ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Three things you need to know about the Raiders' 34-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 8 on Sunday:
1. SEASON CIRCLES THE DRAIN
The Raiders needed a win. They had a four-game losing streak to negate by stacking victories together. That didn't happen. The Raiders got their butts kicked instead. They were awful against the Bills and fell to 3-5 as a result.
That basically eliminates their margin for error with several good teams left on the slate. In other words, this summer's sexy Super Bowl pick is down to its last dollar.
There was hope a turnaround was coming after last week's inspired victory over Kansas City. Against Buffalo, they regressed right back to old ways.
The offense was sluggish, inconsistent and mistake prone. They were content to play horizontal after Buffalo took away chunk plays. Four turnovers put the defense in tight spots, and special teams consistently lost the battle for field position.
That's losing football, right there. It portends more losses on the horizon, unless the script gets flipped after a week huddled up in Sarasota, Fla.
"You have to recognize the record is what it is," head coach Jack Del Rio said. "We're 3-5 at the halfway mark. It's clearly not what we're looking for, but it's what we've earned to this point. We've got a eight games ahead, and we need to get hot in the second half."
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2. RAIDERS HURT THEMSELVES
The Raiders turned the ball over four times. They had zero takeaways. Can't win games like that.
It's atypical of a unit careful with possession. They fumbled four times and lost two. Derek Carr was intercepted twice.
The defense has gone eight games without a pick, and haven't forced a turnover in nine quarter. They're minus-12 in the turnover battle.
They were plus-16 last year, equal best in the league. That's a major reason why they've struggled. It's exactly why they got beat in Buffalo.
"We kept shooting ourselves in the foot," tight end Jared Cook said. "We got the chains moving, but we hurt ourselves in ways you can't afford against good teams. Turnovers are costly, and it cost us in the end."
3. NO MACK ATTACK
Khalil Mack's return to Buffalo was not triumphant. The University of Buffalo alum was not impactful in a game where he had to set a defensive tone, uncharacteristic for the reigning defensive player of the year.
Mack had two tackles, no sacks and just two quarterback pressures. Games like this don't happen to him, even when Mack is held often or consistently double-teamed.
He and the Raiders pass rush needed to hound Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, keep him in the pocket and take away time required to make smart choices. They didn't do that. Taylor was pressured just seven times, and completed just two passes under duress. He completed 90 percent of his passes without pressure, which hurt the Raiders defense time and again.
