3 takeaways from Raiders’ loss: Smith struggles on ‘Monday Night Football’

It’s not often the Raiders get the kind of home-field advantage provided by the loud, partisan crowd that packed Allegiant Stadium on Monday night.

That’s why they were kicking themselves after laying an egg in a 20-9 loss to the Chargers.

The Raiders had a chance to start a season 2-0 for the first time in four years, take an early lead in the AFC West and build some genuine goodwill with their fans. Instead, they fumbled the opportunity away.

The Raiders were done in by three interceptions from quarterback Geno Smith, poor execution in the red zone and a nonexistent run game.

“It was a real opportunity,” said coach Pete Carroll, who turned 74 on Monday. “We didn’t play well enough on the offensive side with the turnovers.”

The Raiders (1-1), rather than heading to Washington on a two-game winning streak, will now spend a short week figuring out what went wrong before their next game Sunday.

Their main focus needs to be a sluggish passing attack. Smith completed just 24 of his 43 passes for 180 yards. The 34-year-old has been one of the NFL’s most accurate passers the last three years, but was nowhere near as efficient as he typically is Monday night. The Raiders were doomed without a running game to offset his struggles.

It didn’t help that Smith’s counterpart shined. Quarterback Justin Herbert completed 19 of his 27 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns in the win and added 33 yards on seven carries on the ground. His best throw of the night was a 60-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Quentin Johnston that put Los Angeles up 17-6 with 1:51 remaining in the first half. Johnston finished with three catches for 71 yards, while wide receiver Keenan Allen added five receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers (2-0).

Los Angeles also got a strong effort from its defense, which sacked Smith three times.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Shaky Smith

Smith played well in the Raiders’ season-opening win over the Patriots, but he was not sharp Monday.

His pass on the team’s first play from scrimmage was intercepted by linebacker Daiyan Henley. The turnover led to a 38-yard field goal from kicker Cameron Dicker and a 3-0 Chargers lead 1:17 into the game.

It was an omen of things to come. Smith now has four interceptions the Raiders’ first two games.

He also failed to finish drives. The Raiders reached the red zone three times, but came away with only two field goals. The team’s final trip to the red zone ended with an interception by cornerback Donte Jackson.

Carroll said Smith took too many chances downfield when there were underneath options he could have targeted instead. Smith was 0 for 12 with three interceptions on throws of 10 or more yards.

“Anything that doesn’t look right out there, you put that on my feet. Put that on my shoulders,” Smith said. “I feel like I got to be a lot better for our guys. I know I have to, and I will be.”

2. Poor pass rush

Herbert looked smooth and confident all night behind an offensive line that gave him plenty of time to work.

His protection shone on his touchdown throw to Johnston. And when Herbert fired a 25-yard completion to Allen on a fourth-and-2 from the Raiders’ 30-yard line the opening drive of the second half.

The Chargers put a lot on their quarterback on Monday. They ran the ball 17 times for 50 yards outside of Herbert’s scrambles. But he was up to the task, connecting with seven different receivers without turning the ball over.

It helped that his offensive line only allowed him to get hit three times on the night.

“You got to give credit to Justin Herbert. He’s a really good player, and he made good decisions and good choices,” Carroll said. “And when he had his open guy, he made the big play.”

3. Losing the line of scrimmage

The Raiders’ offensive line struggled in the season opener and wasn’t much better Monday with starting right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson out with a concussion.

Smith was under duress far too often. He was forced to scramble five times, gaining 20 yards. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty never got going and finished with 43 yards on 11 carries.

Carroll said Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft, is still figuring things out but will settle in. But he knows the Raiders need to improve their rushing attack after finishing with 68 yards on 19 attempts as a team.

“That’s not enough,” Carroll said. “We got to get more than that.”

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