Bye week comes at opportune time for Raiders after 31-0 loss to Chiefs

By MARK ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll sounded both exasperated and optimistic about the state of his team on Monday.

He didn’t expect such a tough start that included a 31-0 loss at Kansas City on Sunday that wasn’t as close the score indicated.

But Carroll also spoke hopefully of a return for injured players Brock Bowers (knee), Jakobi Meyers (knee and toe) and Maxx Crosby (knee and back) when Las Vegas returns to action after this weekend’s bye.

He has reason to believe those players will make a substantial difference because they were on the field for this season’s opener, when Las Vegas played its best game in a 20-13 victory at New England that looks more impressive — and surprising — by the week.

Now the Raiders are 2-5 and look much closer to last season’s 4-13 team that resulted in the firings of coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco.

If not worse. That team didn’t have a stinker like Sunday, the Raiders’ second loss in three weeks by more than 30 points. Before this stretch, their previous loss by more than 30 occurred four years ago, and the last time they had two such defeats in a season was in back-to-back weeks in 2019 — their final season in Oakland.

“I’m surprised that we’re not farther along than we are,” Carroll acknowledged.

Part of that surprise traces to his belief in quarterback Geno Smith, a player he coached in Seattle and then helped arrange a trade for with Las Vegas. Smith was considered an upgrade over Aidan O’Connell, who went 2-5 in seven starts last season and had a passer rating of 86.7. Smith’s rating is 77.1 and he is tied with Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa with an NFL-high 10 interceptions.

The Raiders used their sixth pick in this year’s draft on Ashton Jeanty, going against the current tide of thinking that there is not much value taking a running back so high. Jeanty has shown some promise in rushing for 445 yards, but the main problem last season was the offensive line. The offseason additions to the line were more cosmetic than effectual — at least so far — and a major reason the Raiders have struggled offensively can be traced to the front.

Las Vegas tried to make up for the free agent losses of linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo and cornerback Nate Hobbs, and the numbers are similar to what they were last season.

Barring a significant improvement after the bye, the Raiders could be in position for another high draft pick and finally get that franchise quarterback they’ve been missing.

But maybe Carroll’s optimism is well-founded that having Bowers, Meyers and Crosby back on the field will lead to a much better last part of the season.

“Those are three guys that are legitimate leader players on this football team that we need to get back out there,” Carroll said. “So, hopefully, that will take place.”

That’s part of the benefit for getting this week off. Another is a close self-examination of what’s wrong and how to possibly fix it.

“Big self-scouting opportunity for us,” Carroll said. “Big chance to make sure that we know what our opponents are seeing, and to tweak and adjust and be creative with how we do that. That’s what this time is always for.”

What’s working

Special teams had a good day for the second week in a row, reversing a trend from how the season began. AJ Cole dropped three punts inside the 20-yard line and finished with a 44.7-yard net average. Raheem Mostert averaged 33.3 yards on three kickoff returns.

What needs help

Where to start? Carroll has a lot to consider over the break after a performance in which the Chiefs had 30 first downs and the Raiders had 30 plays. Las Vegas picked up just three first downs, and Kansas City had a 434-95 yardage advantage.

Stock up

Check back after the bye.

Stock down

The Raiders were so badly beaten that their fierce rivals even took pity on them. The Chiefs punted from the Las Vegas 38 in the fourth quarter and later went into victory formation with 2:36 left and the Raiders holding all three timeouts. Chiefs coach Andy Reid likely didn’t want to rub in the victory against an accomplished coach like Carroll.

Injuries

In addition to probably getting back Bowers, Meyers and Crosby, the Raiders also are getting close to the returns of O’Connell (broken wrist) and S Lonnie Johnson Jr. (fractured leg) from injured reserve. S Isaiah Pola-Mao (ankle) was injured against Kansas City, but Carroll said he had no update on his status.

Key number

14.7 — The number of points per game, far from expected after the splashy hiring of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator. That’s the Raiders’ lowest through seven games since 2009 when the JaMarcus Russell-quarterbacked team averaged 8.9 points.

Next steps

The Raiders host Jacksonville on Nov. 2.

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