Flynn earned boos in Raiders loss
September 29, 2013, 7:00 pm
OAKLAND – Matt Flynn heard you booing. The Raiders quarterback tried to shut it out and failed during a 24-14 loss to the Washington ******** deserving of vocal displeasure.
Flynn was jeered at every turn, from pre-game introductions on through final whistle. He earned most of them with a two-turnover, seven-sack performance that was barely watchable.
Nothing short of a Peyton Manning-esque outing could’ve raised his profile, which remains shockingly low due to the distinct misfortune of not being Terrelle Pryor, the people’s choice and Raider Nation’s favorite son. Flynn was given the start after Pryor experienced symptoms from a concussion that suffered Monday night at Denver. Pryor was set to start until late Saturday night, when Flynn was given the nod.
He didn’t do much with his first start since Jan. 1, 2012.
He certainly didn’t endear himself to the crowd or the coaching staff while dragging the offense to a standstill with a performance so poor that a press-conference question about playing undrafted rookie Matt McGloin was completely justified.
Flynn knows Sunday didn’t go well. He threw an interception returned for a touchdown and lost a fumble deep in Raiders territory. That’s 14 points right there, and the Raiders lost by 10.
“I feel like I had a good week preparing, and I felt like I was ready to play a good game,” Flynn said. “It’s frustrating when you don’t go out and get the production and the execution that you believe you’re capable of. It was tough out there.”
Losing running back Darren McFadden and fullback Marcel Reece to injury didn’t help. Neither did an offensive line that couldn’t slow a potent ******** pass rush.
But Flynn had opportunities to win this game and couldn’t get the job done. His pocket presence was lacking, and he held onto the ball too long at times. Problems with arm strength and elbow tendinitis that hurt him during camp weren’t evident against Washington, but he still couldn’t get the offense going.
Flynn’s stat line isn’t awful. He was 21-for-32 passing for 227 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He played far worse than the numbers suggest. He was 5-for-17 on third downs, got shut out over the final 48 minutes and lost a winnable game to a lackluster ******** squad.
“Their defense played well,” Flynn said. “They gave us some different looks than they’ve shown, but we feel like it’s a huge opportunity missed. We felt like we should’ve done a lot better.”
Flynn’s appearance this season may be a cameo. Allen said he was “very hopeful” that Pryor would be about to start next week against San Diego in a tough divisional matchup with a potent Chargers offense.
The crowd certainly wants Pryor, especially after Flynn’s uninspired performance brought the boo birds out.
“It’s hard not to hear it,” Flynn said. “You try to do your job and do it well, but it’s hard not to hear it when they’re booing like that.”
Scott Bair is the Raiders Insider for CSNCalifornia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BairCSN.
First time I've been bounced in almost 50 games. Dude got warned 3 times by security to shut up too
Team did a good job for having Flynn start.
Oh Boy it should be rocking at the Coliseum
