Raiders’ retooled offense fails to finish in Miami: ‘That’s tough’

The Raiders’ retooled offense took some positive steps Sunday, but the team still lost its sixth straight game.

The club’s undoing against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium had a familiar feel. The Raiders couldn’t get their opponent off the field on third or fourth down, couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t convert red-zone opportunities into touchdowns and committed untimely penalties.

The issues near the goal line stood out in particular. The Raiders (2-8) scored one touchdown in their three trips beyond Miami’s 20-yard line. The Dolphins, on the other hand, scored three touchdowns on their four red-zone opportunities. That disparity goes a long way toward explaining the 34-19 final score.

The Raiders, in interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s first game as play caller, were competitive in a lot of categories. The Dolphins only finished with 25 more yards, two more plays and three more first downs. Miami averaged 5.5 yards per play, while the Raiders averaged 5.3.

There wasn’t a lot separating the two teams except for the Dolphins’ ability to finish drives.

“It’s really frustrating,” Raiders rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson said. “I mean, you march 80 to 90 yards and you don’t score. That’s tough. But we’re just going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure it out.”

Coach Antonio Pierce said Monday after watching the game film the Raiders’ efficiency still needs to improve.

The team had too many run plays go for zero yards or a loss. And Pierce wanted to see quarterback Gardner Minshew and the entire offense get more aggressive around the goal line.

“You got to take shots to the end zone,” Pierce said. “Throwing the ball short, you love to see all the (yards after catch) and all that good stuff. Making guys miss. You have better opportunities when you throw the ball in the end zone.”

Minshew played well Sunday, completing 30 of 43 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. But he did throw a costly interception in the fourth quarter and missed some big-play opportunities down the field.

Pierce said Minshew will remain the Raiders’ starting quarterback this week against the Broncos, but did not commit to the veteran beyond that.

Second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who suffered a broken thumb in a loss to the Rams on Oct. 20, is eligible to come off injured reserve after the team’s next game.

Not throwing in the towel

The Raiders were more frustrated than resigned after Sunday’s loss. They know it would take a miracle for them to get back in the playoff picture, but players haven’t shown any signs of giving up.

“Yeah, we’re down, man. But I tell you, I’ve been on teams where, you know, you send it in, but we’re not doing that,” Minshew said. “We practice hard, dude. … We haven’t been getting the results and we’ve been (a few) plays short but, like, I feel like (if) we continue on our process, continue trying to get better, it’s going to break for us.”

Defensive end Maxx Crosby echoed Minshew’s thoughts.

“Guys show up on Monday right after the game and work out. The whole team does. Tuesday as well, so we’re showing up every single day, guys are looking to improve,” Crosby said. “I don’t think that’s the issue at all. These guys are great in this locker room.”

Carlson Mr. Steady

The Raiders, despite their red-zone woes, can at least take some solace in kicker Daniel Carlson’s consistency.

Carlson made both of his field-goal attempts Sunday. That gives him 57 games with two makes in his career, the fifth-most in the NFL since 2018.

Sunday was also Carlson’s 74th game with a perfect field-goal percentage. That is the second-most in NFL history in a kicker’s first 105 NFL games, behind only Justin Tucker (75).

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