Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders' leadership group, including quarterback Derek Carr and defensive end Maxx Crosby, reportedly held a players-only meeting after Sunday's loss to the Tennessee Titans, which dropped the team's record to 0-3.

Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reported Wednesday the Raiders are "taking stock" in their sluggish start and trying to figure out how to turn the season around before it's too late.

"It's complicated," multiple sources told Wilson.

Las Vegas reached the playoffs with a 10-7 record last season before getting knocked out in the wild-card round by the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.

Thus, expectations were high following an offseason in which the team hired Josh McDaniels as its new head coach and made a blockbuster trade for longtime Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams.

Things haven't clicked out of the gate, however, and the margin for error is already getting thin since the Raiders play in the loaded AFC West.

Team sources described the offensive line as a "mess" and also singled out the linebackers and secondary as areas of the roster not playing up to the necessary standard, per Wilson.

Carr has been sacked seven times in three games, while the team's defense has forced just two turnovers so far.

One source told Wilson they remained confident the Raiders are going to flip the script.

"This is an adjustment period," the source said. "Josh is showing people how he wants things done. Rome wasn't built in a day. When they have success, once they start winning, people are going to jump on the bandwagon. Watch and see."

While Vegas has star power on both sides of the ball, led by Carr, Adams, Crosby and tight end Darren Waller, the schedule doesn't do the team any favors as it attempts to break out of the early slump, with games against the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs coming up next.

Things do get a little more favorable after their Week 6 bye, but it took an 11-5 record to reach the playoffs in 2020 and a 9-7-1 mark last year, so each passing loss reduces the wiggle room.

It'll be interesting to see whether the players-only meeting has any tangible impact when the Raiders return to action Sunday against the 2-1 Broncos.

The money may have been longer in Las Vegas than Green Bay, but Davante Adams is learning the grass isn't greener.

The Raiders wideout said he is "frustrated and angry" amid the team's 0-3 start.

"Frustrated and angry. Expect more," Adams told reporters after Sunday's 24-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans. "It's not easy to win in this league. We know that. Nobody's naive to the fact that nobody’s just going to lay down and just give you a victory, but at the end of the day we expect more and we will do better as we move forward."

Adams finished with five catches for 36 yards and a touchdown, his second straight disappointing outing after starting the season with a 10-catch, 141-yard game against the Los Angeles Chargers. He's compiled just 48 total receiving yards over the last two weeks, which likely compounds the sense of frustration.

The Raiders are one of just two remaining winless teams three weeks into the NFL season. The other is the Houston Texans, a team almost no one thought had a chance of competing for a postseason berth. Las Vegas was a wild-card team a year ago and came into 2022 with massive expectations after trading for Adams and hiring Josh McDaniels as head coach.

All parties have failed to live up to the hype three weeks into the season. Adams looks like he sorely misses Aaron Rodgers, who has the Packers out to a 2-1 start, while McDaniels' second chance at being a head coach is looking an awful lot like the first.

Adams says he wants his new team to "stay the course," but they're quickly falling behind in a competitive AFC West.

The AFC West is the NFL's version of a great movie trailer that gets everyone excited, only to be disappointed once the film begins. Expectations can ruin the actual experience.

A supposed arms race took place this offseason. The Las Vegas Raiders traded for Davante Adams and signed Chandler Jones as a free agent. The Los Angeles Chargers brought in Khalil Mack and J.C. Jackson and fortified their previously soft defensive interior.

The Kansas City Chiefs moved on from the likes of Tyreek Hill and Tyrann Mathieu but made sure to beef up the defense with the first-round draft selections of Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis. The Denver Broncos' made arguably the biggest move by acquiring future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks.

The Broncos' appalling 11-10 victory Sunday against the Jimmy Garoppolo-led San Francisco 49ers provided the perfect ending to an awful day for the division.

Yes, a win is a win. But not all wins are the same. And not all wins are good wins.

Denver played terribly throughout the night. Garoppolo's futility allowed the Broncos to escape with an underserved victory, which is becoming a regular occurrence against subpar competition.

Last week, the Broncos trailed the Houston Texans by three points entering the fourth quarter. The Texans are one of two winless teams currently found around the league.

The 49ers, meanwhile, are dealing with the fact they're now starting the quarterback they wanted to rid themselves of but didn't have a better option other than cutting his salary and having him serve as a backup.

To underline how poorly Denver's offense played Sunday, the team went three-and-out on nine different occasions, which is the most by a Wilson-led offense during the quarterback's 11-year career.

