Raiders report: Slow start finally too much to overcome

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Raiders once again got off to a slow start on Monday night. This time, they couldn’t recover.

The Raiders suffered their first loss, falling 28-14 to the Chargers at SoFi Stadium, a defeat that dropped them into a three-team tie atop the AFC West standings.

A troubling trend continued as the Raiders went scoreless on their opening drive for the 10th straight game.

While the Raiders have been able to quickly reverse their fortunes early in the season, they found themselves stuck in neutral for far too long Monday night and eventually paid the price.

The offense failed to gain a first down on any of its first four drives for the first time since an Oct. 24, 2017 game at Washington. They managed just 51 total yards in the first half, the fewest for any team coached by Jon Gruden.

Derek Carr’s offense managed just one first down in the first 30 minutes of play, a mark of futility matched by just two NFL teams in the past two years.

One was the Texans on Sunday in the first road start of rookie Davis Mills’ career. The other was the Broncos offense run by wide receiver Kendall Hinton against the Saints last year when the entire quarterback room was out due to COVID protocols.

“We can’t come out and take that many punches in the first round,” Gruden said. “That was ridiculous.”

The last time the Raiders managed just one first down in the first half was against Denver in 2015.

Monday marked the first time in 20 years the Chargers allowed zero or fewer net yards in a first quarter.

Injury report

The Raiders didn’t have a single player on the active roster out on Monday night because of injury. Both Josh Jacobs and Alec Ingold were available despite questionable designations. Several players didn’t make it through the night, however.

Running back Peyton Barber injured his foot early in the first quarter. He returned to make one carry in the third quarter, but was stood up for no gain and didn’t play again.

Tight end Derek Carrier exited with a pectoral injury, but it was the cornerback position that was most decimated during the game.

Trayvon Mullen was carted off the field with a foot injury in the first half and did not return. Damon Arnette left in the second half with a groin injury. Breakout rookie Nate Hobbs left the field to be evaluated for a concussion late in the contest.

Gruden is expected to provide updates Tuesday during his weekly news conference at the team facility.

Hello, old friends

Darius Philon recorded two sacks in the loss and had his best game as a Raider in his first year with the organization.

The 27-year-old spent his first four seasons with the Chargers and has been out of the league the last two years.

Monday marked the first time in his career he recorded multiple sacks in a game.

False start

The start of Monday night’s game between the Raiders and Chargers was delayed 35 minutes due to lightning in the area.

Both teams left the field just before the scheduled 5:15 p.m. start and went back to the locker room. They returned around 5:35 to warm up once again.

“I’ve never had an indoor stadium with a lightning delay. This was a bizarre night for all of us,” Gruden said. “I had never heard of that. I thought it was a joke. It affected both teams.”

SoFi Stadium is largely covered by a canopy-like roof, but has open-air elements above both end zones and near the top of the stadium all the way around.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.