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Gutierrez: Raiders stuck in the same script as offensive and defensive woes persist

PHILADELPHIA - Maxx Crosby, having put in work to the tune of four tackles with his team-leading 10th sack of the season, was moving silently through an even more somber locker room.

The Raiders had just been beaten, 31-0, by the Eagles in a game that somehow felt worse than the final score. So I asked the four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher and face of the franchise if he could wrap his mind around what had just happened.

Crosby paused.

"No words, really," he said. "To be honest."

Honestly, as the losses and, more specifically, the manner in which they occur mount, there is painfully little to say about the Raiders and their current station in the NFL.

Other than it's become a painfully familiar script: the offense cannot run the ball, protect the quarterback or sustain drives while the defense cannot get off the field and the time of possession watch becomes a masochistic chore for anyone donning Silver and Black.

Consider: the Eagles, who looked more like sick birds than defending champs in dropping three straight games heading into Sunday, authored mind-numbing drives of 13, 11, 10 and 17 (yes, 17, and they didn't even score on that possession) plays on this blistering cold day.

As a result, Philadelphia, which was 10-of-13 on third down (compared to the Raiders going 3-12), held a commanding 39:25-20:35 advantage on the clock.

It was the ultimate get-right game for the Eagles, who improved to 9-5.

The Raiders?

We've already gone over the defense's lack of success against the Eagles. The offense was something else. Entirely. Again. Even with a switch at quarterback.

Kenny Pickett, who played for the Eagles last season as a backup, got his first start as a Raider, what with Geno Smith nursing shoulder, back and hand injuries. And despite a relatively successful first series - Pickett completed six of his first seven passes for 30 yards in leading the Raiders to the Eagles 33-yard line - that was it.

Almost literally.

Rather than attempt a 51-yard field goal to close the first-quarter score to 7-3, the Raiders went for it on fourth-and-six and Pickett's throw to Tyler Lockett was tipped at the line.

Drive stalled. Game over.

The Raiders only crossed midfield once more the rest of the day – Pickett was picked off at the Eagles 27-yard line on the first series of the third quarter – and their 75 yards of total offense was their fewest in a game since 1961, the second lowest output in franchise history. The 1.8 yards per play average was their lowest since 2006.

If Crosby had no words, others filled in the blanks.

"We just lacked explosive plays," said Pickett, who completed 15-of-25 passes for 64 yards and the INT while getting sacked four times in his Philadelphia return. "Couldn't stay on the field long enough. Couldn't help our defense out.

"I think [the Eagles'] four-man rush was getting home and when they're rushing four, dropping seven, it makes it tough throwing the football. So we have to do a better job of getting the ball out of my hands. I have to find guys earlier. We have to win on the outside to help the guys out up front. The passing game, it is really three phases - protection, myself and the guys running routes."

The only thing colder than the Philadelphia air - it was 30 degrees at kickoff, though the windchill with 20 mph gusts made it feel like 17 degrees - was the Raiders offense.

And, to be fair, the defense, too.

So it was no wonder when Pete Carroll was asked if this game represented a breaking point for his team.

"I don't think it's some big psych change that took place," the Raiders coach said. "I think we just got whipped by a really loaded football team that, on this day, had their way."

And then some. Again.

Look, the Raiders dropped their eighth straight game to fall to 2-12, the worst record Carroll has ever seen in his lengthy career. And, with three games remaining, at Houston (9-5) and home against the Giants (2-12) and a suddenly Patrick Mahomes-less Chiefs (6-8), they remain in contention for the No. 1 overall pick in next spring's draft for only the second time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Yeah, more than pride will be on the line against the Giants, right? Much more.

But that's a different topic for a different time. For now, there's this - the Raiders have faced both Super Bowl teams from last season and have lost to the Chiefs and Eagles by a combined score of 62-0.

Which brings us back to Crosby, and, shy of words to describe this loss, ask him what the goal of the last three games is, then.

"Keep getting better," he said. "That's it. Improve. Everyone across the board. You've got 17 opportunities guaranteed, and that's all you can do.

"You just show up and work. That's it. You can get frustrated all you want, you've got to get better, you know what I mean? That's all you can focus on. 
 Focus on the details, get better every day. That's all you can do."

That's all anyone wearing Silver and Black can do...for now.

View the best photos from the Raiders' Week 15 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

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