During the team's initial 11 drives, Wilson averaged a putrid 5.4 air yards per attempt, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. In total, the team has converted one of seven red zone trips into a touchdown so far this season.

In all fairness, some of the quarterback's old magic appeared with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter. With 10:12 left to play and down five points, Wilson completed five of seven passes and created with his legs to avoid pressure and pick up 12 yards on a crucial 3rd-and-6 at San Francisco's 36-yard line.

Even so, the sight of errant throws, miscommunication on routes and an inability to properly block the 49ers' defensive front shows how disjointed the Denver offense is at the moment.

"We're still all learning each other," Wilson told reporters. "We're so close. I've been a part of some good offenses, and I think we have a chance to be really, really great ... I'm excited because I can feel it—everything is just that close. And once we do, with our defense, we're going to be unstoppable, I think. We've got a chance."

A 2-1 record keeps the Broncos stride-for-stride with the Kansas City Chiefs atop the AFC West. The current standings are more of an indictment of both teams than a reflection of quality performances.

Against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Kansas City found a way to lose. The Colts couldn't get their offense on track for most of the day. The Chiefs did an excellent job of confusing veteran quarterback Matt Ryan and his highly paid offensive line throughout the contest. Kansas City created multiple free runs at Ryan to disrupt Indianapolis' game plan.

Yet a missed field goal, a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on defensive lineman Chris Jones after a successful third-down stop, and a Patrick Mahomes interception led to the Colts' comeback victory. All of this occurred after a minor sideline dustup between the quarterback and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

Ultimately, it's the little things. The Chiefs are still easing into their new offensive setup, and Mahomes took the blame for the loss in his postgame press conference.

"We've got to gel all together. It starts with me. There were certain throws I was putting on guys' back hips instead of in front of him. There were certain situations where we were just barely off of it ... Whenever you're playing a tough game like that, you have to execute at a higher level and we have to learn from it. Our schedule gets no easier. We have a hard game Sunday (against) Tampa next week with a great defense, so we have to get better quickly. And if we don't, we don't want these (losses) to start piling up. We want to make sure we get back on that winning train."

Meanwhile, the Chargers are dealing with multiple key injuries. Defensive end Joey Bosa didn't return during Los Angeles' 38-10 thumping at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars after suffering a groin injury. Left tackle Rashawn Slater injured his biceps. Quarterback Justin Herbert is already playing through fractured rib cartilage.

"I just didn't want to quit on the team," Herbert told reporters after the decisive loss.

Center Corey Linsley (knee), wide receiver Keenan Allen (hamstring) and cornerback J.C. Jackson (knee) didn't even play in the contest.

Availability and quality of depth play big parts in how successful a team can be. If its top performers aren't healthy or not playing well, expectations must be tempered.

Lastly, the Las Vegas Raiders are allowed to have some hope, even though they're the only team to start 0-3 this season. Sunday's performance within their division makes it possible to climb back into the race.

Granted, the Chiefs and Broncos are already two games ahead. Six teams during the Super Bowl era have made the playoffs after starting 0-3, according to the Associated Press' Josh Dubow.

Quarterback Derek Carr even insinuated certain individuals must be better in practice during his postgame press conference.

"You try your best to do it the right way in practice, and if you don't do it right in practice, then you can't expect it to go right in the game," Carr said. "We've got to look at that, each man as an individual and say, 'OK then, I've got to get better at this, this, and this.'"

The rest of the AFC sees the Miami Dolphins leading the way with a 3-0 record. The Buffalo Bills may have come up short against their division rival this weekend, but they're clearly one of the league's best.

Lamar Jackson is back to MVP form during the Baltimore Ravens' 2-1 start. Jacksonville is much tougher than expected, with a true professional now leading the team in head coach Doug Pederson.

A weak first act can be saved by a strong finish. Even after a rough start, the AFC West shouldn't fall completely apart. Expectations simply need to be adjusted. Maybe the division wasn't as good as everyone originally projected.

Even so, the eventual winner can still have its made-for-movie ending.

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Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.

The Josh McDaniels era in Las Vegas is off to a brutal start as the Raiders fell to 0-3 on the season under their new head coach with a 24-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

After the game, McDaniels didn't mince words when asked about the team's rough start to the year.

"Nobody likes losing. We all feel s--tty," McDaniels told reporters.

McDaniels was hired as head coach of the Raiders in January, replacing interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who took over after Jon Gruden resigned as head coach following reports that he used racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language in emails over a 10-year period.

With the additions of Davante Adams and Chandler Jones, among others, the Raiders entered the season with high hopes that McDaniels could help lead them past the wild-card round for the first time since the 2002 campaign.

