LAS VEGAS - The Raiders were staring at a very different reality Sunday night than the one they enjoyed just three weeks ago.
Back then, they had strung together three straight wins and sat among the league’s unbeaten teams, with a fanbase that has waited a long time for any real sign of momentum. Now, after back-to-back setbacks, the margin for optimism has narrowed fast. The latest blow came in a 33-30 loss to the Buffalo Bills that dropped Las Vegas back to .500.
“Very disappointed that we didn’t get it done today,” head coach Klint Kubiak said after the game.
“As a team, we did not close the game and there’s plenty of improvement, but we are not satisfied with any moral victories.”
Buffalo delivered the kind of test that exposes every loose edge. Josh Allen controlled the downfield action, finishing with 255 yards and two touchdowns, including a highlight-reel play in which he slipped two Raiders defenders and fired a shovel pass to a wide-open Keon Coleman in the end zone. James Cook added 153 all-purpose yards, with 95 on the ground and 58 through the air, and his production helped set up the touchdown that gave the Bills the lead for good.
The Raiders hung around, but the game kept tilting on the same kinds of moments that have haunted them in recent weeks. The start of the third quarter was especially costly.
Kirk Cousins opened the half with three straight incompletions on a drive that lasted only 35 seconds. On the next possession, he forced a throw into double coverage, and Bills linebacker Dorian Williams came away with the game’s only turnover.
That mistake gave Buffalo a short field and, shortly after, another touchdown.
Las Vegas also left points on the field in the red zone, finishing 2-for-5 there and settling for field goals in a game where touchdowns were the difference.
“One of those games where it’s hard to sleep afterwards when you kind of think through the plays that you could have or should have made and in the red zone plays when you leave points out there and you kick field goals in a tight game like that, it comes back to haunt you,” Cousins said.
The offense had its moments, but not enough of them came from the players the Raiders count on most. Ashton Jeanty managed a touchdown on the opening drive, but he averaged just 2.2 yards per carry on 10 attempts. Brock Bowers finished with four catches for 70 yards, but he did not record his first reception until inside the final five minutes of the third quarter.
“Credit Buffalo. They did a great job of playing him. They had a good plan,” Kubiak said of the Bills’ approach to Bowers.
There were bright spots elsewhere. Michael Mayer turned in a career day with seven catches for 95 yards, and Tre Tucker led the team with 97 receiving yards on five receptions while scoring both of the Raiders’ touchdowns. Even so, the production from those two wasn’t enough to offset the struggles elsewhere in the lineup.
For Kubiak, the losing stretch has turned into a real early test of his ability to steady the team. He has spent the week emphasizing fixes in “bite-sized” pieces, rather than trying to solve everything at once. After Sunday’s loss, though, the message for the next week could not have been clearer.
“Close. Games. Out,” Kubiak said.
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