3 takeaways from Raiders’ loss: Play-calling falls flat on ‘MNF’ — PHOTOS
The Raiders thought they could beat the Cowboys through the air Monday night, even if it meant abandoning the run.
They were wrong.
The Raiders, for the third time this season, failed to give their fans much to cheer for in prime time and were crushed 33-16 by Dallas on “Monday Night Football” at Allegiant Stadium.
Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 25 of 33 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. Wide receiver George Pickens, who was benched for the first series of the game along with teammate CeeDee Lamb, finished with nine catches for 144 yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys (4-5-1), who were visiting Allegiant Stadium for a regular-season game for the first time, punted and lost a fumble on their first two drives. They then scored on their next five possessions and led 31-9 by the end of the third quarter.
The Raiders (2-8) thought they could throw the ball and keep pace even with left tackle Kolton Miller and right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson out with ankle injuries.
That plan backfired. Smith struggled with minimal protection, completing 27 of 42 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown. Smith was also sacked four times and threw his 13th interception, tied for the most in the NFL.
“I thought the plays were there,” Smith said. “Guys were open. We just got to make more plays.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Offensive line struggles
The Raiders made some changes up front this week after Powers-Johnson joined Miller on injured reserve.
Center Jordan Meredith moved to right guard, while second-year offensive lineman Will Putnam started at center.
It didn’t work.
The Cowboys dominated up front and harassed Smith all night. The Raiders surrendered three sacks and nine quarterback hits in the first half alone. The offensive line also failed to block for running back Ashton Jeanty on a fourth-quarter carry that resulted in a safety.
Dallas, which had 20 sacks its first nine games, finished Monday’s game with four sacks and 11 quarterback hits.
Putnam started instead of rookie third-round pick Caleb Rogers, who was inactive. Rogers did not show enough in practice to play and coach Pete Carroll didn’t want to just hand him an opportunity if it wasn’t earned.
“We’re trying to win games,” Carroll said. “I don’t know how to coach that way.”
2. Jeanty gets lost in sauce
The Raiders went pass-heavy in the first half.
Smith had 28 passing attempts before halftime. Jeanty got two carries in the first half, while running back Raheem Mostert got one. The Raiders’ only other rushing attempt came on a Smith scramble.
Their 8.8 percent run rate in the first half was the lowest for any team since 2021, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. The Raiders’ four rushing attempts were their fewest in a first half in 17 seasons.
Carroll took responsibility for the approach.
“I really wanted to see us do that. And there’s only one person to look at — me — because I influenced the game plan,” he said.
The Raiders stuck to their plan even though they didn’t trail by two scores until there was 5:16 remaining in the second quarter. They also weren’t having success passing the ball. Smith completed only 16 of his 28 first-half passing attempts for 167 yards and an interception.
“We were supposed to be ahead with that approach, and then we’re supposed to come back and run the football in the second half. … But our inability to get in the (end) zone and to stop them, it didn’t work out that way,” Carroll said.
The Raiders selected Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft because they believed he could be a dominant force. Giving him two carries and six targets in the passing game before halftime isn’t enough.
3. Prescott dices up defense
The Cowboys’ offense entered the week ranked fourth in the NFL in points and yards per game.
It showed why Monday.
Prescott kept dropping back and finding one of his two go-to receivers, Pickens and Lamb.
Pickens had six catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone to help the Cowboys build a 24-9 lead. Lamb finished with five catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Prescott’s four touchdown passes went to four different receivers. He could have thrown another, but he and Lamb couldn’t connect on a fourth-and-1 pass from the Raiders’ 4-yard line with 3:56 remaining.
Dallas also elected to kneel down when the Raiders turned it over on downs at their own 6-yard line with 2:31 to play.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal. com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
