KANSAS CITY – In the wake of injured starters Maxx Crosby and Adam Butler ambling out of the Raiders locker room late Sunday afternoon, animated fellow defensive linemen at once consoled and commiserated with each other, pantomiming assorted blocks and techniques used against and by them.
Surely, there was something to be found in the morass of a 31-0 humbling by the Chiefs, already the second time this season the Raiders have been beaten by at least 30 points.
In another corner, offensive linemen sat in stunned silence, heads slowly shaking in disbelief after the Raiders could muster but 95 yards of total offense and three - THREE!!! - first downs, compared to the Chiefs' 434 and 30, respectively. In fact, Kansas City had as many first downs on the day as the Raiders had total plays on offense.
Meanwhile, Ashton Jeanty stood defiant at his locker. This was different for the Raiders rookie running back, drafted sixth overall as a Heisman Trophy runner-up. With the Raiders limping (literally and figuratively) into their bye week with a record of 2-5, Jeanty has already more than doubled the number of losses he endured last year at Boise State, which went 12-2.
"I mean, I've lost before in my life, but I definitely don't like losing," Jeanty said softly. "It's not something…"
His voice trailed off.
"I don't work as hard as I do, and I don't think anybody else in this building does, to lose like that," Jeanty continued. "So, if we're being honest, it's been a losing culture around here for a long time. But we have to continue to work to fix that and bring winning back here."
The key, Jeanty said, was to avoid looking to place blame.
"Can't point a finger at the coaches for the scheme or another player for making a mistake," he said. "We've got to look inward and look how each and every single one of us can get better, to make sure that never happens again."
Facts. All of them.
It's well-established that the Raiders, since playing in Super Bowl XXXVII on Jan. 26, 2003, have had only two winning seasons since, in 2016 and 2021. So the 21-year-old rookie is not breaking any news there.
But for Jeanty, born two days after then-Raiders coach Bill Callahan's epic "dumbest team in America in terms of playing the game" rant in 2003, to have such a preternatural mature outlook speaks volumes. Even if, with so much recent success in college, he may not know how to cope with this much disappointment this early in his pro career.
The true mystery is why the Raiders, under new management with general manager John Spytek, coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and a decree to compete, did anything but that in Kansas City.
Or in Indianapolis two weeks ago (a 40-6 blowout).
Or in Washington two weeks before that (a 41-24 shellacking).
Whatever this was in Kansas City, against an ancient AFL rival, was something entirely different.
For one, it marked the fifth time since 1961 the Raiders lost at least two games in the same season by at least 30 points, the first time since 2019.
For another, it was the first time since a 24-0 loss to the Falcons on Nov. 2, 2008, when JaMarcus Russell was the quarterback, that the Raiders had three first downs in a game. That day, the Raiders had 77 total yards and Russell was 6-of-19 passing for 31 yards.
"It was crazy," Russell said at the time. "Everything that could go bad, went bad."
Yeah, echoes of that sad day in Oakland bounded about erstwhile Arrowhead Stadium.
"It was just a terrible performance by us as a team," Jeanty said. "Couldn't stop them on defense and on offense we couldn't get going at all. We're going to lose a lot of football games like that."
One of the more curious developments was Jeanty, who had been finding his groove the previous three games in rushing for a combined 273 yards with nine catches, being a forgotten man early against the Chiefs.
He had only one carry in the first quarter, four carries in the first half.
To be fair, that was more a symptom of what happened to the offense than a reason for why it happened.
"We had the ball 10 snaps in the first quarter because we couldn't make a first down and couldn't stop them," an exasperated Carroll said. "It's just not one thing. We came into this game really wanting to run the football, figuring that would be a key element of the makeup of this game, but we just couldn't get there.
"We didn't change our mind about that at all. We didn't miss that thought. We just couldn't be in charge of the down and distance well enough.
"It was a storm."
One that included Jeanty rushing for a career-low 21 yards, on six carries, while catching a 13-yard pass. It was his lowest output since going for 12 rushing yards against BYU as a college freshman.
A storm that quells with the Raiders entering their bye not only still in search of an identity, but with more questions than they had entering the season.
Strange.
At least injured starters like Crosby, Butler, safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, receiver Jakobi Meyers and tight end Brock Bowers have that extra time to heal.
And for Jeanty to wrap his mind around whatever it is that is ailing the Raiders after that exciting season-opening win at New England.
"The bye is good either way," he said. "Kind of lets guys refresh. Let guys' bodies heal a little bit. Regardless if we won or lost, a bye week is good for us. But, once again, whether it's a bye or not, we've got to get back to work and figure out how to get better."
More facts.