Instead, the Raiders are off to their worst start since the 2018 season.

They fell to the Los Angeles Chargers 24-19 in Week 1, blew a 20-point lead to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 and they had every opportunity to get back into their Week 3 matchup against the Titans.

Las Vegas blanked Tennessee after halftime but still couldn't find a way to come back after going down 24-10 in the first half because of a number of mistakes.

Titans All-Pro safety Kevin Byard picked off Raiders quarterback Derek Carr in the end zone with 9:22 remaining in the game, and Kristian Fulton broke up a pass that was targeted for Mack Hollins with 3:33 remaining.

Carr finally connected with Hollins on a nine-yard touchdown pass on a 4th-and-goal to make it a 24-22 game, but the Raiders couldn't convert the two-point conversion or recover the ensuing onside kick as the Titans went on to win.

Carr completed 26 of 44 passes for 303 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Hollins led the team's receiving group with eight catches for 158 yards and one touchdown.

Adams, the team's top receiver, finished with five catches for 36 yards and one score, while running back Josh Jacobs rushed for just 66 yards on 13 carries.

Things won't get any easier for the Raiders, either, as they are set to clash with Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos in Week 4 before meeting Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.

Now 0-3 on the season, Las Vegas is going to have a tough time climbing out of the hole its dug itself in the AFC West as the three other teams in the division have recorded at least one win.

If McDaniels' squad continues to struggle, his tenure in Las Vegas could be over very quickly.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, who is listed as questionable with an illness on the team's Week 3 injury report, is not traveling with the team to Nashville on Friday for its game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, per ESPN's Paul Gutierrez.

Also, while RB Josh Jacobs (illness) is officially QUESTIONABLE, he is not traveling with the #Raiders to Nashville today. https://t.co/oYuVXlzWAy

— Paul Gutierrez (@PaulHGutierrez) September 23, 2022

Jacobs, who is in his fourth NFL season, has gained 154 total yards on 31 touches through two games. He is averaging 4.3 yards per carry.

The Raiders offense is already short-handed without wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, who suffered a concussion against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Now their No. 1 running back appears to be in danger of missing the Week 3 game.

Jacobs has amassed 29 of the team's 33 rushing attempts from running backs this season. Brandon Bolden has three carries for seven yards, and rookie Zamir White has one attempt for two yards. Bolden also has two receptions for 21 yards, while White has not seen action in the pass game yet.

They figure to lead the backfield now if Jacobs misses time.

White starred in the backfield for the national champion Georgia Bulldogs last year. He amassed 931 yards and 11 touchdowns on 169 touches in 2021.

Bolden has been in the NFL since 2012. He spent all but one of his years with the New England Patriots before signing with the Raiders last offseason.

The longtime veteran has rushed for 4.6 yards per carry over his career. Last season, Bolden had 44 carries for 226 yards and one touchdown in addition to 41 receptions for 405 yards and two more scores.

Sunday will be a battle between a pair of 2021 playoff teams who have yet to enter the win column this season. Game time is set for 1 p.m. ET in Nashville's Nissan Stadium.

Arizona Cardinals star Kyler Murray is willing to extend an olive branch to the Las Vegas Raiders fan who allegedly struck him in the face following Arizona's 29-23 victory Sunday.

"No hard feelings. If I see him, I’d shake his hand," Murray told reporters.

The Cardinals quarterback added it was "a live game."

“It was a pretty live game. Vegas is Vegas,” Kyler Murray said when talking about the fan incident.

The signal caller added he has no hard feelings toward the fan and that it won’t deter his celebrations in the future.

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 21, 2022

Las Vegas police said Monday they were looking into the matter and confirmed authorities received a battery complaint.

Cameron Cox of 12 News shared a clip of Byron Murphy Jr. scoring the game-winning touchdown in overtime and Arizona's subsequent celebration. At one point, Murray runs toward a field-level suite to high-five fans. One fan appears to swipe his hand at Murray's face.

WALKOFF!! @12SportsAZ pic.twitter.com/eQ75VJtk30

— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) September 18, 2022

Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury didn't mince words in the immediate aftermath.

"I think the guy is a low-life, whoever did it," he told reporters. "I hope they arrest him and he gets fired and he never can go to another game."

Following Murray's comments, the matter may be settled for the most part pending the outcome of the police investigation. It could be a while before the two-time Pro Bowler is back at Allegiant Stadium as well.

The Cardinals aren't scheduled to play the Raiders again until 2026, and that will be a home game for Arizona. A meeting could happen as early as 2024, but it would also be at State Farm Stadium if the teams are paired up.