What the Raiders are saying after their loss to Tampa Bay – Oroville Mercury-Register

After putting up a good fight for most of the game, the Raiders fell 45-20 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.

Brady threw two of his four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to help the Bucs pull away after the Raiders closed within 24-20 with 12 1/2 minutes left in the game. The 43-year-old former Serra High star’s last TD pass, a 1-yarder to rookie Tyler Johnson, moved him past the Saints’ Drew Brees for the most career TD passes in NFL history (559).

Brady faced little pressure from the Raiders’ defense while completing 33-of-45 passes for 369 yards to drop Jon Gruden’s crew to 3-3 on the season.

The Bucs scored 21 straight points after the Raiders elected to kick a 42-yard field goal on a fourth-and-1 play to make it 24-20. The Raiders became just the second team since 2017 to elect to kick a field goal on fourth-and-1 while trailing by 4-8 points in the fourth quarter, according to the Associated Press.

Here’s what the Raiders had to say after suffering a disappointing loss following their biggest upset victory in years over Kansas City:

Raiders coach Jon Gruden:

On his team: “I’m proud of our guys, really proud of our team. We had a tough week. We were in the ballgame, seven, eight minutes left, 24-20. It got away from us at the end. We have to play better. Obviously on defense, we’ve got better players. We’ve got to play better. We will. It’s disappointing, credit to Tampa Bay. They’re a good team, I think we are, too.”

On kicking field goal on fourth-and-1, down seven: “It was a long one, more like two. And it was a 24-20 game at that time with the field goal. We felt, at home, a little momentum, we could hold Tampa … at least get off the field. We had ’em third-and-12. We had ’em right where we wanted ’em. And they convert it on a checkdown. Very disappointed, it’s easy to second guess right now, but in hindsight I probably would have done the same thing.”

On Gabe Jackson’s ejection: “I did not see what he did. I was asking the officials, you’ll have to get their interpretation. I believe the ejection came from New York City, they had access to replays perhaps we didn’t. But losing Sam Young early in the game and then losing Gabe, with the week that we have had against a heck of a defense, it was tough on us, no doubt.”

On their defense: “We’ve got to do a better job. It goes back to me. Obviously, missing (Johnathan) Abram and (Damon) Arnette on the back end, it’s tough on us. But I’m not making excuses. We did not get enough pass rush today, and if you let Tom Brady sit back there and survey the field, he’s proved it for 20 years, he’s proving it for 21 years, that he’s still one of the very, very best. They have an arsenal of weapons, credit to them, but we have to generate a better rush, and until we do it’s going to continue to be tough.”

On facing adversity: “I’m really proud of ’em. Even until the very end, they played their hearts out. We’ve got to play better in all phases. It was a tough week, certainly. It will make us better in the long run. Hopefully, it motivates a lot of people out there that you can go out and accomplish great things in adversity. Hopefully, deep down there’s benefits to be had here.”

On Nelson Agholor: “He can get deep, he’s good after the catch. He’s versatile, he’s got great stamina, he’s a pro player, he’s a great champion and I’m really proud to have him aboard. Hopefully, we get Bryan Edwards back soon, but Nelly’s going to be a hard guy to get off the field.”

On their pass rush: “I’m not going to say it here today. Obviously, there’s some things we have to take a good look at. That process will start as soon as the press conference is over. If we’re going to rush four, we’re going to have to do a lot better than we did today.”