What is going on with the Raiders? Oakland drops third straight

For all the prolific yardage figures the Raiders gave up a year ago en route to a 12-4 season, they hung their hat defensively on being decent in the red zone and being very good when it came to turnover margin.

Sean Smith was beaten on a 52-yard pass from Joe Flacco to Mike Wallace on the opening play to set the tone for the game. He had fallen behind Collins on the depth chart the previous two weeks and had been limited to 10 total carries.

“Took the time that we had, decided that it was best not to play him today”, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said. The hope was that they would start to show more life, but that wasn’t meant to be.

Oakland is now 2-3 and could be three games back of the Kansas City Chiefs should Kansas City improve to 5-0 on the year against the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football in a few hours.

The veteran quarterback is arguably struggling through one of the more ineffective stretches of his career, the Ravens having not scored in the first half in losses to the Jaguars and Steelers while only producing points on three of the past 25 possessions led by Flacco. He finished 13 for 26 for 159 yards.

After starting the season 2-0, the Oakland Raiders suddenly find themselves in a funk. “Marshawn Lynch is one of the best running backs in the league”, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I may not play well one week, but it’s not going to change who I am”. It’s like a bad shock. “We just keep getting our ass whupped”. He has three sacks in four games, has defended the run well and has been a consistent presence inside to go along with Khalil Mack on the outside.

Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley #79 of the Baltimore Ravens is intoduced before the start of a preseason game against the Washington Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium on August 10, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. He had one catch for eight yards.

The Coliseum was rocking after Lynch’s TD cut Baltimore’s lead to 24-17 late in the third quarter. And then got owned by the Baltimore Ravens at home.

It was basically cruise control for Baltimore from that point forward.

“It didn’t go anything like it needed to”, Del Rio said. The boos returned again in the fourth, shortly before Del Rio made a decision that left him vulnerable to second-guessing afterward.

“You have to be more opportunistic in practice, going after the ball”, linebacker Bruce Irvin said. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive on a 1-yard run by Javorius Allen that made it 21-3.

The Oakland Raiders will be without quarterback Derek Carr and they are likely to lean heavily on Lynch in the ground game when they face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday (1:05 p.m. PT/4:05 p.m. ET, CBS, DirecTV). He did not return.