Oakland Raiders Crushed By New Orleans Saints 38-17

Nov 18, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; A fan of the Oakland Raiders wears a bag on his head during the game against the New Orleans Saints at the O.co Coliseum. The Saints defeated the Raiders 38-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

What is wrong with the Oakland Raiders? We all know about the injuries and inexperience, but this is just getting embarassing. They have now lost three games in a row and have allowed 135 points during the losing streak. Today, they lost to the New Orleans Saints 38-17 in a complete blowout.

Even from the start of the game, it just didn’t look like the Raiders stood a chance. The Saints got off to an early lead as Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham connected for a 1-yard touchdown. And less than four minutes later, Carson Palmer unleashed a pass only to see that it was intercepted by Saints’ safety Malcolm Jenkins, and he returned it all the way to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown. A quick 14 points for the Saints was the case this afternoon, and the score after the first quarter was 14-0.

During the next 15 minutes, the Raiders would put their first points on the board, as Carson Palmer scrambled out of the pocket and hit Brandon Myers with a ball right in his hands for the 1-yard touchdown. But the Saints would pull another trick up their sleeve, and on a critical third down, Drew Brees winded up and threw the deep bomb to Lance Moore for a 38-yard touchdown strike. The touchdown was something that fans around the league are used to seeing, as the Saints are one of the best deep threats team in the league. Halftime came around and the score was 21-7.

Coming out of the half, the Saints returned the kickoff 75 yards to set them up in great field position, and on the very next play, Mark Ingram took the ball up the field for a 27-yard touchdown. He was flagged for taunting, as he was teasing Raiders’ safety Matt Giordano as he strolled into the end zone. Janikowski would boot in a 40-yard field goal, but the Saints would strike again, as Drew Brees threw to Lance Moore for a 15-yard touchdown. Heading into the fourth quarter, the score of the game was 35-1o, and the Oakland home crowd was growing tired.

In the fourth quarter, Garrett Hartley would boot in a 47-yard field goal to give the Saints their last points of the evening. And with four minutes left in the game, Palmer threw a fade to his rookie wide receiver Juron Criner for the 3-yard touchdown pass. That didn’t make any difference on the game though. We all knew the game was over when back-up quarterback Chase Daniel entered the game for Brees, and the Saints would chew up the clock and end the game with a final score of 38-17.

The Raiders now drop to a lousy 3-7 with their season in a pothole. They’re stuck, and need to make changes. I don’t know exactly what needs to be done, but what they have established is not working at all.

They also need to get healthy. Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson are injured with ankle sprains. Richard Seymour is out with a hamstring injury. Tyvon Branch is now suffering a neck injury. It’s tough to win games without your key players.

Palmer threw two touchdowns, but he also threw two picks. He completed 55% of his passes while throwing for 312 yards, which is average. On the other end, Drew Brees completed 74.1% of his passes while throwing for 219 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t have any turnovers, and it’s games like today that make Drew Brees who he is.

The Raiders will be on the road next week as they face the Cincinnati Bengals. Stay tuned with Golden Gate Sports for Oakland Raiders coverage until the Week 12 match-up comes by.