Raiders have learned this lesson the hard way: ‘Details are everything’

No matter how much Geno Smith would like to go back and change some of the mistakes he made this season, he can’t.

At this point, there is nothing the Raiders quarterback can do about the 12 interceptions he’s thrown, or all the self-inflicted wounds he and his teammates have committed while dropping seven of their first nine games.

What Smith can control is how he plays from here on out. It starts with taking care of the ball.

“The last eight games of the season, I want to be the best in the league in terms of protecting the football,” said Smith, who has the second-most interceptions in the NFL behind the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa (13).

Smith cutting down on his turnovers would go a long way toward the Raiders maximizing the last two months of the season. They haven’t just lost games. They’ve barely been competitive, getting outscored by their opponents by 81 points.

“It’s a small margin of error in the NFL and one play could be the difference in the game, but that’s why you’ve got to focus throughout the entire game,” Smith said. “And when the plays are there to be made, you’ve got to make them. I mean, that’s the name of the game.”

Smith’s poor play, as well as that of other players, has cost the Raiders dearly. They have a long way to go to build a contending roster. But first, they need to build a winning mentality by avoiding turnovers, playing solid situational football and executing basic plays at critical moments.

“There’s four or five games here that could have flipped just like that, just small margins of better play and better execution, better calls and all of that, that we know,” coach Pete Carroll said. “But unfortunately, it still is what it is, and then we have to deal with it. “

Cleaning things up

The Raiders’ minus-4 turnover differential is tied for eighth worst in the NFL.

Their 63 penalties are tied for the 13th most. They are scoring touchdowns on only 47.8 percent of their trips to the red zone, the fifth-worst mark in the league.

Add all that to the Raiders’ several special teams miscues — they’ve had two punts blocked, a potential winning field goal blocked and some key misses from kicker Daniel Carlson, among other things — and it’s not a winning formula. The team has learned the hard way how much the little things matter.

“The details are everything,” rookie running back Ashton Jeanty said. “And you may not think it’s the play where you messed up, but more times than not, it is that play that can change the game in a bad way for you and your team. So every single detail, every single play matters.”

The Raiders lost their last two games — a 30-29 overtime loss to the Jaguars on Nov. 2 and a 10-7 defeat to the Broncos on Nov. 6 — by a combined four points.

They can point to several plays in both losses that could have swung the outcome. That’s how fine the margins are in the NFL. The Raiders hope they can take that message to heart before the season is over.

“I really think that the lesson is that you’ve got to make the play when the play needs to be made,” Smith said. “And that goes for all of us, and myself more importantly. I’ve just got to make the plays and allow the guys to be themselves.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal. com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.