Raiders haven’t lacked fight, but efficiency in short supply

At a point in the season when playoff teams begin making their push forward, the Raiders are taking an all-too-familiar big step backward.

Three straight losses coming out of their bye week have taken them from first place in the AFC West to third place. Where once they had a secure spot in the AFC playoffs, they are now on the outside looking in.

Some of the cast members have changed, but it’s the same movie we’ve seen from the Raiders (5-5) the last two seasons.

To say they are seething is an understatement.

“I get pissed off. I get upset,” said quarterback Derek Carr after Sunday’s 32-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Added linebacker Denzel Perryman: “I don’t think nobody is happy in that locker room right now.”

So they are angry. As they should be. The question is, are they now willing to mount the necessary fight to get back on track?

“Adversity is going to come,” Raiders defensive end Yannick Ngakoue said. “ It’s all about how you respond.”

Or, as interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said: “Fighting to me comes from the soul, and it’s the heart of the man. We feel like we’ve done a good job battling.”

But are they capable?

In spite of pledges that this team is built differently than their last two predecessors, the Raiders have fallen prey to the same bad habits the others did.

The self-inflicted wounds. The inability to play poised football, especially in crucial moments. A failure to generate a prolonged period of complementary football from all three phases of the game.

Worse, rather than imposing their will and dictating terms to their opponents, it is the Raiders bowing to the inclinations of other teams.

And just for good measure, you can add a surprise element to the mix: A once potent offense has inexplicably fallen off the last three weeks while averaging just 14.3 points per game. Over the last two weeks, they have converted just two of 16 third-down attempts.

No one saw that coming, although there could be some mitigating circumstances.

In examining a falloff that has turned quarterback Derek Carr from MVP candidate to below average, completely eliminated the big play from the Raiders’ arsenal and left everyone skittish, the role being played by the losses of wide receiver Henry Ruggs and head coach Jon Gruden has to be acknowledged.

From a tactical and emotional standpoint.

Having said that, it’s also on the Raiders that they apparently weren’t built sturdy enough to withstand the elimination of one key player.

And that is a huge problem.

Ruggs’ ability to stretch the field opened up the Raiders’ offense, including the necessary defensive spacing to run the ball just enough to make it a valuable part of the offense.

But a rebuilt offensive line that has yet to develop as expected is not capable of imposing its will. Try as the Raiders might to be the run team Gruden always imagined, they simply aren’t capable.

“When we run the ball well, that just makes us a really good team,” said tight end Darren Waller. “Over the last couple years, when we can really pound the rock, that really is when we’re at our best offensively.”

It has left them one-dimensional, predictable and easy to defend. No run game means opponents can flood the back end with bodies to defend the pass. With Ruggs no longer around to force teams to commit multiple defenders to him, operating room is hard to come by.

The Raiders have tried to stay committed to the run game, but far too often it renders them impotent on early downs and leads to far too many third and longs. That only exacerbates the issues.

“We’ve got to find a way to be more balanced,” Waller said.

Yes, there is still time to get back on track. The Raiders have seven games remaining, including Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day trip to Dallas to play the Cowboys.

As quickly as the Raiders lost their mojo, they are just as liable to get it back. But it has to happen soon,

“I don’t care about anything else,” Carr said. “We need to win.”

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