Jason Campbell, Oakland Raiders Passing Reach New Levels of Ineptitude in Loss

Ever since Rich Gannon injured his neck and retired, the Oakland Raiders have seen nine different quarterbacks take their best shot at leading the team without succeeding: Kerry Collins, Andrew Walter, Aaron Brooks, Daunte Culpepper, Josh McCown, JaMarcus Russell, Bruce Gradkowski and Jason Campbell. All of these quarterbacks have failed to get the once vaunted Oakland passing game back on track.

Yesterday, when the Raiders traveled across the Bay Bridge to face the hapless San Francisco 49ers, the Oakland Raiders passing game put forth one of the weakest performances Raiders fans have seen over the past eight years of struggles.

Jason Campbell, starting in the place of the injured Bruce Gradkowski, had an absolutely terrible game. Campbell registered a humiliating 10.7 quarterback rating as he finished 8-for-21 for 83 yards and two interceptions while only averaging four yards per pass play.

With Oakland's running back core depleted with injuries, the Raiders looked to Bush to try and carry the offense. However, the Raiders passing game struggled so much that the 49ers were able to focus on stuffing the running game.

Without any fear of being burned in the passing game, the 49ers were able to hold Michael Bush to 47 yards on 20 carries.

The day started out rough for Campbell as he failed to hit a wide open Louis Murphy on the first play of the game. After finally seeing some creativity from offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, Campbell underthrew a wide open Murphy on a flea flicker. Murphy had a good two steps on his man and would have easily walked into the endzone.

Luckily for Campbell, Murphy was interfered with as he attempted to come back for the ball. The Raiders would eventually turn that drive and the following drive into field goals, mostly because Campbell would stall when he got into the red zone.

Those two series would be the only successes for Campbell on a day when he w...

About the Author