OAKLAND, Calif. – A 38-26 loss on Sunday to the San Diego Chargers that knocked the Raiders out of the playoffs was in large part due to the kind of defensive failures that arose often in 2011 and probably will mean the demise of defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan’s job after one season.
“I think Chuck knows how I feel,” Raiders coach Hue Jackson said while not commenting directly on Bresnahan’s status for next season. “I’m disappointed over there. I have been. It’s not like we haven’t had conversations. Chuck knows what I feel, and it’s not good enough.”
Oakland ended the season allowing 433 points, the second most in franchise history (the Raiders gave up 442 in 1997), an average of 27.1 points per game. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers’ three touchdown passes brought the total to 31 against the Raiders this season, the most in club history.
Oakland also gave up 2,158 yards on 430 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per attempt.
Defensive collapses were conspicuous in Week 2, when Buffalo scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions in a come-from-behind win, against Denver, when the Raiders gave up 299 yards rushing and 38 points, and against Detroit on Dec. 18, with the Lions going 71 and 98 yards to win the game in the fourth quarter.
“What I saw today is what I saw at different times this year,” Jackson said. “When you play defense in the NFL, you’ve got to hunt. You can’t give up 28, 29 points and expect to win games.”
The Raiders gave up an average of 31.8 points in their last five games, during which they went 1-4 and went from in control of their own destiny to out of the playoffs.
“I know some people are going to try to blame Chuck, some people are going to try and blame Hue, but at the end of the day, we’re the ones on the field,” free safety Michael Huff said. “Regardless of the defense that’s called, we’ve got to line up and play and execute.”
Bresnahan was originally hired as defensive assistant in the offseason and eventually was elevated to coordinator. Jackson was turned down by the New York Jets when he requested to interview Jets secondary coach Dennis Thurman for the position because Thurman was under contract.
It remains to be seen how the decision-making process will work and if the Raiders will hire a front-office executive with decision-making power. Jackson promised change.
“I’m going to take a stronger hand in this whole team, this whole organization,” Jackson said. “There ain’t no way I’m going to feel like I feel today a year from now. I promise you that. Defensively, offensively and special teams, I ain’t feeling like this no more. This is a joke.”
– With eight penalties for 64 yards on Sunday, the Raiders finished the season with 163 penalties for 1,358 yards, eclipsing the previous records of 158 and 1,304 by the 1998 Kansas City Chiefs.
“That’s not why we lost today, but that is a problem on this football team,” Jackson said. “There’s some work that has to be done.”
The Raiders went over the penalty-yardage mark in the first half on a personal foul by Matt Giordano, with Rock Cartwright getting a holding call on the second-half kickoff return to break the penalty record.
– Oakland mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half and missed a chance at a 59-yard field-goal attempt by Sebastian Janikowski. Quarterback Carson Palmer completed a 6-yard pass to Louis Murphy to the 38 with no timeouts, with the clock expiring before Palmer could spike the ball.
– Palmer’s 417 yards passing was the third-highest figure in Raiders history, behind Jeff Hostetler’s 424 (Oct. 31, 1993 vs. San Diego) and Cotton Davidson’s 419 (Oct. 25, 1964 vs. Denver).
– Running back Michael Bush rushed for 66 yards and finished with 977 yards rushing, and wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey caught a career-high nine passes for 130 yards and finished with 975 yards receiving on 64 receptions.
– Defensive tackle Tommy Kelly has no plans to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos in the playoffs.
“I ain’t watching no playoffs,” Kelly said. “I’m watching the History Channel and Fox Sports Soccer.”
