Raiders look to bounce back from ugly loss to Rams
Every loss in sports is different, and there is no secret formula as to how teams should cope with them.
Sometimes there is anger or bickering among teammates. Other times there is sadness and heartbreak. Occasionally there is apathy, which would seem to be the least ideal.
“You want to see guys affected to a certain degree,” wide receiver Davante Adams said. “You don’t want to see them affected to where it affects their performance the next week. But it means that it means something to the guy if he’s shaken up a little bit by it.”
The scene in the labyrinth-like visitors locker room in the bowels of SoFi Stadium was downright depressing after a 17-16 Week 14 loss to the Rams, as the silence was only broken by occasional tears or brief bursts of expletive-laden expressions of frustration.
It represented a different atmosphere than earlier postgame locker room feelings, in particular the mood after the inexplicable loss to the Colts that was far more tense.
“I think after the little win streak that we went on, the expectations are so high,” quarterback Derek Carr said of the mood after the Rams loss. “We see how hard it is to do it right all the time, and not that you want to say you have it figured out, but it was like, ‘we’re getting the system down.’
“I think that because of the expectation, because of the success we had prior to that, you felt that everyone was pissed off a little bit, and rightfully so. Honestly, I was much more pleased with that reaction than I was with a different reaction earlier in the season. So, to see that means people care.”
It was evident he was referring to the Colts game.
But the response after the loss to the Colts was a three-game winning streak filled with some of the team’s best football of the season.
The challenge for the Raiders now is to generate that same kind of bounce off what felt like more of a funeral for a disappointing season.
“The only response that really matters is on Sunday,” Adams said. “Collectively, as a unit, we’ve got to all be on the same page as far as getting our minds right to come and correct the wrong.”
The Raiders will get that chance when they host the Patriots on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. The matchup has all kinds of storylines, with Raiders coach Josh McDaniels going up against his mentor, New England coach Bill Belichick, and all of the players and coaches who have been part of both organizations.
But the Raiders insist their focus is on securing a positive outcome not for any emotional gratification but to remain alive in the playoff race. A postseason berth would require the 5-8 Raiders to go 4-0 and have a few other outcomes go their way.
But they aren’t letting the long odds affect their belief, and Carr said the fact that they are still alive for the postseason is one of the reasons he thinks the team will bounce back.
“As competitors, there’s absolutely still the possibility,” he said. “We had like a 5 percent chance last year, or whatever it was, so crazier things have happened.
“We have the urgency to win, the urgency to want to do it right. There was no other thought process than just doing football better. And I think that we’ve narrowed that focus on what it should be.”
McDaniels, who insists the game is more about the Raiders against the Patriots than himself against Belichick, said there is no right way to react to a loss.
He has seen it all and doesn’t think there is any way to predict how a team will play in its next game based solely on the mood of the locker room after the previous one.
McDaniels does, however, think his team will find a way to put its best efforts on the field come Sunday.
“We’re around each other every day, so you get the sense of a football team that’s committed to trying to do everything we can to give ourselves the best chance to win. They’ve done it all year,” he said. “We’ve had our share of adversities, and I think our leadership has been great. Our captains have been phenomenal. We’re leaning on that, and we’ve leaned on it all year.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
Raiders' keys to victory
1. It's just a game
There has been a great deal of attention on the student versus teacher aspect of Sunday's game, as Raiders coach Josh McDaniels prepares to lead his team against his mentor, Patriots coach Bill Belichick. There are also a lot of players, coaches and staffers for the Raiders who cut their teeth in the Patriots' organization and will be emotionally invested in the matchup. But the Raiders must understand it's just another game. Any other approach could lead to mental errors.
2. Don't get Belichick'd
One of the unique aspects of the success of Belichick and the Patriots is they don't have a set way of doing things on a week-to-week basis. Their approach is to focus on what their opponent does and attack their weaknesses while relentlessly pouncing on mistakes. Last week, they hung around until they forced a DeAndre Hopkins fumble when he carried the ball with one hand. It swung the game in their favor. The Raiders can't afford to make that kind of error.
3. Eyes off the scoreboard
There has been a lot of talk from the Raiders about still being mathematically alive for the postseason. The formula involves winning four straight games and hoping for losses from several other teams in the final month of the season. None of that can be of concern at this point. The Raiders can't afford to focus on anything but the Patriots.
Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal
