Grading the Raiders in blowout loss to Packers
How the team performed in a 42-24 loss to the Packers:
OFFENSE: D-plus
Why such a low mark for a side that gained 484 total yards (to 481 for Green Bay)? Why when rookie running back Josh Jacobs went for 124 yards and newly extended tight end Darren Waller for 126 and two scores, when quarterback Derek Carr finish 22-of-28 for 293 yards and two touchdowns? Because in the NFL, red zone opportunities are not to be wasted. And when you fail three times within that range — twice on turnovers and once on fourth-and-1 from the 1 — you’re not beating Aaron Rodgers in Lambeau Field. Not coming close.
DEFENSE: F
Rodgers will be fitted for a gold Hall of Fame jacket in his first year of eligibility, but 25-for-31 for 429 yards and five touchdowns (he also ran for one) had almost as much to do with the Raiders as himself. The perfect passer rating of 158.3 was a combination of his brilliance and the fact Oakland couldn’t muster any pressure up front and didn’t communicate at all on the back end. The Raiders had two weeks to prepare for Rodgers. It looked like they had two minutes.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B
You usually don’t get much of consequence in such a large final margin, but there was good (Daniel Carlson made a 45-yard field goal on his lone attempt) and bad (Johnathan Hankins was called for roughing the snapper on an extra point).
COACHING: F
Rodgers toyed with defensive coordinator Paul Guenther’s side like a big brother might his little one, and the Raiders, the team with far more rest, were totally flummoxed. Head coach Jon Gruden should have known better than to challenge an early offensive pass interference call — this just in, they’re not overturning them! — and the Packers were a step (or 74 yards in one case) ahead all day.
— ED GRANEY
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