That is the combined margin separating the Raiders from the Chiefs and Bills in two gut-wrenching home losses over the last three weeks.
asserted
That → combine → weeks
If you were measuring the distance, it might be a yard.
uncertain
it → measure → distance
For a franchise that has spent most of the last three decades wandering through the wilderness, that represents progress.
asserted
that → spend → progress
Especially for a team pegged for six or seven wins this season, and especially coming a week after the Patriots knocked the Raiders sideways in a blowout loss.
asserted
Patriots → peg → loss
They got back up Sunday.
asserted
They → get → back
They answered.
asserted
They → answer → ?
They pushed Buffalo to the limit before falling 33-30.
asserted
They → push → limit
So why was the prevailing sentiment inside the Raiders’ locker room that you could take all that progress talk and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine?
uncertain
sun → prevail → it
And because the distance between where they stand and where they want to go keeps getting filled with mistakes they know they are capable of eliminating.
asserted
they → stand → mistakes
The Raiders could appreciate the caliber of the opponent without accepting that losing to it was inevitable.
uncertain
losing → appreciate → it
They could see the encouraging signs without overlooking the opportunities they squandered in dropping their third straight game to fall to 3-3.
uncertain
they → see → 3
“We are not satisfied with morale victories,” is how Raiders coach Klint Kubiak put it.
asserted
Kubiak → satisfy → it
Or, as Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins said: “It’s one of those games where it’s hard to sleep afterwards.
asserted
it → say → games
When you kind of think through the plays that you could have, should have made.
uncertain
you → think → that
Again.
Close.
Just not close enough.
Nobody needed to explain how good Josh Allen is. Or how difficult it is to beat the Bills.
asserted
it → need → Bills
The Raiders needed to explain why they kept making that assignment harder.
asserted
assignment → need → ?
Start with the red zone, where they scored touchdowns on just two of five trips.
asserted
they → start → trips
Turn one of those field goals into a touchdown, and the additional four points would have been enough to flip Sunday’s result.
asserted
points → turn → result
“That’s unacceptable, and that starts with me,” Kubiak said.
asserted
Kubiak → ’ → me
Making matters worse?
asserted
matters → make → ?
One of those red zone visits turned into a first-and-goal from the Bills’ two-yard line, only for the Raiders to go backward, not forward.
asserted
Raiders → turn → line
Rather than punching it in and trimming the Bills’ lead to 23-20, they had to settle for a field goal and a 23-16 deficit.
asserted
they → punch → goal
“You take field goals in a tight game like that, it comes back to haunt you,” Cousins said.
asserted
Cousins → take → you
Against teams like Buffalo and Kansas City, those opportunities carry extra weight.
asserted
opportunities → carry → weight
You cannot assume the next one is coming.
asserted
one → assume → ?
You cannot keep asking your defense to make up the difference between the points available and the points you actually put on the scoreboard.
asserted
you → keep → scoreboard
Eventually, the bill comes due.
asserted
bill → come → ?
The same goes for the penalties, an area that once looked like evidence the Raiders were learning how to give themselves a chance.
asserted
Raiders → go → chance
Through their first four games, they had accumulated the fewest penalty yards in the NFL.
asserted
they → accumulate → NFL
They were building an identity around discipline, around understanding their limitations and refusing to make life unnecessarily difficult.
asserted
life → build → limitations
Over the last two weeks, they have piled up nearly 200 penalty yards.
asserted
they → pile → yards
Sunday brought seven more flags for 62 yards, including a particularly maddening mistake by center Tyler Linderbaum on a fourth-and-one tush push.
asserted
Sunday → bring → push
The Raiders had a chance to keep a promising possession alive.
asserted
Raiders → have → possession
Instead, Linderbaum was flagged for offsides.
asserted
Linderbaum → flag → offsides
Three times demands an answer.
asserted
times → demand → answer
“It’s killing us.
asserted
It → kill → us
Absolutely killing us,” said Kubiak.
asserted
Kubiak → kill → us
“And I have not fixed it.
asserted
I → fix → it
A team trying to close a small gap against superior opponents cannot keep surrendering ground through the same correctable error.
asserted
team → try → error
Those are the details that turn a manageable afternoon into another exhausting exercise in chasing points and regretting possessions.
asserted
that → turn → possessions
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
