Raiders rewind: What went wrong on Carlson’s blocked kick against Bears?

They just couldn’t find a way to win the game.

Here is a closer look at what went down in their 25-24 loss:

Putting it into perspective

The Raiders (1-3) needed a win Sunday and tried hard to get one.

Yet they fell short because of turnovers from their veteran quarterback, a difficult injury and a mistake from a player in a new role in a critical situation.

The bottom line is the team has now lost three straight and will spend this week searching for answers.

Star of the game

Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty deserves consideration after a breakout performance, but the nod here goes to defensive end Maxx Crosby.

The 28-year-old may have played the best 30 minutes of his career in the first half against the Bears. He caused havoc on almost every play. The Raiders moved him all over the place, and he was a huge problem for a battered Chicago offensive line.

Crosby finished with a forced fumble, three tackles for loss, three pass deflection and his first career interception.

“I mean, really, his play is just crazy good,” said coach Pete Carroll, who pointed out Crosby does those same kinds of things when he’s ruining organized team activity practices for the Raiders offense. “Every time he’s been on the field, he makes things happen. And he’s doing it with very limited opportunities because he’s getting doubled all the time in pass pro, and the ball is going away from him the whole time in the games when they’re running away from him. But then he makes a plays on the backside.

“It should be as celebrated as you can make it because he’s the real deal. … I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Play of the game

This goes to the blocked field-goal attempt that sealed the win for the Bears.

The Raiders’ previous field-goal try, a 29-yard make by kicker Daniel Carlson that put the team up 24-19 with 6:45 to play, almost served as a sort of dry run for the decisive play.

Defensive back Josh Blackwell got an incredible jump on that kick before making the block on Carlson’s 54-yard attempt with 33 seconds remaining. Blackwell said Chicago picked up a tendency on the Raiders’ field-goal snaps, which allowed him to get off the line fast both times.

Carroll said Monday his team was unable to identify exactly what the Bears saw. It must have been something, because it was Chicago’s first blocked field goal in more than two years.

It didn’t help that the Raiders had a new player on the right edge of their field-goal unit. Defensive tackle Jonah Laulu stepped into the role because tight end Michael Mayer missed the game with a concussion. Laulu couldn’t get his body in front of Blackwell on the final field-goal attempt, which led to disaster.

Carlson, before Sunday’s game, was 7-for-7 with the Raiders on kicks to tie or win the game in the final minute.

Drive of the game

The Raiders’ one-play touchdown drive featuring a 64-yard run from Jeanty in the second quarter is probably what the team is looking for in terms of a perfect possession.

But their best drive came in the third quarter after the the Bears scored a touchdown to go up 16-14.

The Raiders got the ball back at their own 20-yard line and proceeded to march 80 yards in 10 plays to regain the lead.

The team relied on its stars to move the ball. Jeanty kicked off the possession with three runs for 25 yards. Then tight end Brock Bowers had a 19-yard reception for the Raiders’ longest pass play for the game.

Quarterback Geno Smith had a 10-yard completion to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers two plays later to convert the team’s lone third down of the possession. Jeanty caught a nine-yard pass from Smith three plays after that to put the Raiders ahead 21-16.

The drive featured the kind of rhythm and balance the team needs to have consistently going forward.

What were they thinking?

Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has been crushed on social media for the Raiders’ play call just before the blocked field goal.

The team was facing a third-and-2 from the Bears’ 35-yard line with 43 seconds left. Left tackle Kolton Miller had just been carted off the field with what turned out to be an ankle injury, causing backup tackle Stone Forsythe to line up for his first offensive snap of the game.

The Raiders tried a run with Jeanty, but defensive back Kevin Byard III had a lane into the backfield and made the tackle for a 1-yard loss. That forced the team to send Carlson out for the field-goal attempt, rather than getting a few extra plays to make it a closer kick.

It’s easy to criticize the Raiders’ decision to run the ball, but they did have 240 rushing yards on 31 carries. Smith — who completed 14 of his 21 passes for 117 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions — also wasn’t having a banner day.

It probably wasn’t a poor call by Kelly. It just came down to poor execution.

Observations

■ Running back Raheem Mostert gave the Raiders a nice jolt of energy in his first game of the season after being inactive for three weeks. He finished with 62 rushing yards on four carries and had 96 yards on four kickoff returns. Mostert showed more than running back Zamir White did the first three games, which should earn him more reps moving forward.

■ Rookie wide receiver Jack Bech, a second-round pick, played only five snaps on offense Sunday. Carroll said that is something he plans to correct.

“He just needs more,” Carroll said. “I’ve already addressed that one that we just need to get him out there more. He’s in rotations that just didn’t get him enough snaps. So, he’s capable of playing more snaps and should.”

■ All three of Smith’s interceptions were on throws intended for Meyers. The first two came on similar plays as well.

Both times the Raiders had three receivers on the right of the formation and ran a short motion to that side of the field. Byard read both plays well and broke on balls intended for Meyers.

Smith’s third interception came when Meyers ran a route all the way across the field from the left side to the right. The throw was behind him, though defensive back Tyrique Stevenson made an exceptional catch for the pick.

■ Right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson was much better in his return to the starting lineup than he was in Week 1 against the Patriots. He was good in the running game and strong in pass protection.

Powers-Johnson also made tackles after Smith’s first two interceptions that might have prevented touchdowns. That was huge because the Raiders held the Bears to a field goal on the subsequent possession both times.

Looking ahead

The Raiders head east for the third time in five weeks to visit the Colts (3-1) in Indianapolis.

Coach Shane Steichen, a former UNLV quarterback, has led an impressive group. The Colts largely beat themselves in their first loss of the season Sunday, a 27-20 road defeat to the Rams.

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