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Oakland Raiders: The good, bad, and ugly in season opening loss to Rams

By Kevin Saito

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 10: Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates with Marshawn Lynch #24 after a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 10, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 10: Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates with Marshawn Lynch #24 after a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 10, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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FOXBORO, MA – DECEMBER 24: A detail of a penalty flag during the game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /

Uglier: Penalties (again)

Wait, wait, stop us if you’ve heard this one before – the Oakland Raiders are leading the NFL in penalties and penalty yardage.

In what is most definitely not a plot twist, the Raiders lined themselves up and shot themselves in the foot over, and over, and over again against the Rams. The one thing they couldn’t do – hurt themselves with self-inflicted wounds – they did. With a bullet.

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    • Whether it was a massive 50-yard pass interference call on Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie that took the Rams from their own 31, and set them up in Oakland’s red zone (which led to a field goal), or a holding call on Kelechi Osemele that wiped out a first down (which led to a missed field goal), or a holding call on Kolton Miller that wiped out a first down, the Raiders displayed expert level self-sabotage.

    For the game, the Raiders finished with a mind-numbing 11 penalties for 155 yards.

    Discipline was always a key element of Gruden’s teams. Staying sharp, staying focused, and doing your job. Against the Rams, the Raiders looked as wild and undisciplined as any of Jack Del Rio‘s squads – or really, any other head coach since Gruden’s last tour of duty in Oakland.

    Giving up that much real estate in penalties for stupid, mental errors is inexcusable. The fact that those stupid mental errors wiped out positive plays, gave away points to the enemy, and cost the team points in their own right, is a massive problem. One that needs to get fixed – yesterday.

    If there is one small silver lining – and this is one of those you really have to dig deep for – it’s that the Raiders were flagged just once for 10 yards in the second half of the game. Which means, they had a hellaciously bad first half.

    They need to clean it up and stop taking so many flags, or they’re going to penalize themselves out of a lot of games this season.

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