Oakland Raiders: Top 3 takeaways from Week 7 loss to the Green Bay Packers

3. Untimely mistakes put the game out of reach

Yes, the Green Bay Packers are a serious contender. And, no, the Oakland Raiders shouldn’t think the season is over because they didn’t capitalize on their chance to get a statement win out of Week 7.

But Jon Gruden has to keep on communicating that excellence is seen in the details.

The Raiders would have had to play a perfect game to keep up with Aaron Rodgers’ absurd day, but they let any chance of staying close fall literally out of their hands.

At the beginning of the game, it appeared as though the Raiders were going to make it a tough day for Green Bay. But disaster struck in the second quarter, just before halftime.

With time winding down in the first half and a chance to go into the locker room with momentum, Derek Carr scrambled to his right to go toward the endzone but came up short and fumbled the ball for a touchback.

In spirit, it felt like Derek Carr was trying to go all-out for a score that would have put the Oakland Raiders up, but it completely backfired.

What should have — at worst — been a one-point deficit after a field goal became a 21-10 spread.

Plays like this, while obviously cruel, also demonstrate the sizable gap between where the Green Bay Packers are at and where the Oakland Raiders are at.

Great teams take opportunities like these and make other teams pay. The Packers took the gift of a touchback and quickly marched their way into Raiders territory before putting up seven more points.

The Raiders, meanwhile, let an untimely gaff completely sap them of any momentum heading into halftime.

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Despite Carr having a decent start to the day, this has become a noticeable trend that should be corrected quickly. Any dive of the outstretched football by Carr shouldn’t be allowed unless Gruden’s spent a roll of duct tape on keeping it attached to his fingers.

This served as a turning point for the game, and the Packers never turned back. The Raiders tried to push back, but it was no use.

Rodgers got all that he wanted as the secondary took a big step back on Sunday. The Raiders would have two turnovers to go along with eight penalties. That’s 97 free yards compared to the three penalties and 20 yards on the Packers.

Call it an uneven playing field at the hands of the officials, but the Oakland Raiders have to play a cleaner, complete game if they want to hang around with teams at the top of the division and make a serious threat this season.

These little miscues add up. The Raiders are going to make some here and there since they’re a young team that’s still trying to find some answers when it comes to longevity.

But Week 7 was a stark reminder that what separates the good teams from the great teams is the detail.

Can the Oakland Raiders bounce back? Of course. Losses like this can be swept under the rug.

But if they want to get that decisive statement win, they’re going to have to focus on limiting their own mistakes and start capitalizing on the opportunities gifted to them.