Six key miscues cost Raiders big time in loss to the Packers

There was a time in the Raiders loss on Sunday that they had the lead. It came in the third quarter when Derek Carr threw his second touchdown pass to Amari Cooper from 26 yards out to put them up 20-17. That lead last a total of 62 seconds.

The rest of the game was a series of miscues that killed any chance the Raiders would be able to pull of the upset as they had last week in Denver. A few of those miscues stand above the rest.

1. Derek Carr's first interception

It was the Raiders' second possession of the game with still no score. Clive Walford went over the middle and Carr thought he saw the coverage he wanted and threw it up for him. It turned into one of the easier interceptions you'll see as Micah Hyde was there to catch the pass without much effort. Hyde then returned the interception to the one-yard-line and a few plays later punched it in on a John Kuhn run up the middle to take a 7-0 lead.

Derek Carr explained his thinking on the play and what happened.

"They were playing a two-man, so the guy's back was to me so I tried to sneak it in without the guy seeing and he turned his head around and caught it. He made a good play."

2. Derek Carr's second interception

The very next offensive play by the Raiders, Carr overthrew Seth Roberts and the ball landed in the waiting arms up Packers' rookie Damarious Randall who returned the interception 43 yards for the touchdown. And just like that the Packers were up 14-0.

"It just got high on me. It did. I wish that if I had the play over, I'd love to bring it down obviously, but that's where I wanted to throw it. It was just high."

And Randall from his point of view:

"I just saw him throwing the ball, a little quick hitch. He ended up overthrowing it, and the ball ended up in my hands."

3. Seth Roberts dropped touchdown

Down 14-0, the Raiders got the ball back at their own 20-yard-line with 4:53 left in the first quarter and went on a drive. A Carr sneak up the middle for four yards on third and 2 gave the Raiders a first down at the Green Bay 11-yard-line. The next play, Seth Roberts broke free from left to right on a cross in the back of the end zone. Carr put the ball right on him and he dropped it. So, instead of cutting the Packers lead in half, the Raiders ended up settling for a short field goal to pull to down 14-3.

4. 28-yard TJ Carrie pass interference

After clawing back to down just one point at half time, the Raiders defense looked to hold them there to begin the third quarter. A Shelby Harris tackle for no gain on third and two at the Oakland 42 had the Packers with a decision to make. That's four down territory so they went for it on fourth and two. Aaron Rodgers moved around in the pocket hoping to see a receiver get open. He spotted Randall Cobb up the right sideline and aired it out, causing TJ Carrie to play catch up. Carrie hit Cobb before the ball arrived making for an easy pass interference penalty.

The yardage off the PI was 28 yards, putting them in first down at the 14-yard-line. They added a field goal thanks to the penalty to take a 17-13 lead.

5. James Jones touchdown catch coverage lapse

That 26-yard touchdown pass to Cooper to give the Raiders the lead came on the next drive. But a big return had the Packers drive starting at their own 47-yard-line. On the third play of that drive, James Jones went up the right sideline wide open for a 30-yard touchdown.

On the play, David Amerson was clearly playing zone and stopped to defend against the short pass. But no one picked up Jones deep which was why he was so wide open.

"It really wasn't a miscommunication." Amerson said of the play. "It was about personnel. The guys got confused - we had guys moving from nickel to safety to corner and everything. It wa a guy in the wrong spot. He forgot he was supposed to be at safety and we didn't have a half-field play. It didn't help that they were going hurry-up, so guys really weren't on the same page. That's all it takes for one play."

The closest defensive back to take Jones once Amerson released him was Charles Woodson. He was late getting over, but it didn't appear to be his assignment either. Most likely it was TJ Carrie who Amerson thought was going to take the deep man, but Carrie also stopped to protect the short route. Any way you look at it, it was a serious lapse by the Raiders defense that cost them dearly.

6. Marquette King dud punt

Midway through the fourth quarter with the Packers up 27-20, the Raiders offense was stopped at their own 14-yard-line and forced to punt. King's punt had no lift on it and therefore no hang time. It traveled just 37 yards and landed quickly enough to allow a 10-yard return to the Raiders 41-yard-line. A 5-yard penalty for Lorenzo Alexander being illegally downfield gave the Packers the ball already in field goal range at the 36-yard-line. Their possession would stop at the 15-yard line and the field goal made it a two-score game with 4:25 remaining. The 30-20 score turned out to be the final.

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