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The Las Vegas Raiders out-Chargered the Los Angeles Chargers during a Thursday night affair most would like to forget. In doing so, the Raiders’ once-promising season came to a screeching halt with only a slight mathematical possibility and plenty of help needed to reach the postseason.
A month ago, the Raiders held a 6-3 record coming off impressive victories against the Cleveland Browns, Chargers and Denver Broncos.
Everything has fallen apart from that point, with Thursday’s 30-27 overtime loss essentially sealing the Raiders’ fate. Las Vegas has lost four of its last five games.
The only win came courtesy of a Gregg Williams brainfart—the New York Jets should have captured their first win of the season only to let Henry Ruggs III race behind the defense (with no safety help) for one last shot at the end zone so the Raiders could secure a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Williams lost his job the following day. The Raiders should reassess where they stand moving forward as a 7-7 squad that may be missing its franchise quarterback for the next two weeks since Derek Carr suffered a groin injury during Thursday’s first quarter and didn’t return.
Head coach Jon Gruden told reporters that Carr’s injury is “significant,” though he doesn’t believe the quarterback actually tore the muscle.
Marcus Mariota entered the contest and played relatively well. The expensive backup brought the Raiders back from a touchdown deficit twice and even led a potential game-winning drive in overtime that resulted in a field goal.
The second-string quarterback provided 314 total yards, including 88 rushing yards, after entering the game in the second quarter. His presence helped open up the offense because the Chargers had to account for his mobility, which made it much easier for the Raiders to move the ball.
Yet Las Vegas didn’t fully capitalize on Los Angeles not preparing for Mariota to take over the offense.
With 4:30 remaining in overtime, Gruden ran Josh Jacobs twice between the tackles before trying a simple play-action pass in a compressed zone from the 5-yard line. The head coach then chose to kick a field goal instead of attempting to end the game right there with a fourth-down touchdown. At worst, the Chargers would have been pinned near their own end zone if the offense couldn’t score a touchdown.
Isaac Brekken/Associated Press
“If it was a little bit closer, I would have considered going for it,” Gruden told reporters. “But to take the lead with three minutes left I thought was the play to make at that time.”
The Raiders deserved to lose because they weren’t playing to win.
While playing with its backup quarterback and missing multiple starters, Las Vegas had a chance to steal a game that Los Angeles dominated throughout. Instead, Gruden played it safe and lost anyhow.
“It’s on me,” Gruden told reporters. “It was tough. I’m really proud of our coaches and our players. We did a lot of good things tonight. But you’ve got to win these tight games. And often times, that’s a reflection on the head coach.”
Conversely, the Chargers let their standout rookie take over the contest with the game on the line. Herbert threw…
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