Raiders must correct 1st-down issues after debacle in New Orleans

The Raiders never got untracked offensively in Sunday’s 24-0 loss at New Orleans.

The problems were plentiful, but their issues on first down were a major reason they were never in the game.

The numbers were historically bad, as the Raiders managed 1.19 yards per play on first down, the fewest for the franchise since it averaged 1.08 against the Chargers in a 1998 game.

“First down is vital to success and drives, and we didn’t do a good enough job of that, whether it was protection, whether it was run blocking, whether it was routes,” offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi said. “Whatever it was, we didn’t do a good enough job in all areas of that, and that really falls on us as coaches.”

It’s difficult to identify a specific issue, but the Raiders know they must be better when they play the Jaguars on Sunday at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida

On 10 first-down plays before taking a knee leading into halftime, the Raiders tried five runs and five passes.

Running back Josh Jacobs picked up 16 yards on five carries, and quarterback Derek Carr completed three passes for 17 yards.

While none of the plays was disastrous, the 3.3 yards per play consistently put the Raiders in second- and third-and-long situations that put them in obvious passing downs and allowed the Saints to bring pressure.

“When you’re behind the sticks as we were a number of times, they can pin their ears back and rush,” coach Josh McDaniels said. “Being in the shotgun however many times we were and trying to dig out from long-yardage situations is never a good formula against a team that can rush the passer like they can. We’re going to need a better job on first and second down to stay away from those situations.”

The second half provided evidence of what can happen when a team is playing from behind. New Orleans took the opening possession of the third quarter and scored a touchdown to take a 24-0 lead.

First downs got more problematic from there for the Raiders, who did not attempt to run the ball on any of their final 10 first-down plays.

Carr and Jarrett Stidham, who relieved him in the fourth quarter, combined to go 4 of 7 for 16 yards and were sacked three times.

The Raiders also committed two penalties on first-down plays.

“I’d say half the drives, it felt like we were trying to dig out a first-and-20 or second-and-long,” McDaniels said.

It added up to 25 yards on 21 first-down plays, a perfect formula to get shut out for the first time since 2014 in a game in which the Raiders failed to cross midfield until a final desperation drive late in the game.

“It was a lot of penalties, and we had one or two negative runs, and then a couple sacks that put us in those situations,” McDaniels said. “We’ve made a concerted effort to try to limit some of those things, obviously. … We had about 12 or 13 plays in the game where we needed 13 or more yards to go to get a first down.”

That was especially problematic, as Carr went 1-for-9 for 14 yards on passes thrown more than 10 yards downfield.

The Raiders know their best chance to sustain drives is to not find themselves in third-and-long situations, and that starts with staying ahead of schedule on first down.

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