ADELAIDE coach Matthew Nicks has slammed his side after the Crows recorded the lowest ever score in their history in their defeat to Essendon on Friday night.

The all-time low total of 2.9 (21) was also the lowest score in 22 seasons at the Docklands venue and Nicks admits the shocking performance has taken away from some of the credits the Crows had built in 2021. 

BOMBERS v CROWS Full match coverage and stats

"It goes against the body of work we've put together for the year. It's one out of the box that I can't explain why the performance was at the level it was at, that the effort wasn't at the level it needs to be to play AFL footy," Nicks said post-game.

"As a young group I've been so proud of what they've put out there so far this season, [but] we embarrassed ourselves tonight on a big stage."

The Crows went goalless in the first term against Essendon before registering their first major late in the second quarter. But they could manage just one more as they plummeted to a 63-point defeat to the Bombers, who increased their finals hopes in a percentage-boosting win.

But Nicks was at a loss to describe how his side capitulated so badly in what was their third loss in a row and fifth from their past six games. 

"It's a hard one to swallow. I feel for our members and supporters who have watched us for most of the year and they would have felt great about where this group's heading. We're still heading in that direction – this one is a huge step backwards," he said. 

"The key from here is for us to regather ourselves and get back to what we do really well. Credit to Essendon, they owned us. We didn't bring much of a fight unfortunately and we owned up to that. We sat as a group and discussed it post-game. We have a fair bit of work to do."

The defeat was compounded by key defender Tom Doedee being subbed out of the game in the first quarter with suspected concussion, while in-form wingman Paul Seedsman also finished his night early with a tight calf. 

Nicks, who said the Crows are hopeful to have spearhead Taylor Walker return next week from his neck injury, was apologetic to fans for his side's dismal showing and said the squad would examine the defeat to understand how it unfolded. 

"We need to be better. I'm sorry for the performance we put out there. We'll review it, we'll find the best way for our players to review it and then find a way to perform at the level we know we can," he said. 

Essendon counterpart Ben Rutten was pleased with his side's dominant performance but said the Bombers weren't focusing on the potential of a finals appearance.

Their seventh win of the season saw them jump to ninth position on the ladder, with Dyson Heppell a chance to return next week from a thumb injury to face North Melbourne, but Rutten said he wasn't thinking about September. 

"I thought we moved forward again tonight and took a positive step as a group but it's now about us wanting to consolidate that and continuing to develop and evolve and embed the way we want to play and turn up," Rutten said.

Midfielder Kyle Langford sat out the last quarter with concerns over a possible hamstring injury that will require scans in coming days.