Head Coach Brian Callahan: "Disappointing outcome. Obviously, can't turn the ball over three times. You can't give them seven points, can't turn the ball over on the two-yard line. That's hard to overcome. Didn't play well on offense, really anywhere shape or form. Had some pretty good effort defensively over the course of the early part of the game, and then they converted a couple of third downs in that last drive to score the last touchdown they scored. Just kind of get a little bit leaky at the end there. Couldn't quite clamp down, but it is what it is. It's disappointing all the way around. At this point, and we can't find a way to play better offensively, and that's why we're at where we're at."
On if the team's communication was an issue....
Coach Callahan: "We only have one with the sack fumble was free. We had an error on the right side there; we should've squeezed, we're hot either way. We're in five-man protection with edge help, so we're hot there. Ball's got to come out, but we didn't squeeze it. So, not hot off the most outside guy, which we should have been, and put ourselves in the best spot there. So yeah, we didn't execute that part. But as far as free runners, I don't remember anyone else that's, "free"; might have missed a block or two."
On getting away from screens....
Coach Callahan: "I think screens – the definitions of screens are different. But there were some things; we were trying to get the ball in space and take advantage of some underneath things they've given up over the course of the early part of the season. They did a good job mixing up some coverages. They pressured a lot more this game than they had going into it. They zero blitzed us a few times, which was not something they had done a lot of over the course of the early part of the season. But yeah, it was frustrating not to get more out of those balls underneath. That's how the game gets played sometimes, and we didn't get much production."
On changing the game plan based on what's showing in the game rather than what was prepared for on film...
Coach Callahan: "Yeah, I mean that's obviously a part of it. Those are conversations I'll have with the offensive staff when we get back."
On quarterback Cam Ward losing the ball a couple times and what contributed to that...
Coach Callahan: "I mean, even when you've got free rushers, you've got to keep two hands on the football and secure it and control it. I know the ball slipped out of his hand there at the end, too. But yeah, we've got to secure the ball better in the quarterback spot. You can't put the ball on the ground, and you can't put the ball in harm's way throwing it, and he did all those today. So, that's got to improve." Las Vegas Raiders Transcript
On the plan for this week to follow the run game plan that secured the win against Arizona...
Coach Callahan: "Yeah, we tried to be at two runs to start and when we were in a short-yardage spot, we felt like we got the short yardage. So, that wasn't necessarily the plan, running three times, but you get a short yardage situation and felt like we could convert there, and we didn't. I mean, we called some of the same things we called against Arizona in terms of what we were trying to accomplish but didn't get a chance to get some of those balls down the field the way we wanted to. And again, when you're down two scores, three scores at the end, they play a lot softer, and they don't challenge nearly as much, so it looks like that's always going be the answer. But the way they play is a little bit different. So, there are things we'll look at. I mean, obviously, none of it's good enough. So, we've got to fix that."
On getting quarterback Cam Ward a confidence boost...
Coach Callahan: "Yeah, I'm incredibly discouraged by the outcome. We felt good coming into the game, and to not be able to perform well on offense and not be able to score any points and then lose a game is disappointing. We've all got to be better. Cam [Ward] is a part of that, too. Cam's play better football as well. And we've got to coach better, we've got to play better, all those things. It's not all just him, but he is a part of it. And we'd like to be able to start seeing some more good football being played, and we've got to do a better job.
On wide receiver Calvin Ridley's injury...
Coach Callahan: "Calvin [Ridley] is an impact player. He helps us a ton, you go for 130 yards a week before, those guys you need. He had a hamstring that locked up early and couldn't get through, couldn't open up and run. And if you can't run, it makes it hard to help us. Not having him out there is certainly going to be felt. Those guys had some spots where they played well; Van [Jefferson] stepped up and made some plays for us. But when you're missing one of your better players, you're always going to be..."
On the between mad and frustrated when plays are being made...
Coach Callahan: "I've never questioned the way our team fights. I mean, we fight like crazy. We just want to win more games. We've got to play better to win games. You can play hard and be satisfied with the effort and how guys approach their job but certainly frustrated that we can't find a way to make the plays more consistently to win the football game. And that part is very frustrating. And I'm frustrated versus mad. I think I have moments of all of those things, but we should be mad. We should be frustrated because this is where we're at, and the expectation is we've got to find a way to get better, and we were hoping to be better than we are so far through the first six games."
On handling success...
Coach Callahan: "We didn't really talk about it to be honest with you. We're just trying to get better and go play football again this week and play better than we did the week before. And I didn't sense any of that."
On the defensive performance...
Coach Callahan: "I think overall, especially in the first half, they were really good. And you take away the fact that we handed them seven points on the two-yard line, they played a pretty strong game. A little bit leaky; had a lot of third, and probably less than threes, which makes it hard to continue to get off the field. They converted a few of those. But I thought overall, maybe the one missed tackle on the sideline for the explosive, it was a pretty solid game defensively." Las Vegas Raiders Transcript
On how the reversal of the fumble to an incomplete pass was a momentum swing...
Coach Callahan: "Yeah, that was a huge one. I thought we scored on defense. We needed our defense to step up for us today, and we're hoping we could find something like that to spur the scoring in the game. Their explanation was by saying, as you guys got, it was just that his arm was coming forward. And that's their prerogative. I thought it was pretty dang close, and that would have been a huge play for us."
On if both rulings for incomplete passes by both teams were similar...
Coach Callahan: "It seems like they officiated it relatively consistently the way they saw it. So, I don't have any criticisms of how they were officiated, just disappointed we missed the chance to get a big play."
