After putting up a good fight for most of the game, the Raiders fell 45-20 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.
Brady threw two of his four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to help the Bucs pull away after the Raiders closed within 24-20 with 12 1/2 minutes left in the game. The 43-year-old former Serra High star’s last TD pass, a 1-yarder to rookie Tyler Johnson, moved him past the Saints’ Drew Brees for the most career TD passes in NFL history (559).
Brady faced little pressure from the Raiders’ defense while completing 33-of-45 passes for 369 yards to drop Jon Gruden’s crew to 3-3 on the season.
The Bucs scored 21 straight points after the Raiders elected to kick a 42-yard field goal on a fourth-and-1 play to make it 24-20. The Raiders became just the second team since 2017 to elect to kick a field goal on fourth-and-1 while trailing by 4-8 points in the fourth quarter, according to the Associated Press.
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Here’s what the Raiders had to say after suffering a disappointing loss following their biggest upset victory in years over Kansas City:
Raiders coach Jon Gruden:
On his team: “I’m proud of our guys, really proud of our team. We had a tough week. We were in the ballgame, seven, eight minutes left, 24-20. It got away from us at the end. We have to play better. Obviously on defense, we’ve got better players. We’ve got to play better. We will. It’s disappointing, credit to Tampa Bay. They’re a good team, I think we are, too.”
On kicking field goal on fourth-and-1, down seven: “It was a long one, more like two. And it was a 24-20 game at that time with the field goal. We felt, at home, a little momentum, we could hold Tampa … at least get off the field. We had ’em third-and-12. We had ’em right where we wanted ’em. And they convert it on a checkdown. Very disappointed, it’s easy to second guess right now, but in hindsight I probably would have done the same thing.”
On Gabe Jackson’s ejection: “I did not see what he did. I was asking the officials, you’ll have to get their interpretation. I believe the ejection came from New York City, they had access to replays perhaps we didn’t. But losing Sam Young early in the game and then losing Gabe, with the week that we have had against a heck of a defense, it was tough on us, no doubt.”
On their defense: “We’ve got to do a better job. It goes back to me. Obviously, missing (Johnathan) Abram and (Damon) Arnette on the back end, it’s tough on us. But I’m not making excuses. We did not get enough pass rush today, and if you let Tom Brady sit back there and survey the field, he’s proved it for 20 years, he’s proving it for 21 years, that he’s still one of the very, very best. They have an arsenal of weapons, credit to them, but we have to generate a better rush, and until we do it’s going to continue to be tough.”
On facing adversity: “I’m really proud of ’em. Even until the very end, they played their hearts out. We’ve got to play better in all phases. It was a tough week, certainly. It will make us better in the long run. Hopefully, it motivates a lot of people out there that you can go out and accomplish great things in adversity. Hopefully, deep down there’s benefits to be had here.”
On Nelson Agholor: “He can get deep, he’s good after the catch. He’s versatile, he’s got great stamina, he’s a pro player, he’s a great champion and I’m really proud to have him aboard. Hopefully, we get Bryan Edwards back soon, but Nelly’s going to be a hard guy to get off the field.”
On their pass rush: “I’m not going to say it here today. Obviously, there’s some things we have to take a good look at. That process will start as soon as the press conference is over. If we’re going to rush four, we’re going to have to do a lot better than we did today.”
VIDEO: Gruden on Raiders defeat vs. Buccaneers. CLICK HERE if you’re viewing on a mobile device.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr
On offensive linemen missing practice: “You know me, I’m not going to use any excuses we can’t. We’re in a production-oriented business. All we care about is winning. But at the same time I’m a realistic. The job we were able to do against the No. 1 defense in the NFL … (I’m) very impressed. I want to say how proud I am of that offensive line. Not just the starters, but the backups also. The week they had, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, where we pull all the starters and they end up getting cleared and get to play. Very proud of those guys for what they were able to accomplish. They did something no one’s ever seen before in this league. The jobs they did on studying and all those good things. (But) this is a game of practice, and practicing together. When you don’t have all your guys out there during the week, it’s tough. Very proud of them coming in against a multiple-front, multiple-blitz operation that they are … they did a fantastic job. Obviously, we didn’t get the job done. We got beat today. We tip our hats to Tampa Bay, they’re a good defense. They’re a talented bunch, great coach, great players.”
