Raiders, Pete Carroll, keeping the faith after Sunday’s loss

The Raiders’ trip to Los Angeles over the weekend represented a homecoming for coach Pete Carroll.

It was in the City of Angels, after all, that the trajectory of Carroll’s career made a complete turnaround when he oversaw one of the great college football runs as the coach of USC.

Everyone remembers the greatness of the Trojans during Carroll’s nine seasons, so it’s easy to forget the hard times. The fact is USC stumbled out of the gate by losing five of its first seven games in his opening season.

Despite the slow start, Carroll saw the progress of the seeds being planted. What ultimately emerged from it was a dominant run that included two national championships and three Heisman Trophy winners.

At 2-10, the Raiders seem miles away from a significant turnaround. But Carroll is nothing if not an optimist, and having overseen two big rebuilds in his career, including the Seattle Seahawks, he is steadfast that similar seeds are being planted in Las Vegas.

“Absolutely, and that’s why it’s so hard that we are not able to enjoy the hard work and the changes and the adjustments that we’ve made because it’s very similar,” Carroll said after Sunday’s 31-10 loss to the Chargers. “It is very similar to how we are responding together, the way we work, the attitude, the mentality, guys supporting one another, all of that is what it takes to turn the corner and get around.”

Carroll remains hopeful that the foundation currently being laid can lead to success. Maybe even sooner rather than later.

“It feels like it’s just right there within our reach, maybe it doesn’t look like that to you guys, but that’s what it feels like,” Carroll said. “I can say that because of the mentality of the guys in the locker room.

“They continue to lead well, they continue to hang well, they continue to practice well, and respond to the challenges of it. That part of it is ok, we have to play better.”

Raiders’ third-down issue remains

The Raiders have been one of the worst teams in the NFL, converting first downs on third downs, and their 2-of-8 conversion rate Sunday played a debilitating role.

“We all just got to play better,” said Raiders quarterback Geno Smith. “I got to play a lot better. I’ve got to be better for the guys. That’s really it. We’ve got to be more consistent. I’ve got to be more consistent down in, down out.”

Compounding the problem is how the Raiders’ defense was nearly as bad at stopping the Chargers on third downs, allowing them to convert 12-of-17 chances into first downs.

The offensive and defensive ineptness explains how the Chargers and Raiders each had 10 possessions, but the Chargers ended up with 67 plays to the Raiders’ 46 and dominated the time of possession (35:48 to 24:12).

“Third down was atrocious on both sides of the football,” Carroll said. “We couldn’t convert, and we couldn’t stop them to get out of there.

“Some of those third-and-shorts, that’s been a bit of a theme throughout the year – third-and-2s-and-3s right in there, 1s-and-2s-and-3s. So, third down was a big factor.”

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