3 Takeaways from Raiders' Week 9 Loss

The Las Vegas Raiders came out of the bye week and laid an egg against the New York Giants on Sunday. There's no getting around that. Yes, the Giants deserve credit for notching the 23-16 win, but with two weeks to prepare, Las Vegas should not have been as sloppy as it was.

It's been a trying season for the Raiders, and traveling to the East Coast never makes for an easy experience. However, this was a game Las Vegas could and should have won, and needed to win to keep pace in the AFC West.

As is the case in the AFC North, all four teams in Las Vegas' division sport a winning record. Next week, the Raiders have a pivotal matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, who have found some semblance of a defense—and knocked off the Giants last week, for those keeping track of common-opponent tiebreakers.

The Raiders still look and feel like a playoff team, but Sunday's loss complicates their bid for the AFC West crown. Here's what else we learned during Las Vegas' Week 9 performance.

The Raiders running attack has been inconsistent at best this season and downright disappointing at its worst. Lingering injuries for Josh Jacobs haven't helped, but the Raiders have largely been a pass-first, pass-often team to this point.

Even after Sunday's game, the Raiders rank 27th in rushing yards per game and in yards per attempt (3.7).

However, the ground game came alive against the Giants, which is hopefully a sign of things to come. Jacobs rushed for 5.8 yards per carry, while Kenyan Drake ran for an impressive 7.5 yards per tote.

It wasn't enough for the Raiders to control the game or to get the win, but it does suggest that balance could be coming to the offense. The Raiders rank seventh in pass attempts and 23rd in rushing attempts. In theory, a more balanced offense will make them tougher to defend down the stretch.

Teams that run the ball effectively are usually a tough out in the postseason. Hopefully, the Raiders are getting closer to being one of those teams.

Henry Ruggs III is no longer with the team. He was released after five charges, including four felonies, were brought against him stemming from a fatal crash that resulted in the death of 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog early Tuesday morning.

Zay Jones got an opportunity to claim a role in the team against New York, but he was largely ineffective. He did have one 20-yard reception, but he only caught one of four targets on the afternoon.

The Raiders' new deep threat may have a chance to make his debut against Kansas City next week.

"I just got a text from free agent WR DeSean Jackson telling me he is going to the Raiders," Josina Anderson of CBS Sports HQ and USA Today tweeted.

Adding Jackson, who has averaged 27.6 yards per reception this season with the Los Angeles Rams, will help allow the Raiders to stretch the field and will add another home-run-hitting element to the offense. That was mostly missing against the Giants, as Derek Carr's longest completion was a 24-yarder to tight end Darren Waller.

The Raiders played well enough to win on Sunday but were done in by mistakes. They had six penalties for 65 yards, and, more importantly, got a mistake-filled performance out of Carr.

Coming into the game, Carr had not had a multiple-turnover game this season. Against the Giants, he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. One of those picks was returned for a Giants touchdown—ultimately, the difference in the final score.

While no team is going to have an easy time overcoming multiple giveaways, this was a stark reminder that the Raiders are going to go where Carr takes them. He's been brilliant more often than not in 2021, which is why Las Vegas has five wins. Poor play from him, though, is going to doom the Raiders, even against a mid-tier team like New York.

While the Raiders are a team on the rise, a likely playoff participant and maybe even a sleeper title contender, they're not talented enough overall to win games when Carr is at his worst.