Isaac Bracken / Associated Press
During Thursday night’s affair, the Las Vegas riders out-charged the Los Angeles Chargers, which most people wanted to forget. In doing so, the once promising season of the Raiders stalled with only a few math possibilities and the need for plenty of help to reach the postseason.
A month ago, the Raiders had a record of 6-2 against the Cleveland Browns, Chargers and Denver Broncos.
With Thursday’s 30-27 overtime loss, the fate of the riders essentially being sealed, everything has fallen from that point. Las Vegas has lost four of its last five games.
The only win came courtesy of Greg Williams’ Brainfart – the New York Jets’ first win of the season was just running behind Henry Rugs’ third defense (without any safety assist) for the last shot in the final zone. The raiders were able to secure victory with the jaws of defeat.
The next day Williams lost his job. The Raiders should assess where they are – leading the squad team that could miss its franchise quarterback for the next two weeks since Derek Carr suffered a groin injury during the first quarter of Thursday and has not returned.
Head Coach John Gruden Told reporters That car injury is “significant”, although he doesn’t believe the quarterback actually tore a muscle.
Marcus Mariota entered the contest and played relatively well. Expensive backups brought riders back from a two-time touchdown deficit and also managed a game-winning drive in overtime that resulted in a field goal.
After entering the game in the second quarter, the second-string quarterback provided 314 total yards, including 88 rushing yards. His presence helped open the offense as the Chargers had to account for his mobility, making it easier for riders to move the ball.
Yet Las Vegas couldn’t make full money for not preparing Los Angeles to capture the offense for Marota.
With 30:30 left in overtime, Gruden ran Josh Jacobs twice between the Texans before attempting to pass a simple play-action in the compressed zone from the y-yard line. The head coach then chose to kick the field goal instead of trying to end the game right there with a fourth-down touchdown. At worst, the chargers would be pinned close to their final zone, if the offense could not touchdown.
Isaac Bracken / Associated Press
“If it had been a little closer, I would have thought of going for it,” Gruden said Told reporters. “But with three minutes left to take the lead, I thought it was time to play the game.”
The Raiders deserve to lose because they weren’t playing to win.
When its backup plays with quarterbacks and misses multiple starters, Las Vegas had a chance to steal the game in which Los Angeles dominated. Instead, Gruden played it safely and lost anyway.
“It’s up to me,” Gruden said Told reporters. “It was tough. I’m really proud of our coaches and our players. We’ve done a lot of good things tonight. But you have to win these tight games. And often it’s a reflection on the head coach.”
In contrast, the Chargers allow their dominant rookie to compete with the game on the line. Herbert threw three straight passes to start the Chargers’ overtime drive, the third of which was a long completion to the 2-yard line. Three plays later, the ball was thrown into the end zone for a quarterback winning score.
During the final drive, Herbert became the first rookie to throw 300 or more yards and run for the winning score in overtime, Do the statistics. Herbert is a star in Making and is the leading runner-up for the 2020 NFL Off-the-Rookie of the Year award. The Chargers held the ball in his hand in an extra frame. The Raiders chose not to do so with their quarterbacks, which put them in a position to win.
David Baker / Associated Press
But one loss does not define the season. The problems for riders are huge.
This bad stretch started with the loss of the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Raiders had no reason to hang their heads. They competed hard and even took the lead at the end of the fourth quarter. But Las Vegas seemed to be out of contention.
A week later, the Atlanta Falcons, who were playing with interim coach Rahim Morris after sacking Dan Quinn, beat the Raiders by 37 points. The Jets followed, and the Raiders almost fell prey to the league’s worst team. The Indianapolis Colts have risen 44 points in the past week.
The Las Vegas defense, in particular, has been going from bad to worse. According to the Associated Press Josh drowns, Opponents have not had 17 drives (including knee down) in the last two games. During that stretch, the Raiders have allowed eight touchdowns and four field goals, and their opponents have missed two more field-goal attempts. Las Vegas has pushed only three punters without any turnover.
The group clashed at Crunch Time on Thursday. The Chargers had a quick goal just before the end of the first half with just one minute left when they took possession. Gruden admitted that his secondary flew two covets.
“It’s been a problem over the years and it’s hard to accept it again,” Koch said Said.
With or without care in the liner, the Raiders offense showed he could move the ball. Still, it doesn’t matter if the defense fails on its part.
Now, the Raiders are game-let-behind 8-5 Miami Dolphins and 8-5 Baltimore Ravens for AFC’s seventh playoff seed. A win next week against Miami will certainly go a long way, but it probably won’t be enough.
The Dolphins could enter their meeting against the Raiders with a full two-game advantage if they beat the Patriots this week.
Isaac Bracken / Associated Press
With the upcoming matches against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengal, the Ravens have been ranked the best of the three teams.
The Raiders could pull down the 9-9 Cleveland Browns as they held a tiebreaker between the two, beating Cleveland earlier this season. However, Brown just needs to win a game against the Giants, the Jets or the Steelers to not mind.
For all intents and purposes, the Raiders ’season is over, and the team has been 18-28 since Gruden took over in 2018. What makes matters worse is that the organization broke up even at the end of last season. The Raiders ended the ’19 campaign by losing five of their last six contests. They could get another late season 1-5 stretch by losing to the Dolphins next week.
Some serious soul searching needs to take place in Sin City. What happens in Vegas should not be in Vegas if riders live this way under the supervision of Gruden.
Brent Sobalski covers this NFL For the Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, brentsobleski.
