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Pretty much everything went wrong for the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth quarter of their Week 7 matchup versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the problems really began in the third quarter. Towards the end of the quarter, starting right guard Gabe Jackson got ejected from the game after allegedly stepping on Ndamukong Suh while he was on the ground. The video that was shown didn’t appear to show any wrongdoing but the referees thought ejecting him was the right move.
Many fans were not happy with the call, especially since the Raiders were already down on offensive linemen. Former starting left tackle Donald Penn, who used to play with Jackson, was not happy with the decision.
The referee released an explanation after the game and Penn wasn’t satisfied.
It was an iffy call, to say the least. The entire right side of the Raiders’ offensive line was not looking good before Jackson got ejected and things only got worse after that. The referees certainly didn’t do the Raiders any favors in Week 7 and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is probably going to get an earful from owner Mark Davis.
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Derek Carr Talks OL Missing Practice
Had the Raiders actually had most of their offensive linemen, losing Jackson wouldn’t have been such a blow. Unfortunately, the team was already facing injuries on the offensive line, and the fact that they couldn’t practice all week just made things worse. Quarterback Derek Carr had a chance to talk about the struggles of the offensive line this week.
“I’m not going to use any excuses, we can’t,” Carr said after the loss. “We’re in a production-oriented business. The miscommunication, absolutely, it took place. It’s a game of practice, it really is. You got to be available, not just for Sundays, you got to be available all throughout the week cause there’s so much information that goes into it.”
It was probably understated how big of an impact the entire starting offensive line missing practice this week would have on the team. It was certainly an issue in the run game. Josh Jacobs only had 17 rushing yards on 10 carries. That was one of the worst outputs of his career.
Kolton Miller Addresses Struggles in the Run Game
The Raiders have been one of the better rushing teams in the NFL but Week 7 was not a good look for the team. They moved the ball through the air at times but couldn’t get anything going on the ground. Starting left tackle Kolton Miller praised Tampa Bay for their run defense.
“The Buccaneers are one of the top run-stopping defenses in the league,” Miller said. “We did the best we could with the circumstances throughout the week. I think it could be one or two communication things, or a few things, with running (protection). It’s those little details you miss out not being with the team during the week.”
This week obviously wasn’t ideal for the Raiders but they’ve still got things they need to fix. They won’t be playing an elite defense every week so they should be able to pick things back up.
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