The Oakland Raiders lost in heartbreaking fashion 38-35 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. On Monday, head coach Hue Jackson talked about the loss and his thoughts on Denarius Moore.
Asked about his team's performance in the final few minutes, Jackson stated, "I saw a team that didn't finish just as I said yesterday, no doubt about it. [They] didn't play very well in the second half, need to get better and we will." He went into more depth later on: "I left the guy wide open in the end zone and we lost. Fourth down, end of discussion, they won the game and that's it. We move on from there."
Jackson took responsibility for the loss but continued to stay optimistic about the team's prospects moving forward. "We have 14 more opportunities to get this right and hopefully this is a lesson well learned." Jackson is right: the Raiders had a great chance to win the game on the road and just didn't perform in the game's final few minutes. They could just as easily have left the game with a road win and a 2-0 record.
In the loss, though, the Raiders found good news in the performance of rookie wideout Denarius Moore. Moore posted 147 receiving yards and one touchdown on five receptions, including a 50-yard touchdown reception that pulled Oakland within four points in the game's final four minutes. Asked whether or not Moore will receive more consistent minutes going forward, Jackson responded, "Oh boy, you better believe it. I mean there's no doubt. You can't deny that one."
The Raiders will attempt to fix up their defensive shortcomings this week ahead of Sunday's game against the New York Jets. The game will be played at home, and kickoff is slated for 1:05 Pacific.