Reeling Raiders looking for answers: ‘We have to stay together’

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said wide receiver Davante Adams’ trade request is not why his team has struggled the past two weeks.

It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact reason why the team has lost consecutive games to the Broncos and Steelers by a combined score of 66-31. But Pierce is more concerned with finding solutions than assigning blame.

“No, I think it’s just production,” Pierce said when asked if the uncertainty around Adams’ future has been a factor. “Guys have to produce. We still have 11 guys out there and we’ve still got some good football players.”

Adams has missed the Raiders’ last three games with a hamstring injury. Word started to leak out he would prefer to be moved to a new team five days prior to the club’s 34-18 loss in Denver on Oct. 6.

It’s not the only piece of adversity the Raiders have been fighting. Their depth chart has been decimated by injuries and tight end Michael Mayer remains away from the building for personal reasons.

The team has tried to get players to focus on the task at hand despite all the chaos surrounding them. It’s proven easier said than done.

“We have to stay together,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said Sunday. “It’s early in the season, as crazy as that sounds. We’re 2-4, six weeks in and we have three games left until we get to the bye. We have to find ways to get better and improve. Have to find ways to win. Find some momentum, find that spark. I believe we have the right guys, we just have to find the way to put it all together.”

Different QB, similar results

The Raiders hoped a quarterback change could spark a turnaround. Instead, Aidan O’Connell’s first start of the season didn’t look much different than Gardner Minshew’s five starts.

O’Connell completed 27 of his 40 passes for 227 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday’s 32-13 loss to the Steelers.

“I thought he got off to a fast start,” Pierce said. “He was quick and got the ball out of his hands. … We want to take some more shots down the field, but that didn’t happen.

“There was the interception at the end, third-and-18, he was trying to make a play but be smart still with the football. But I thought he stayed in the pocket and gave us a chance. Aidan was Aidan. That’s what we expected, nothing more and nothing less.”

The Raiders did appear to find something offensively early on.

O’Connell led the team on a 10-play touchdown drive the first time it got the ball. The Raiders then didn’t get a first down their next two possessions. They didn’t score again until the fourth quarter, when wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson’s 9-yard reception cut their deficit to 29-13 with 4:54 to play.

The Raiders’ opening script of plays on offense appears to be working. Things drop off after that.

“Obviously, you make adjustments, right? (The Steelers) started to make adjustments as well,” Pierce said. “That’s been a key for us offensively, having that script and getting guys comfortable, especially the quarterbacks. Where we’re struggling right now is the second quarter. Something’s going on late in the second quarter, either (a) turnover or bad play on defense, and we’re not going into the half the way that we want to.”

‘We have to get better’

The Raiders aren’t planning to make any major changes, at least as of Monday morning, before this week’s road game against the Rams.

The team has considered having offensive coordinator Luke Getsy move from the sidelines to the coaches’ booth upstairs, but it’s staying the course for now.

“I mean, I’ve thought about it,” Pierce said. “I haven’t made a decision yet.”

Crosby said the solution for the Raiders’ woes is much simpler.

“We have to get better,” he said. “That’s literally it. Offense, defense and special teams. They beat us at all three levels. Period.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.