On decision to kick field goal on fourth down trailing by 7: “If it’s fourth-and-4, I’m the one screaming, ‘Let’s go for it.’ I’m that guy. If it’s fourth-and-8, I’m the guy saying ‘Let’s go for it.’ The coaches are like, ‘Chill, bro.’ That’s why we have coaches. It was a long (1 yard to go). We said, ‘We’ll get the points, get a stop and go back down the field.’ We were moving the ball, so it wasn’t a feeling like we had to do it now. It was a good decision.
On how close the game was: “Everyone saw it. It was, what, 24-20 with seven minutes left? We’re moving the ball, obviously they’re the No. 1 defense in the league. We move the ball, they stop us some, we move the ball again, we’re hitting explosives .. we’re this close on three or four more big explosive plays. Thoroughly impressed with what we were able to accomplish. Again, was it enough? No, it wasn’t. The coach said in the locker room, we have nothing to hang our heads about. Did we win the game? No, it wasn’t good enough but the things we were able to put on film and where we’re headed, what we had to go through this week? Keep our head up, no pointing fingers. We’re on to the next game and we should hit the field running in practice and the same juice we’ve had all season.
“We’re 3-3, that’s what we’ve earned in this league. But we’ve got 10 games to go, we’ve got some good opponents we’re gonna play and I’m excited about it.”
On Nelson Agholor: “I’ve said it a lot of times, Zay Jones, Nelson Agholor, Darren Waller, all the tight ends, I’m gonna stop naming them because they were all there. But we spent so much time in the off-season working on all these things that are coming to fruition on the field. So, Nelson has been such a big pickup for us. Such a great player for us. I’m sure there’s a few plays he wants back, but I told him, ‘I’m gonna keep throwing it, so you just keep doing what you’re doing.’ I’m really excited about Nelson Agholor and I think Raider fans should be, too.”
On how confident the Raiders are despite being 3-3: “We have a good football team. This is probably the best offense I’ve been in since I’ve been in the NFL. This defense has talent all over it, now they have a few big plays here or there that they want back. But, man I see it in practice. I see it. I see what it could be. I see what we can be as an offense when we’re clicking on all cylinders. I see what we have. And to be 3-3 at this point, no one thought that was gonna be the case They thought for sure we’d be 1-5. If I’m being honest, I’d thought we’d be more than (3-3). In our locker room, we expected more. We’re just in the second quarter of the season. We’ve got a long way to go before this thing is over.”
NFL referee Scott Novak
(From pool report)
On Gabe Jackson’s ejection: “On the play after the touchdown, the down judge throws a flag for number 66 (Jackson) stepping on an opponent, right on his shoulder, while he was on the ground.”
Raiders left tackle Kolton Miller
On all five starting offensive linemen missing practice this week: “This whole year has been weird with the virus, but we did the best we could and followed protocol along the way. But individually, we tried to do our best with what we (had). When we weren’t at practice, those twos got a lot more extra reps. So in a way, they were a little bit more prepared to step in. But we’re just doing our best to stay healthy and try to overcome this virus.”
Raiders linebacker Cory Littleton
On the pass rush: “It basically comes down to the things that we practice, and then transitioning that into actual games. We practice great. Now we just have to correlate it to playing great during these intense game-time situations. Everybody’s capable of it and we always plan to strive and do those things. We just got to make work a little harder to make sure we do it.”
On comparing Patrick Mahomes to Tom Brady: “It’s two different styles. Because we have Patrick Mahomes — mobile, extends plays. Then we have Tom Brady — stationary, sitting in the pocket. Two different type of offenses to compare and just say, we did one thing more last week than we did this week. Just a different game plan, a different team and we didn’t get it done.”
On if he’s becoming more comfortable with the Raiders’ system: “Week by week. I feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like I’m progressing and getting better within this defense.”
