The Las Vegas Raiders lost another winnable game but this time around seemed different.
The Raiders took the field facing a Pittsburgh Steelers team that was on a two-game losing streak. That streak included a loss to the Indianapolis Colts team that was 1-2 at the time the two teams played. It was not unreasonable to expect the Raiders to be competitive against the Steelers and they were.
After the Raiders’ defense held the Steelers to a field goal on their first drive of the game, quarterback Aidan O’Connell the Raiders’ offense took the field. Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy called a masterful first drive of the game, perfectly mixing up his playcalling.
The playcalling was effective and the players executed well on a 10-play, 70-yard drive that spanned nearly half of the first quarter. It was just the type of drive the Raiders would want to repeat during the game.
On that drive, running back Alexander Mattison carried the ball four times for 23 yards and added a 19-yard reception. Mattison accounted for half of the opening 70-yard touchdown drive. However, Mattison was on the sideline on the Raiders’ second drive.
Running back Ameer Abdullah started the second drive, and the Raiders offense immediately went three-and-out. Mattison said he felt good after the first drive. There was no reason to take him out of the game.
“I felt good, I felt great," Mattison said. "I mean, we were able to go down and put points on the board. That's what we talked about doing. We were efficient. So, we just have to make sure we try to stay in that pocket and stay in that feeling.
“No. It was just a long, 10-play drive. Its just one of those things, we have a good rotation, a great backfield to mix it up. So, whoever is in that game, we trust wholeheartedly to go out there and get the job done, be explosive and make plays.
“That was the case, it just did not pan out and come out together, when you look at the whole grand scheme of things over four quarters. Offense, defense, special teams, we just have to play better complementary football, eliminate the turnovers and get back to Raiders football.”
While Mattison took a respectable approach to the situation, it made little sense to take him out of the game on just the second drive, after the first drive was so successful. The proof is in the fact that the Raiders would not score again for two full quarters. With momentum being as fleeting as it has been for the Raiders, it would have made much more sense to at least give Mattison the second drive to build continuity.
The Raiders went three and out on the next two possessions after subbing Mattison out and fumbled after four plays on the third drive after subbing him out. The momentum from the first drive was gone and it would not return but the questionable decisions would.
Near the end of the second quarter, with the Raiders down by only one point, rookie running back Dylan Laube was inserted into the game. The Raiders decided to give the rookie his first career carry down by one point in their own territory, with the team missing its top-two receivers. Laube would fumble the ball, the Steelers would recover it and score a touchdown six plays later after the Steelers’ offense could only muster field goals against the Raiders' defense when not starting their drive on a short field.
Football is a game of inches. One wrong decision can be the difference between winning and losing. Getsy made multiple decisions that were incorrect which directly and indirectly led to negative results for the Raiders on Sunday.
