The Monday morning reflection

Throughout the history of the Oakland Raiders, there are countless great moments and memories that took place in the Coliseum. Last night was not one of those moments. In fact Sunday’s epic meltdown in the second half may be one of franchises worst moments in Oakland.

It was suppose to be a storybook ending. Through two quarters, things were going according to script. But the dream scenario soon took a turn for the worse.

The Raiders dominated the first half on both offense and defense. Derek Carr and Tyrell Williams hooked up on a 40-yard touchdown pass to get out to an early lead. And after allowing a field goal, the defense forced four consecutive punts to end the half.

Despite 17 first downs to the Jaguars 2, the offense settled for field goals on three trips in the red zone, a stat that would prove to be crucial in the game.

With a 16-3 lead after 30 minutes, things were setting up for a major party in Oakland. But during the Raiders four game losing streak the team has struggled terribly in the second half. Unfortunately, that trend continued.

Gruden and his staff have failed to make second half adjustments dating back to the Bengals game.

Across three second half possession, the offense punted twice and had a missed field goal opportunity. The Jaguars, on the other hand, scored 17 unanswered points.

The refs didn’t help; The blown call on Carr’s 12-yard designed run, which led to a delay of game penalty, may have cost them the game. Then, you had Williams’ drop on third down, and oh yeah, not one, but two attempts at field goals that were missed. Raider nation’s greatest fears were coming to fruition.

Following the missed field goal, the Jaguars took over on their own 35-yard line. Rookie QB Gardner Minshew was poised on the drive, completing 5 passes for 44 yards, while picking up 8 more yards on the ground.

Dion Jordan was flagged for roughing the passer, tacking on 15 more yards. On third and goal from the four, Minshew found Chris Conley on a slant route for the second time in the quarter. At that point, you could hear a pin drop in the stadium.

The Raiders would take over, trailing 20-16 with one timeout remaining and 17 seconds on the clock.

Needing a miracle, their prayers were not answered. Two Hail Mary attempts were incomplete, and the meltdown was complete.

The fans in the stadium were silent, blank stares were shown on the television screen. That silence would soon turn to anger and frustration. As ugly as things were on the field in the second half, things got uglier in the stands.

Derek Carr was showered with boos from the crowd as he jogged off the field for the final time. Multiple fans tried to storm the field and had to be restrained by security. Fighting and unruly behavior in the crowd was being reported by numerous news outlets on social media.

It was an ugly day on all fronts. Hey, on the bright side, at least there is only two more weeks of this agony.