The Las Vegas Raiders lost their second consecutive game in Week 8 to the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, dropping the team to 3-5 on the season. When an NFL team loses a game, there are usually multiple people to blame, and most often, it falls on the team’s biggest stars. However, on Monday night, the Raiders’ stars showed up, and the only people you can truly blame for this loss are head coach Josh McDaniels and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Running back Josh Jacobs was stellar on the team’s first touchdown drive in the second quarter. He carried the ball seven times for 38 yards and scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to make the game 9-7. After that, though, last season’s league-leading rusher had just three more carries for 11 yards.
Star wide receiver Davante Adams had just one catch for 11 yards, but he also got himself wide open late in the fourth quarter for what could have been a walk-in touchdown, but Garoppolo wildly overthrew him.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive end Maxx Crosby was absolutely everywhere the entire game, and cornerback Marcus Peters had a pick-six to get the game to 16-14 early in the third quarter.
The Raiders playmakers showed up in Week 8 against the Lions, but unfortunately for Raider Nation, Josh McDaniels and Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t.
Jimmy Garoppolo
When Josh McDaniels was gung-ho to get rid of longtime starting quarterback (and close Davante Adams friend) Derek Carr at the end of the 2022 season, it made some sense. Carr is an average NFL quarterback, and the team was likely never going to win a Super Bowl with him.
Plus, at that point, maybe the franchise was going to bring in Aaron Rodgers or trade for someone like Kyler Murray. Or, maybe with the No. 7 pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, McDaniels was going to select QB Will Levis.
The Raiders did none of that. Instead, they signed Jimmy G, who if you squint your eyes (not even that hard), looks almost exactly like Carr.
Carr and Garoppolo are both aggressively average. They will win you some games and lose you some games, but neither is capable of putting the team on their shoulders and carrying it to a victory. McDaniels replaced one average quarterback with another this offseason and seems surprised that the results are the same.
On Monday night, Garoppolo had an awful game. He was 10-of-21 for 126 passing yards with no touchdowns and one interception. And on the biggest play of the game — with a real chance to redeem himself — Jimmy G sailed the pass to Adams.
In a game where Jacobs played well, Adams played well, the offensive line was serviceable for most of the game, and even Hunter Refrow showed up at times, even decent quarterback play could have got the Raiders a win or at least a close loss. Garoppolo’s play gave his team no chance for either of those things, which is why he gets a ton of blame for this loss.
Josh McDaniels
It is almost time to say definitively that Josh McDaniels is not cut out to be an NFL head coach. His time with the Denver Broncos was a disaster (11-17 in just under two seasons), and now he is running the Raiders into the ground (9-16 in a season-and-a-half).
The Raiders have two legit superstars on offense in Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams. Jimmy Garoppolo should be pumping the ball to them on the majority of plays. After that, they have two above-average weapons in Hunter Renfrow and promising rookie tight end Michael Mayer. Giving it to Jacobs and Adams over and over again would open things up for those two to make big plays.
The McDaniels offense does none of that.
There is no creativity and no consistency on that side of the ball, and that is why the Raiders are 28th in points scored and 24th in yards gained despite having played one more game than 12 other NFL teams to this point.
This team has talent. So you can criticize the team building as far as the defense, offensive line, and quarterback go, but McDaniels isn’t getting the best out of the talent that he does have, so why should we think he would get more out of better players at certain spots?
After the Raiders’ Week 8 loss to the Lions, Adams was so frustrated he didn’t even want to say anything about the root of his frustration because it would get blown out of proportion. And when asked what he could do to help fix the offense, Jacobs told reporters, “That ain’t my job.”
And Jacobs is right. It isn’t his job. It’s McDaniels' job, and no Raiders fan has confidence right now he’s going to get that job done.
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