Raiders Looking to Reset After Ugly Loss in Home Opener

The Las Vegas Raiders were hoping to build off their road win last week with a win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Instead, they are in need of a reset after everything that could go wrong did.

Sep 22, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders reacts against the Carolina Panthers in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After an upset win on the road against the Baltimore Ravens, the Las Vegas Raiders were expected to use their game against the winless Carolina Panthers as a coming-out party. However, the game that was supposed to show the promise and potential of this Raiders team turned into a nightmare blowout loss to the Panthers. 

Costly turnovers doomed the Raiders in Week 1. In Week 3, mental lapses and overall lack of effort cost them a chance to build upon their Week 2 win over the Ravens. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce noted the crucial missed opportunity for the team and how the embarrassing loss started from the game's first possession when the Panthers moved the ball down the field with ease against what was expected to be a stout Raiders defense.

"No, listen, we talked about the opportunity here to be 2-1 at home,” Pierce said. “The crowd was amazing, like freaking amazing,” Pierce said. “Loud, rowdy, felt a little bit old school, but we just didn't come to play. You can see that the very first series defensively. I mean, they went right down the field, and then offensively it wasn't pretty. 

“And that just led up to ‘OK, did we did we press a little bit? Did we stress? Did we not do a good enough job of reintegrating our must, the goals, the objectives?’ We always talk about resetting after each series. And I think sometimes we let a play or series linger, and I saw that at halftime. We tried to adjust that then. But the roller coaster, it's an emotional game, it's human nature that plays an element of that, and we just got to control those elements."

The Raiders lost more than just the game to the Panthers. They lost momentum, some of the fanbase’s confidence, and a starting safety when Marcus Epps went down with a season-ending injury. Sunday’s loss to one of the worst teams in the league has brought the Raiders back down to Earth after their exciting win over the Ravens a week ago.

Pierce must help Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy find a spark for the offense and help Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham find a way to make up for the deficiencies injuries have caused the defense. 

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