Jon Gruden’s Departure Means More Trouble for the Raiders

On the lower level of Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Raiders running back Josh Jacobs defended his team, which had just lost sloppily, 20-9, to the Chicago Bears only two days after reports that Coach Jon Gruden used a racist stereotype in reference to DeMaurice Smith, a Black man and the executive director of the N.F.L. Players Association.

“No, I don’t think it had anything to do with that,” Jacobs said as he looked down at a microphone.

Anthony Herrera, an extraordinarily dedicated Raiders fan, disagrees. The performance — receivers dropping passes, offensive linemen missing blocks, quarterback Derek Carr overthrowing open targets — was not what he expected from the team he uprooted his life…