Raiders beat themselves in another damaging loss: ‘That’s unacceptable’
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Everything was set up for the Raiders on Sunday.
They only needed to take a short flight to meet the 1-4 Rams at SoFi Stadium. They were playing in friendly confines given their legion of Southern California fans.
It was as close to a winning proposition as the struggling Raiders will find all year. Not that it did them much good.
The Raiders were doomed by their season-long bad habits in a 20-15 loss to the Rams that extended their losing streak to three games. Their record is now 2-5. Their next two games before their bye week are at home against the Chiefs and on the road against the Bengals.
A 2-7 record and another lost year seem likely. Now that Tom Brady is in place as a Raiders’ minority partner, it seems inevitable that big changes could be coming to the organization if the team can’t pull itself out of its tailspin.
Shooting themselves in the foot
The Rams (2-4) were all but begging the Raiders to win Sunday.
The visitors refused to do so. The Raiders sabotaged themselves with four backbreaking turnovers, all of them committed by veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew.
Minshew came off the bench in the first quarter to relieve starter Aidan O’Connell, who suffered a right thumb injury the team’s second possession and did not return.
Minshew threw three interceptions, including one with 1:18 remaining that sealed the Raiders’ fate. He also lost a fumble that was returned 33 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 14-3 lead with 1:14 remaining in the second quarter.
“That’s unacceptable,” Minshew said. “You’ve gotta be smarter with the ball. To have a game where we lose by five points and have four turnovers, that’s critical. And it’s not fair to the rest of the team.”
Minshew, who was benched in favor of O’Connell last week after starting the Raiders’ first five games, has an NFL-leading 10 turnovers on the season. Eight of those are interceptions.
His second pick gave the Rams the ball at the Raiders’ 31-yard line 6:29 into the third quarter. Running back Kyren Williams scored a 2-yard touchdown soon after to give Los Angeles a 20-6 lead.
“It’s super frustrating,” said Minshew, who completed just 15 of 34 passes for 154 yards. “I’ve never turned the ball over like this in my life.”
Blame to go around
Minshew wasn’t the only one at fault for the loss.
The Raiders committed 10 penalties, including two that derailed their only two possessions that reached the red zone. The first, an ineligible player downfield penalty on center Andre James, led the team to settle for a 27-yard field goal to cut its deficit to 20-12 the second play of the fourth quarter.
The second was more damaging. The Raiders lined up to go for a fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line, but rookie right tackle DJ Glaze was penalized for a false start.
Coach Antonio Pierce opted for a 27-yard field goal rather than attempting to convert a fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line. It was a debatable decision. What’s not up for debate is how much damage the Raiders did to themselves.
“Penalties and turnovers,” Pierce said. “Sounds like a broken record.”
The Raiders are not good enough to overcome their opponents and themselves. Even with rookie tight end Brock Bowers shining once again by catching a career-high 10 passes for 93 yards.
The Raiders’ minus-13 turnover differential is the worst in the NFL. They’ve committed 25 penalties during this three-game losing streak after being called for 17 their first four games.
“We’ve got to stop beating ourselves,” said running back Alexander Mattison, who had 92 yards on 23 carries. “We’ve got to clean up the football and put ourselves in position to win. We take ourselves out of position when we let that stuff happen. We just have to get it out of our system.”
The Raiders might have to chart their path forward without O’Connell, who completed six of his 10 passes for 52 yards before getting injured. He will undergo further testing in Las Vegas.
With or without him, it’s shaping up to be another lost season for the Raiders. Unless they can stop hurting themselves before it’s too late.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
