Raiders report card: Failing grades in blowout loss to Commanders

LANDOVER, Md. — How the Raiders performed in a 41-24 loss to the Commanders on Sunday at Northwest Stadium:

Offense: D

The only thing (or player) keeping this from being an ‘F’ is wide receiver Tre Tucker, who had scoring receptions of 10, 10 and 61 yards. It’s broken record time with this offensive line, which simply isn’t any good. The Commanders had five sacks and were in quarterback Geno Smith’s face all afternoon. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty had 17 carries for a season-high 63 yards, but that was only at a 3.7 yards per rush clip. Coach Pete Carroll keeps preaching balance, but there is none with such an inconsistent run game. Smith, for all the pressure he faced, finished 19 of 29 for 289 yards and the three scoring tosses to Tucker.

Defense: F

Not good at all. Missed tackles. Couldn’t stop the run. Gave up several big plays. Washington gashed the Raiders for 174 yards rushing in the first half and 201 for the game. Marcus Mariota started at quarterback in place of the injured Jayden Daniels for the Commanders and was more than efficient against his former team. Mariota completed 15 of 21 for 207 yards and a score. The Raiders allowed 400 total yards, and Washington converted half of its third-down attempts.

Special teams: F

What a total disaster. It began with the opening kickoff, and Washington’s Deebo Samuel returning it 69 yards to set the Commanders up for a five-play touchdown drive. There was also a 90-yard punt return for a score from Jaylin Lane. AJ Cole averaged 49 yards on six punts. The Raiders even made bad decisions when returning kicks, with either Zamir White mishandling one or Dylan Laube returning one he should have let go into the end zone. This was just an overall awful display of football.

Coaching: F

Carroll took the blame for the loss, and that’s fine. His team surrendered three plays of at least 60 yards, four of at least 50 and five of at least 40. It wasn’t prepared to play in the least. Forget the stuff about a short week coming off a “Monday Night Football” game and the Commanders having played on “Thursday Night Football.” It’s the NFL. Teams have short weeks. This was far too much a glimpse into the past for the Raiders.

Ed Graney Review-Journal