In their two previous victories over the Chargers and Jets, the Raiders not only were explosive on offense and solid defensively when it counted, but took care of the football.
The Raiders didn’t commit a single turnover in those games. Quarterback Derek Carr, in fact, threw seven touchdown passes without an interception.
And, before Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh, the Raiders were among the best teams in the NFL in giveaway/takeaway ratio at plus-3.
But in losing to the Steelers, 38-35, Oakland gave up the ball three times, and two were costly. Carr threw one interception in the Steelers end zone in the fourth quarter that snuffed out a drive, and a fumble by Taiwan Jones on a kickoff return gave Pittsburgh the ball at the Raiders’ 6, setting up a Steelers touchdown.
The Raiders, now 4-4 at the season’s halfway point heading into this weekend’s game against the Vikings at the O.co Coliseum, are proving themselves to be an emerging team with a shot at the playoffs. But with a defense still susceptible to falling apart late in games, the margin for error is slim. The Raiders must win the turnover battle to win games.
In earlier close losses this season to the Broncos (three turnovers) and Bears (two turnovers), the Raiders’ mistakes also proved fatal.
“If you win the turnover battle, you win the game,” said Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio after Sunday’s defeat. “We didn’t.”
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Carr, who was mostly terrific Sunday – throwing for four touchdowns and 301 yards and leading his team back to a 35-35 tie before Pittsburgh’s game-winning field goal – took the blame for the interception in the end zone.
“The outcome, yeah I’d like to have it back,” Carr said of his throw. “They gave us a look that we liked. I tried to throw it in the spot for our guy to make a play. Their guy made the play.”
In the Raiders’ four victories, Carr has thrown just one interception. In the four losses, he’s been picked off three times.
For the season, Oakland is tied for 13th in the NFL in giveaway/takeaway, at plus-1. The Raiders have 14 takeaways (nine interceptions, five fumble recoveries) and have 13 giveaways on five interceptions (Matt McGloin has one) and eight lost fumbles. The Raiders’ next opponent, Minnesota, is even, with nine takeaways and nine giveaways.
