And make it 4-0.
That’s the all-time career record for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, who will start against the Silver & Black after leading the Carolina Panthers to a convincing 36-22 victory over the host Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon.
The final score makes it seem close, but from the start the Red Rifle were as fit as ever and the 36-year-old quarterback swept the Silver & Black, completing 26 of 37 passes (70.3% completion rate) for 319 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions.
Dalton was such a smooth agent for the Panthers (1-2 overall) – who decided to bench last year’s first-round pick Bryce Young in favor of the veteran signal-caller – that jokes flew, including one about the quarterback somehow becoming the owner of the Raiders before Tom Brady.
That’s how embarrassing the first home game was for head coach Antonio Pierce and his Raiders (1:2).
A lack of urgency, a lack of effort and just a lack of courage has left Raider Nation’s loyal fans thinking about yet another loss from a team that automatically disappoints after big wins.
Carolina was considered the worst team in the NFL before kickoff on Sunday, but was superior to Las Vegas in almost all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. Without punter AJ Cole III, it would have been a dominant hat trick for the Panthers.
“We got our asses kicked,” Pierce said in the postgame press conference. “We’ve got to put pads on, I don’t know, we’ve got to get on the sled. Same group, all coming back for the most part, same technique, same coaches, it’s not a different scheme, so obviously we’ve got to practice better and be tough on the guys and the guys have to put up with some tough training because we just haven’t seen that on both sides of the ball.”
“We had the opportunity to move the ball and we didn’t. We didn’t do that at all. We tried again and again and I would have booed us too, offensively and defensively we didn’t work well enough up front, not well enough.”
Dalton and the Panthers came out full steam ahead, scoring a touchdown on the first drive. The Raiders responded and tied the game before the end of the first quarter, but from there on it was all Carolina. Dalton found wide receiver Diontae Johnson eight times for 122 yards and a five-yard dime touchdown pass in the second quarter, while running back Chuba Hubbard galloped for 114 yards on 21 carries. Dalton and veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen turned back the clock when the quarterback found the 34-year-old wide receiver for a 31-yard touchdown, only to relay the dime pass to Johnson on the next scoring drive.
So much for the Raiders’ improved defense, right?
Overall, the Panthers gained 437 yards and had 36:02 minutes of possession, while the Raiders gained 331 yards on offense and had 23:58 minutes of possession.
“Nothing,” Pierce said when asked if he took anything positive from the loss.
“Nothing,” Pierce said again when asked for clarification. “Except the crowd. Thank you, Raider Nation, we’re sorry we didn’t come and do our part.”
Pain. Evil intent. Violence. That’s Pierce’s favorite phrase.
Who would have thought that there would be fine print underneath that said: “To our fan base.”
Let’s get to the quick runs once Dalton is 5-0 against the Raiders:
—Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew completed 18 of 28 for 214 yards with a touchdown (to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers) and a terrible interception. Backup Aidan O’Connell replaced Minshew after the bad pick and completed 9 of 12 for 82 yards and a touchdown pass (to Tre Tucker).
—Tucker and Meyers led the Raiders’ pass catchers with nine targets each. Tucker finished the game with seven catches for 96 yards (including a 54-yard bomb), while Meyers caught seven passes for 62 yards. Davante Adams was also targeted nine times, lost the ball in an unfortunate way, and finished the game with four catches for 40 yards.
—The Raiders’ running game continues to be an example of impotence. Zamir White led the pack with 10 carries for 34 yards, while Minshew added three runs for 14 yards. Alexander Mattison rounded out the running game with three runs for seven yards and a score. Final score: 16 carries, 55 yards (3.4 average), and a score.
—Middle linebacker Robert Spillane led Las Vegas’ defense with 11 total tackles (seven solo), including one sack. Safety Marcus Epps finished the game with 10 tackles (all solo), but was out for the game with a knee injury.
—Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and defensive end Charles Snowden got their first sacks as Raiders — albeit shared. Both were credited with half a sack against Dalton. Defensive end Maxx Crosby, who said he was dealing with a severe ankle sprain, was quiet with just three tackles and no sacks.
—Cole was as energetic as ever as a punter for the Raiders. He punted the ball five times for 261 yards (52.2 yards average), including 58 yards, and three of those punts landed inside the Panthers’ 20-yard line. Kicker Daniel Carlson missed his only attempt of the afternoon – a 57-yard shot that went wide left.
—Dalton’s career passing numbers against the Raiders is now: 1,027 yards, 10 touchdowns, zero interceptions. Who knows if the Silver & Black will get another chance on the TCU product, but it looks like he will finish his career undefeated in starts against the Raiders.
Notable quote:
“No, they didn’t. I think as the game went on, it wasn’t the team. I think there were definitely some individuals who made business decisions and we will continue to make business decisions in the future.” — Antonio Pierce, head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, when asked if this was the first time the team would not have him as its head coach
