National Football League

Three and Out: Oakland Raiders @ New Orleans Saints

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:39 p.m. ET

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Sep 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Kasim Edebali (91) pressures Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) in the first quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Three and Out is a new weekly series that will examine three areas where the Oakland Raiders played well, and three areas where they didn’t.

It was a stressful, up and down, exciting and gratifying season debut for the Oakland Raiders, as they rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the New Orleans Saints, 35-34.

Just like with every NFL game, there were plenty of things the team did well and should build on moving forward, and plenty of bad things that need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Let’s start with the positives. Here are three areas Raiders fans should feel good about following the win.

1. Resilience

First and foremost, this is a game where any Raiders team from 2003 to 2015 would have lost. Trailing 24-10 with 7:52 remaining in the third quarter, this team easily could have laid down and accepted defeat, but they didn’t.

Oakland battled back, and had to do so multiple times. The Saints offense is tough to stop, and the Raiders had to go blow for blow and point for point with them until the end.

It took an 11-play, 75-yard drive that spanned 5:16, capped by a touchdown from Derek Carr to Seth Roberts to put the Raiders in position to tie the game, with just 47 seconds left. But Jack Del Rio had already decided to go for the win, and Carr and Michael Crabtree delivered.

A win like this, on the road nonetheless, can do wonders for the confidence of a young team. Learning how to win is a big step in the process of becoming contenders, and the Raiders took that first step on Sunday.

2. Derek Carr

It won’t be long before we run out of compliments for Carr — this young man simply impresses week in and week out. He’s a franchise quarterback in every possible sense, and he’ll do anything it takes to win.

Anything, such as front-flip over a defender on a scramble to convert on 3rd & 9. Carr has had many highlights in his young career, and he’ll have many more, but this play will always be one to remembered.

Outside of that play, Carr completed 63% of his passes for 318 yards, with one touchdown and no turnovers. He orchestrated two long drives that resulted in rushing touchdowns — one by Murray and one by Olawale — and he also threw two perfect passes on the successful two-point conversions, otherwise Oakland would have lost the game without those conversions.

3. No Sacks, No Turnovers

The offensive line was as good as advertised in their regular season debut, giving Carr a clean pocket all game long. There were several plays where Carr had so long to throw, it was only a matter of time before a wide receiver got open downfield.

The final tally was zero sacks allowed, which is a huge accomplishment. Carr only had to scramble twice, and was rarely forced to throw the ball away. Having this long to throw usually results in good things, and Carr delivered time and time again.

No turnovers was also a noteworthy accomplishment. Anytime a team can win the turnover battle, their chances of winning that game considerably increase.

Sep 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) catches a touchdown pass over Oakland Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden (25) and defensive back Reggie Nelson (27) during the second quarter of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Next, let’s take a look at three areas where the Raiders need to make immediate improvements.

1. Too Many Penalties

It was a theme of the preseason, and to be frank, it’s been a theme of the last 13 or so years. The Raiders commit way too penalties.

In three of the four preseason games, Oakland committed double-digit penalties. In the regular season opener, they were called for 14 penalties, totaling an astounding 141 yards. A pace of that many penalties would shatter the single-season records by nearly 60 penalties and 1,000 yards.

Here is the damage:

Three defensive pass interference penalties, one offensive pass interference, two false starts, three offensive holding, two holdings on kick returns, one holding on a punt return, one defensive holding, and one encroachment.

Oakland cannot continue this and expect to win on a consistent basis.

2. Allowed 400+ Passing Yards

Yes, Drew Brees is a future Hall of Famer and is still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but allowing 423 passing yards from any quarterback is unacceptable.

That was Brees did against a revamped Raiders secondary, on 66.67% completion percentage to go along with four touchdown passes. That performance was good for a QB rating of 131.3.

With numbers like that, multiple receivers are bound to have big days, and Willie Snead and Brandin Cooks did just that. Nine catches for 172 yards and one TD for Snead, and six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns for Cooks.

It got so bad, that star free agent signing Sean Smith was benched. Obviously not ideal for a player in his first game with the team, fresh off a $40M contract. But as a bigger, longer cornerback, speedy wide receivers give Smith (and similar players) trouble. So no need to panic, unless this continues.

With Smith, Amerson, Nelson and Joseph hyped up in the offseason as the new-look secondary, it was a rough start to the year. Joseph only played nine snaps, but he might have to be thrown into the fire if his teammates get torched again.

3. Lack of OL Depth

The offensive line is absolutely a strength for this team — the starting five, at least. Penn, Osemele, Hudson, Jackson and Watson/Howard is a formidable group. But that group is not the problem.

With Austin Howard already injured, it took less than one half of football for Menelik Watson to find himself in the same boat. It took less than another half of football for Matt McCants to join them.

Suddenly, Oakland had no right tackle — Vadal Alexander was inactive — and the Raiders had to shuffle the line. Osemele was the new left tackle, Penn slid over to the right side, and Feliciano filled Osemele’s spot at left guard.

Fortunately, the team still didn’t allow a single sack, but if any of the injuries to Watson, Howard or McCants will lead to more missed games, the Raiders need to do something to address the lack of depth.