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Oakland Raiders: Top 4 takeaways from Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings

By James Carroll

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 34-14. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 34-14. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 34-14. Oakland Raiders (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

The Oakland Raiders left little hope in their 34-14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. But are there any positives that came from the start of their season-shaping journey on the road?

Last week, the Oakland Raiders had some thin silver linings to focus on in their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. They let one quarter get away from them. The score wasn’t so bad. The Chiefs are a great team.

They couldn’t hide from the reality of their situation this week, however.

The silver and black began their road-trip of doom on Sunday when they headed to Minnesota for their first week away from Oakland until Week 9 of the season. As previously stated, this is a make-or-break trip that’ll likely determine the broader scope of this season.

It’ll be their longest stint away from Oakland until they head to Vegas to make their new fanbase groan in weekly agony.

And the trip didn’t start off well.

The Raiders were thoroughly dominated to the tune of a 34-14 thumping. The two scores came on a flea-flicker and a drive in garbage time.

The game, at no point, seemed like it was in question for the Minnesota Vikings. Unlike weeks past, the Raiders would not start out hot; instead, the Vikings would have a commanding 21-0 lead with over 11 minutes left in the first half.

The most concerning part of all this is that many of the positives that could be sifted through last week seemed lost this week. There was little to be excited about, even for the most optimistic Raiders fan.

As the team heads into Indianapolis next week as seven-point underdogs to the Colts, the Oakland Raiders are revealing just how unprepared they are to put together even a five-win season.

In just three weeks, it’s felt like a long season for Oakland. Since they were able to jump out to a 10-0 lead against the Chiefs last week, they’ve been outscored by a margin of 62-14. That’s not good, even by current Raider standards.

If you were to quickly glance at the stats and ignore the dozen or so red flags, this week wasn’t so bad.

But in any other case, the Raiders aren’t going to be let off so easy this week.

The positives have been limited to a handful of names that include punter A.J. Cole — which is never a good sign for a team. Most of the other positives are limited to “At least they sat Dalvin Cook for the fourth quarter.”

Here are the top four takeaways from this weekend’s romp in Minnesota.

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