them to keep possession on a drive that resulted in a tying field goal.

“Penalties don’t help you win games at all,” Ngakoue said. “I can do a better job pulling up on the quarterback, but I was just trying to give 100 percent effort on that play. I wish I could get it back.”

The Raiders got another third-down stop late in the second quarter when Brandon Facyson tackled wide receiver Tyler Boyd well short of the chains, but he was called for a helmet-to-helmet hit.

Cincinnati would have had to settle for a field goal, but instead got seven points on a drive that had already been extended when an offsides call on Quinton Jefferson wiped out Ngakoue’s third-down sack that would have forced a punt.

The Raiders hoped to come out strong after halftime, but started the drive from their own 11 because of a holding call on the kickoff return.

“It’s something coach Bisaccia stresses more than any coach I’ve been around,” quarterback Derek Carr said of maintaining discipline. “I’m sure we’re going to hear about it, as we should. It’s something we need to fix.”

The Raiders have been called for an average of eight penalties per game under Bisaccia. They were flagged for an average of seven per game in the five games coached this season by Jon Gruden. They are second in the league in both penalties and penalty yards per game.

Facyson was called for a pass interference on the Bengals’ first drive of the second half, which ended with a field goal.

A couple of the penalties appeared to be borderline calls and another wasn’t even called on the field.

Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor challenged a play when he believed Raiders’ defensive tackle Damion Squire didn’t get off the field before the snap.

Taylor was right and the officials walked off a five-yard penalty against the Raiders.

“Penalties are penalties,” linebacker Denzel Perryman said. “Whether you like it or not, whether it was a good call or not, there’s still laundry on the field.”

Running back Josh Jacobs put a bow on the parade of flags when he was called for unnecessary roughness for diving on the back of cornerback Eli Apple after an interception of Carr late in the fourth quarter of what turned into a blowout.

The Bengals, whose only penalty was an offsides call in the closing minutes, scored two plays later.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.