OAKLAND -- On the sixth anniversary of Al Davis' passing, the Oakland Raiders appeared to lose their nerve. And their identity.
Now, one has nothing to do with the other, but the optics are not good. Not good at all.
Not with PRIDE AND POISE on signs inside the Oakland Coliseum. Not with slogans such as COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE and JUST WIN, BABY, permeating the Raiders' ethos. And definitely not with Raiders Pro Bowl left tackle Donald Penn getting out of his car to confront heckling fans after the Raiders dropped their third straight game to fall to 2-3 overall, with each loss more dispiriting than the previous one.
Sunday's 30-17 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens put front and center the issues dogging the Raiders since their feel-good blowout of the New York Jets in Oakland on Sept. 17.
Since that day, the Raiders have been outscored by a combined 73-37, and that identity crisis has morphed into a full-blown state of shock.
"It's a big shock to start the season this way," said Raiders running back Jalen Richard.
"We keep getting our ass whupped. When are we going to get tired of getting our ass whupped?"
The Los Angeles Chargers would like the beatings to continue, thank you very much, as the Bolts come to the East Bay next week fresh off their first win of the season.
Lose that game to noted Raiders nemesis Philip Rivers and Oakland, a sexy pick to make a Super Bowl run, will be in last place in the AFC West.
"At the beginning of the year, y'all were telling us how good we were," Oakland linebacker Bruce Irvin told a gaggle of reporters. "I don't know if we listened, but it be like this.
"It's the fifth game. We've got 11 games to get it right. It's all about if we want it ... we take this s--- serious."
A year ago, the Raiders regained the persona of their swashbuckling mascot and history as badasses. Or did you miss coach Jack Del Rio going for the do-or-die two-point conversion to win in New Orleans Saints in last season's opener?
On Sunday, trailing by 10 points on the Ravens' 44-yard line, Del Rio opted not to go for it on fourth-and-3 with 8:58 to play.
Even as the Raiders defense had been shredded all game, save for a pair of three-and-outs to start the second half, when Baltimore went ultraconservative.
The Ravens proceeded to take nearly six minutes off the clock and kicked a 44-yard field goal. Ballgame?
"Hindsight is always 20/20 on things like that," Del Rio said. "You're thinking you're going to pin them inside their 10[-yard line on a punt]; we didn't. You're thinking the defense will give us a stop and get us the ball back; we didn't.
"A fourth-down call with nine minutes left in the game ... was that the difference today? I don't think so."
Maybe, maybe not. But it was a far cry from the confidence Del Rio had shown in his offense in the past. Then again, Derek Carr was out on Sunday. And while EJ Manuel was not terrible, he is not Carr, either.
Still, you got the impression Manuel would have liked a chance on that fourth down.
"Any time coach makes a decision, we ride with it," said Manuel, who was 13 of 26 passing for 159 yards and a 41-yard touchdown pass and was sacked three times. "We're a team. Whatever decision he makes, we feel like it's the best for our team.
"I'm sure he had a plan for us getting them stopped on defense to get the ball back with time left and to be able to score. So, that's how I looked at it."
Per the Associated Press, quoting Pro Football Reference, the Raiders were the first team to punt on fourth-and-3 or less in the fourth quarter of a game down two scores while in the opponents' territory since the Arizona Cardinals against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 21, 2012.
Del Rio was deliberate in his postgame media conference, taking some 13 seconds, while taking a swig out of his water bottle, to answer a question about the Raiders falling behind 14-0 before Manuel had taken his third snap.
He was just as methodical in the Raiders locker room immediately after the game.
"[Del Rio] took his time," Manuel said. "He paused and looked at everybody. I kind of felt like he looked every man in the eye to see what kind of team we had, what kind of makeup we had ... just kind of looked every man in the eye and wanted to see how we would respond in this moment."
Del Rio's synopsis, then?
"I think you'd have to have a little bit of a question about the confidence level," Del Rio said of his team. "You just went out and didn't get it done three weeks in a row. To me, it's real simple -- it's a group of ... prideful men. We'll get back in the saddle, get back to work."
Finding their nerve and identity again would be a step. Al Davis would demand it.