Raiders report card: Offense sputters in loss to Chargers

How the Raiders performed in a 20-9 loss to the Chargers on “Monday Night Football” at Allegiant Stadium:

Offense: D

Look at the number of plays over 20 yards last week at New England. The Raiders just couldn’t hit many chunk plays against a better Chargers defense. A 19-play, 62-yard drive covering 11 minutes couldn’t even produce a touchdown. Two weeks down and two weeks of struggling to consistently run the ball. A line that was missing guard Jackson Powers-Johnson (concussion) again wasn’t up to par. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty finished with 43 yards rushing on 11 carries. Geno Smith struggled in his second game as the team’s quarterback, completing 24 of 43 passes for 180 yards with three interceptions. Smith was terrible on throws of 10 yards or more. As in 0-for-10 with the three picks.

Defense: C

It wore down as the game went on, but this game was lost on the offensive side of the ball. The Raiders created just one turnover, and star defensive end Maxx Crosby was mostly neutralized. Tackle Jonah Laulu had two sacks. Tackle Adam Butler had a fumble recovery for the Chargers’ only miscue. Quarterback Justin Herbert hurt the Raiders, completing 19 of 27 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

Special teams: B

Nothing great on the return game, but Daniel Carlson was good on field goals from 54, 40 and 37 yards for the only scoring. AJ Cole averaged 57 yards on two punts. The Raiders need to make the return game more of a threat.

Coaching: C

On his 74th birthday, coach Pete Carroll and staff were outcoached by Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers. But the Raiders hung around against a clearly superior opponent. They need to find a way to run the ball. They need to find a way to get the offensive line going. It’s certainly not going to help the defense’s cause if the Raiders do things like rush for 68 yards, as they did Monday.

Ed Graney Las Vegas Review-Journal