Despite a narrow Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos, the Las Vegas Raiders came crashing back down to earth against the Buffalo Bills. Vegas looked downright sloppy offensively, led by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. After scoring just 17 points in their opener, Vegas followed up that effort with a 10-point display against Buffalo. Very little is working on that side of the ball for the Raiders.
Meanwhile, the defense wasn't much better. Vegas gave up 38 points to a talented Bills offense. However, this came just one week after Buffalo was shut down by the New York Jets without Aaron Rodgers. Buffalo had a point to prove, and they did just that against a Raiders team which never saw it coming.
Now in Las Vegas for a few seasons, the Raiders are about to feel the wrath of a large media market with very little else to cover right now.
Las Vegas Raiders to blame: Jimmy Garoppolo
The Josh McDaniels-Jimmy Garoppolo duo simply isn't cutting it for the Raiders. Even sitting at 1-1, it's time for Vegas to consider all of their options. Could Jarrett Stidham really be that much worse than Garoppolo has been in two games of regular-season action?
Garoppolo is an average signal-caller at best. He was routinely blamed for the San Francisco 49ers shortcomings, especially in the postseason, yet he received another opportunity with the Raiders. Expect McDaniels to sing Garoppolo's praises even after a loss. We're not at the point in the season where McDaniels would consider benching a QB he has so much familiarity with, but we're not that far off, either.
McDaniels is fighting for his job this season. He doesn't have time to sit around and watch Garoppolo blow it, let alone on a team that has postseason potential on both sides of the ball.
Las Vegas Raiders to blame: Josh McDaniels
How much mediocrity does Mark Davis need to watch before he finally pulls the trigger on McDaniels, who has always thrived as an offensive coordinator but failed in his attempt to make the transition to head coach. McDaniels is on the hot seat for good reason, and if he doesn't turn around this offense in short order, he'll have one foot out the door.
McDaniels spoke to the significant challenge the Raiders faced against a talented Bills defense heading into this week. It's safe to say he failed to live up to his own expectations, despite some of the talented players on his offense like Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams.
"Yeah, significant," McDaniels said. "They've invested a lot of draft picks and or resources into the defensive line. They got a really good front. They're really well coached. This is one of the finest coaching staffs in the entire National Football League. They use their personnel very wisely. They rotate a lot of players in there, so you're rarely going to see them where they're gassed because they've got enough guys, enough depth in there and they're all productive. They have pass rushers inside, pass rushers on the edge."
At some point, McDaniels and the Raiders front office is going to run out of players and position coaches to blame. It all starts at the top.
Las Vegas Raiders to blame: DC Peter Graham
As much blame as McDaniels and Garoppolo deserve for this dumpster fire of a performance, the defense played even worse than the offense. Yes, Buffalo is talented, but they're just a week removed from getting manhandles by the New York Jets defense. The Raiders have an obvious weakness on their hands, and it starts on the defensive side of the football.
Considering the division Vegas plays in -- prominently featuring Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes -- they could be in for a rude awakening once they face the Chargers and Chiefs this season. Graham needs to scheme a better pass rush if they are to survive such an onslaught, and this is a group that has Maxx Crosby at their disposal.
Graham turned 43 years old this offseason, and his last prominent job was as the New York Giants DC back in 2020-21. While they faired well against the Denver Broncos and Russell Wilson, that's not saying much given what we know about Wilson's play the last few seasons.
In their first true test of the season, Las Vegas failed, and much of that can be blamed on Graham. This entire coaching staff deserves to be on the hot seat.
