The Las Vegas Raiders lost their ninth consecutive game on Sunday. It was a road loss that perfectly summarized the team's season.
Nick Shook of NFL.com noted a few of the most critical takeaways from the Raiders’ 28-13 loss to the Buccaneers. Shook wisely pointed out that the Raiders had their chances to win on Sunday, but as has been the case most of the season, they failed to take advantage.
“Las Vegas' defense provided the Raiders with a handful of chances to completely flip this game in their favor in the middle portion of the contest, forcing two turnovers in a relatively brief span of time," Shook said.
“The Raiders' offense responded by immediately giving the ball back to the Buccaneers via a fumbled snap and blew another scoring opportunity when Aidan O'Connell threw an interception in the red zone, ending their most promising drive since O'Connell finished off a drive with a rushing score early in the second quarter.
“That's what these Raiders don't do well, which remains the mark of a bad team that is now 2-11. To make matters worse, an O'Connell scramble ended in an awkward fall and an injury that required an air cast and a cart for the quarterback, which doesn't bode well for the remainder of his 2024 season. The hits just keep coming for Antonio Pierce's squad, no matter how hard they compete.
Each game this season has been about the same for the Raiders, as their fatal flaws show up weekly at the worst possible times. Luckily for the Raiders, the constant losing has put them on track to secure the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
While losing is not fun for anyone involved, this could be a case of one step back, two steps forward for the Raiders. The only way to get one of the most talented quarterbacks in a draft is to lose enough games to secure a top pick or trade multiple draft picks for a player that may not work out.
Losing is exhausting, but it's the much better route for the Raiders, and it should only help them improve in the future.
