OAKLAND – Raiders quarterback Derek Carr throwing the ball away on fourth-and-5 late in the fourth quarter will capture the spotlight in days following Sunday’s 20-6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
That wasn’t the day’s only fourth-down disaster for Oakland.
An equally important misstep came on the game’s opening series, with the Raiders going for it 1 yard from the end zone.
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SIGN UP HERE Head coach/offensive play-caller Jon Gruden asked for a jet sweep to wide receiver Dwayne Harris, who was coming in motion from the right side. The Chargers snuffed it out, with rookie safety Derwin James stopping Harris short of the goal line.
“It was a speed play that a lot of people have had success with against the Chargers,” Gruden said. “I think that play certainly should be second-guessed because it didn’t work. That wasn’t the plan.”
Failing to reach the end zone there was a punch to the gut, especially during a streak where the Raiders haven’t scored a touchdown since Week 8.
“The effect -- obviously, that’s gut-wrenching because we moved the ball straight down the field,” Carr said. “I felt we moved it pretty well all day. I think we didn’t in the red zone and touchdowns, 0-3 in the red zone -- that’s terrible. We have to work on that.
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"But that right there, we’ve seen multiple teams score on that play. They had trouble at first lining up to it, just like we saw on film. As I’m sitting there, I’m thinking this is going to walk in, and then it didn’t.”
Harris was surprised the play blew up like it did.
"I have no idea what Derek saw,” Harris told reporters, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “But it had to be an ideal look for us to run it. But we ran it. Definitely didn't get blocked the way we ran it in practice."
[RATTO: If you're still watching this Raiders team, the blame falls on you]
This isn’t the first time these Raiders have failed to score from the 1-yard line, and they've now turned over the ball three times in that spot. Keith Smith couldn’t run it in from there in Miami, Carr bypassed running back Marshawn Lynch and threw an interception in a Week 5 loss to the Chargers, and Harris couldn’t cross the plane of the goal line in Sunday’s rematch.
It’s a problem that could’ve changed several games, and underlines the Raiders' recent struggles in the red zone.
They were 0 for 3 from inside the Chargers’ 20, including two turnovers on downs.
“Today came down to the offense and us not finishing in the red zone,” running back Jalen Richard said. “We just got to figure out what that is. We just got to lock in. I don’t think we had any penalties down there in the red zone. We just couldn’t get in. Had to settle for field goals, and field goals just ain’t going to win it all the time.”
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