Raiders fall to Bucs, lose QB to knee injury: ‘It doesn’t look good’
TAMPA, Fla. — The losses continue to mount for the Raiders, on the field and at the quarterback position.
The team’s ninth straight loss, this one a 28-13 defeat to the Buccaneers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, was overshadowed by what is feared to be a serious knee injury to quarterback Aidan O’Connell. Gardner Minshew, who began the season as the Raiders’ starter, is already on injured reserve with a broken collarbone.
“It doesn’t look good,” coach Antonio Pierce said of the injury to O’Connell, who was carted off the field late in the third quarter.
O’Connell, in his second start since returning from a fractured right thumb, was pushed to the ground by defensive lineman Calijah Kancey well after delivering a pass to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter. He was carted off the field and replaced by Desmond Ridder.
Pierce said the Raiders (2-11) will file a report with the NFL seeking clarity as to why no flag was thrown on the play. The team would have picked up a first down had a late hit been called, giving it a first-and-10 from the Tampa Bay 37-yard line in a 14-10 game. Instead, the Raiders were forced to punt.
They still hung around. Ridder led the team on a field-goal drive to cut its deficit to 21-13 with 3:05 remaining. The Buccaneers responded with a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield to wide receiver Jalen McMillan.
“It’s the story of all of our games. Not finishing,” defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson said. “It’s very frustrating when it seems like it’s just a repeated story week in and week out. It’s a sour taste, and we need to figure it out ASAP.”
The Raiders are running out of time to do so. They have four games left.
“I hate losing,” said rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who was held to three receptions for 49 yards. “It’s pretty frustrating. We just can’t get used to this. We have to keep grinding and figure it out.”
Early deficit costly
The Raiders found some answers Sunday after a dreadful start. The Buccaneers (7-6) led 14-0 after the first quarter. They had a 154-14 edge in yards in the quarter and 12-1 advantage in first downs.
The Raiders defense did what it could to turn things around. Chaisson made an acrobatic interception on the third play of the second quarter. The Raiders gave the ball right back to Tampa Bay on a fumbled snap, but then linebacker Amari Burney sacked Mayfield and forced a fumble that was recovered by safety Tre’von Moehrig.
It was the first fumble the defense recovered all season. It was one of three turnovers the Raiders forced in the second quarter. They had just five takeaways in their first 12 games.
The turnovers prevented the Buccaneers from running away with the game. They still weren’t enough for the Raiders to rally. They trailed 14-10 at halftime and never led.
The Raiders did have the ball in the red zone with the chance to take the lead on the first possession of the second half. O’Connell, however, threw an interception to rookie safety Tykee Smith at the 7-yard line. The second-year passer was hurt on the Raiders’ next drive.
Ridder also had an opportunity to give the team the lead on his first full possession, but the offense went three-and-out.
Tampa Bay got the ball back and went ahead 21-10 on a 3-yard rushing touchdown by running back Rachaad White.
Pierce lauds effort
“It’s good to finally get some turnovers,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “We haven’t done a good enough job to take the ball away, so it was good to see guys going out hunting and just showing up. Credit to everybody for that.
“But it’s upsetting. We want to win at all costs. We have to make more plays, and we can’t go down 14-0 right away. We have to find ways to keep getting better. That’s all we can do. We’re 2-11, so we have a lot of room to improve.”
Mayfield completed 18 of 29 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns, but the Raiders made life difficult for him. He was sacked four times and had three turnovers.
“We just have to do more, simple as that,” said cornerback Jack Jones, who picked off Mayfield in the end zone. “Sometimes our best is not enough. We have to figure that out.”
Raiders tight end Michael Mayer had a career-high seven receptions and finished with 68 yards. Running back Sincere McCormick also impressed by gaining 78 yards on 15 carries.
“There’s grit and effort,” Pierce said of his team. “None of that stuff we can really argue. I’m proud of how these guys keep competing regardless of who goes down.
“I appreciate the fight. These guys aren’t flinching or blinking. They still believe.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
