Unlike their other defeats, this 10-7 defeat will haunt the Las Vegas Raiders against a struggling Denver offense for a long time. To be fair, the Raiders’ defense was equally good, but it was their offense that did not capitalize on the chances, especially that overturned touchdown. And head coach Pete Carroll did not mind pointing fingers at rookie wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. for his mistake.

The Raiders thought they had scored a touchdown when Geno Smith threw a deep pass that Tre Tucker caught and ran into the end zone. But right after the play, the referees threw a flag because Thornton Jr. had committed offensive pass interference.

“It’s probably the first time Donte had a shot at that route where he really had a chance to avoid the pick, and he didn’t get that done,” Pete Carroll said. “We practiced it and all that, and it always works out better. That guy ran into him, and that caused the pick, and it takes away the TD. But you know, guys who have been around, that wouldn’t happen. They know how to avoid it. Cause they know what’s coming. They’re going to get called.”

It proved to be costly for the Raiders as the score was nullified and they were pushed back to a 4th-and-2 situation, ending the series in a punt instead of the momentum-boosting touchdown. So yes, for a team that was 2-6 coming into this matchup, every detail matters. It hurts because Carroll genuinely expected him to deliver tonight.

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“I want him to just play football. Just keep growing. He’s growing every day we’re together. He gains more experience and more confidence to do things exactly the way we want him to. He always has played hard, and we’re just counting on him to just keep going,” Carroll had said before the game.

Thornton’s been a project since training camp. He’s an electric route runner who flashed plenty of potential as a deep threat during the offseason for Geno Smith. He needs to bounce back from this. But he wasn’t the only one Carroll pointed fingers at.

Pete Carroll addressed self-inflicted penalties

Safe to say, this game was a snoozefest. A 10-7 final between the Broncos and Raiders isn’t exactly the stuff of NFL Films. When the league’s top defense faces one of its weakest offenses, you’re not expecting fireworks. But even by that standard, this game dragged. The only thing more frustrating than the lack of points was the sheer number of flags. And Pete Carroll looked about as irritated as you’d expect.

“Tonight it was really a problem. You know, the penalties that happened at the wrong times took all kinds of field away from us,” he said.

He’s not wrong; the Raiders had 11 penalties in tonight’s matchup. But to be fair, the Broncos shot themselves in the foot just as hard. Both the Raiders and the Broncos had more penalties (11) than they had first downs (10).

According to Bill Smith of Next Gen Stats, that’s happened just once before since 1950, when the Buccaneers and Seahawks managed the same feat in 1976. Between the stalled drives, the constant whistles, and the lack of rhythm, this game felt like a four-hour traffic jam. And while both sides shared the blame, it obviously hit the Raiders harder.