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Sense of urgency is needed for the Raiders if they want season turned around

Mark Zaleski/AP

The Raiders have a sense of urgency. But when you’re 0-3, is it too late to salvage a season?

For the Raiders, that is what they are facing after a 24-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

There is plenty of blame to go around on a team that has loads of talent and expectations of making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

But for now, the postseason seems like at best a long shot.

Yes, it’s still early, but the history of teams starting off the season at 0-3 and rallying to make the playoffs is slim.

Since 1969, only six 0-3 teams advanced to the postseason, with the Houston Texans the last to do so in 2018, reeling off nine straight wins en route to an 11-5 record.

“There’s an urgency,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said. “It’s not like OTAs, ‘Oh we’ll get it right eventually.’ We have to get it right now.”

Or it will be a lost season before they know it.

It will be an uphill battle for the Raiders almost immediately, with games against AFC West rivals Denver and Kansas City before the bye week.

The Raiders have a lot of cleaning up to do.

Las Vegas’ defense was absent in the first half, allowing Ryan Tannehill to look like the Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback he was in 2019, tossing a touchdown pass and running for another TD.

Chandler Jones, one of the Raiders’ defensive stalwarts, didn’t help matters when he didn’t record a tackle.

But the Raiders ended up shutting down the Titans in the second half, pitching a shutout. The 24-10 deficit, however, was too much to overcome.

“There’s a lot of football left,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “Last year we lost, what, five out of six in the middle of the year? If we were to quit, nobody would have talked about that year. All they remember is us going to the playoffs. That’s ultimately what we play for. We want to play, but right now it’s let’s get a win.”

The Raiders’ offense sputtered even with star receiver Davante Adams in the mix, as he recorded his third straight game with a touchdown this season. He finished with five catches for 36 yards.

Despite the threat that Adams brings, Las Vegas wound up 2 for 6 on red-zone opportunities.

Beyond those problems, the Raiders shot themselves in the foot with dropped balls and penalties.

Cases in point:

Kolton Miller was called for a holding at the Tennessee 9-yard line on third-and-4 in the third quarter. The following play, Carr threw incomplete and the Raiders settled for a field goal to trail 24-13.

Late in the third quarter, Carr threw a deep pass to Darren Waller at the Tennessee 2, but Jermaine Eluemunor was flagged for holding. The Raiders came away with no points after a delay of game penalty pushed them back even farther.

The Raiders were at the Titans 6-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, but Carr’s pass went off the fingertips of Waller and was intercepted by Kevin Byard.

Still down 24-13 with 6:02 remaining, Carr connected with Mack Hollins for a 60-yard completion to the Tennessee 20, but a holding penalty on Alex Bars negated that and Las Vegas ended up with a field goal to trim the lead to eight with 3:33 remaining.

The Raiders are a handful of plays away from being 3-0 this season, but miscues and questionable play-calling keeps them winless.

“Frustrated and angry,” Adams said. “Expect more. It’s not easy to win in this league. We know that. Nobody’s naive to the fact that nobody’s just going to lay down and just give you a victory, but at the end of the day we expect more and we will do better as we move forward.”

There are no excuses in the NFL and definitely no moral victories. Fans’ patience is wearing thin as each loss mounts.

Coach Josh McDaniels and his staff need to regroup and come out with better preparation that hopefully puts the players in a better position to win.

Absent those adjustments, and that “urgency” Carr says the Raiders possess, the season will just keep spiraling out of control.