The Las Vegas Raiders came out of the locker room in a tie game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and tried to dial up a deep shot to Brock Bowers on the first play of the third quarter.

Kirk Cousins had to rush his throw when center Tyler Linderbaum got beat by Deone Walker, and Greg Rousseau got around tight end Michael Mayer to seal off any space Cousins may have been able to create in order to get the throw off. His rushed attempt sailed short and wide of Bowers.

Any hope of generating an explosive play to kick off the second half was gone. While it was just one play, it represented a troubling pattern that has emerged for the Raiders this season.

Despite a productive offense that is sixth in the league at 27 points per game, coach Klint Kubiak’s team has had all kinds of trouble coming out of the halftime break.

The Raiders have gone three-and-out or worse in five of six games and have yet to score a point on their first drive of the second half this season.

That included Sunday against the Bills when the incomplete pass was followed by two more and then a punt.

The Raiders are averaging 2.76 yards per play on their first drive of the third quarter, far below their 5.3 overall average that ranks 15th in the league and well under the league-worst 4.4-yard average for the Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s a trend Kubiak knows the Raiders must reverse in order to find success this season.

“We had a play on, and I think it was a good play versus first what they called, and we didn’t execute up front,” Kubiak lamented. “You have to get all 11 guys playing well, and that’s my challenge. Can’t wait to attack it, though.”

They are open to all possibilities, short of changing up the way the oranges are sliced in the locker room at halftime.

We have to get better there and we have a plan in practice,” Kubiak said. “We’re looking at our process at halftime, at what we’re asking the players to do coming out in the third quarter, and that’s a major point of emphasis.”

The Raiders plan to build an intermission into their practices this week to simulate a halftime break.

“We’ll practice it the best we can and it’s an absolute point of emphasis,” Cousins said. “It’s got to be better.”

The start of the second half was an issue even when the Raiders were winning. It’s growing critical now that it has extended into the current three-game losing streak.

Cousins was intercepted on the second play of the third quarter of the opener against the Miami Dolphins. The Raiders went three-and-out in Weeks 2 and 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints.

In the loss to Kansas City, the Raiders actually picked up a few first downs before they were stopped on fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs’ 18-yard line.

“It’s just a complete lack of production,” Kubiak said. “It’s really putting us in a bad spot as a team, not getting it done, getting outscored in the third quarter. So, as a coaching staff, we’re hard at work trying to identify: What are those common things and what do we need to do to put our players in better position? Because yesterday was a great example of how much it can hurt you, and it did.”

The Raiders started on defense in the third quarter for the only time this year against New England and the Patriots drove for a touchdown before the Raiders went three-and-out on their first chance.

Then came Sunday’s three-and-out against the Bills as Cousins threw three incomplete passes.

“We’ve just had too many of those coming out of the second half,” he said. “We have not played good football for the most part. I mean, maybe one game had a better start to the third quarter, but we’ve got to be much, much better coming out. We’ve got to emphasize it this week and work at it. It’s one of those things that I think we can be a much better football team if that start of the third quarter is where we need it to be. I’d like to think it’s going to really help us win games.”

The Raiders have been outscored 52-26 in the third quarter this year, including 24-3 during the losing streak. It is the only quarter in which they have not outscored their opposition this season.

Identifying the issue is one thing. Fixing it is another.

Mayer said he likes how both Kubiak and offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko handle halftime in terms of providing time for both rest and discussion.

“I think you just have to do your job, whether it’s the start of the game, out of halftime or the end of the fourth quarter,” Mayer said. “That’s our main focus. You have to play every play like it’s the first play of the game. You have to communicate and know what you’re doing coming out of the half.”

It could be strategic. It could be mental. It could be coincidence. Kubiak just wants to make sure it doesn’t continue.

“I think it’s a lot of energy too, so as a coaching staff we’ve got to make sure our guys have more energy coming out for that second half,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that we’ve discussed. It’s a point of emphasis. Obviously, starting the game is really important, and starting the game in the third quarter. It’s an area of our team that we have to improve.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.