Raiders have penalty problem on offensive line

In a scoreless crippled aboriginal successful the archetypal 4th connected Sunday night, the Raiders faced a fourth-and-one from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 47-yard line.

Knowing the value of cashing successful with points aft crossing into Chiefs territory and wary of punting the shot backmost to Patrick Mahomes and his high-powered offense, Raiders interim caput manager Rich Bisaccia opted to spell for it connected 4th down.

What yet unfolded was a achy reminder of 1 of the Raiders’ astir frustrating flaws. It’s 1 that continues to wounded them successful spite of making it a regular constituent of emphasis.

Trying to instrumentality vantage of backup backmost Marcus Mariota’s dual-threat abilities, the Raiders inserted him into the game. Mariota’s quality to propulsion and tally near the Raiders with aggregate options from their run-pass-option menu. It meant the Chiefs would person to conjecture among a fistful of post-snap choices.

It ne'er got to that.

As Mariota lined up nether halfway and began barking retired signals, question from the close broadside of the Raiders’ violative enactment caught the attraction of officials. Alex Leatherwood, their rookie close guard, was flagged for a mendacious start.

Now facing a fourth-and-six alternatively than a fourth-and-one, the Raiders had to punt it to the Chiefs, who promptly marched 89 yards successful 11 plays to instrumentality a 7-0 lead. The Raiders would beryllium playing drawback up the remainder of the nighttime successful what became a 41-14 defeat.

It was 1 of 2 costly mendacious commencement penalties by the Raiders’ violative line, including the 1 called connected close tackle Brandon Parker successful the 2nd 4th that changed a third- and-three into a third-and-eight. The Raiders trailed 10-7 astatine the time.

On the adjacent play, Jalen Richard gained 3 yards connected a walk from Derek Carr. Without the penalty, it would person been capable to determination the chains. Because of Parker’s pre-snap penalty, the Raiders had to punt connected 4th down.

None of which should travel arsenic a surprise. Three Raiders violative linemen fertile among the apical 8 successful the NFL successful committing penalties, with Leatherwood’s 9 infractions the second-most successful the league.

Meanwhile, Parker and near defender John Simpson are tied for eighth with six penalties apiece. The Raiders are the seventh-most penalized squad successful the NFL with 68.

Of Leatherwood’s 9 penalties, six are for mendacious starts. Parker has been flagged for that infraction 4 times and Simpson once.

It’s 1 happening to beryllium flagged for holding, which is often a subjective telephone by officials. But mendacious starts are each mental.

Hence, the vexation from Bisaccia connected the Raiders’ sideline connected Sunday erstwhile 2 cardinal drives were sabotaged by mendacious starts, particularly aft each the absorption connected that precise constituent during crippled preparations.

“Yeah, I thought we had them cleaned up successful practice,” Bisaccia said.

That wasn’t the lawsuit connected Sunday. While the 2 miscues lone outgo the Raiders 10 yards successful full distance, they turned retired to beryllium the quality successful moving the chains. More than anything, it was the situations they altered that wounded the Raiders the most.

“It was untimely arsenic radical whitethorn say,” Bisaccia said. “But they are conscionable truly captious spots for us.”

As the 5-4 Raiders effort to get backmost connected way aft 2 consecutive losses, they cognize their borderline for mistake is razor-thin. Smoothing retired the edges, including eliminating those costly pre-snap penalties, is critical.

Bisaccia has instituted a punishment argumentation for pre-snap penalties successful practice, and for astatine slightest 1 week of workouts it chopped down the fig of miscues.

But that did not transportation implicit Sunday nighttime against the Chiefs. That needs to change.

“I deliberation it’s connected each of us. We’ll fig that out,” Bisaccia said. “But the penalties, we conscionable person to bash a amended job.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.