Raiders’ cautious FG backfires
Vegas lost for fifth time in last six games
It was right there for Josh Jacobs, a touchdown that would put the Raiders up 29-23 inside of two minutes and in theory finish a satisfying home field win over the Miami Dolphins.
And it all went wrong, with the Raiders kicking the field goal for a one-point lead and Miami striking in desperation with one long play and a Raiders penalty to win 26-25 Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium.
Why would coach Jon Gruden, whose team had settled for field goals on three other possessions in the red zone (including two from inside the 5-yard line) opt for a 22-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson? Because he wanted time off the clock more than he wanted the extra four points on the board.
Surely, even a Raiders defense that has given up yardage and points in clusters could finish it off.
Nope.
The Raiders took the three points for a 25-23 lead and Miami used all its timeouts, just as Gruden had planned. Miami struck immediately with a 34yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Mack Hollins along the left sideline, with 15 more yards tacked on when Arden Key was called for roughing the passer.
With 12 seconds left Fitzpatrick threw incomplete, and six seconds remained when Jason Sanders came on to kick a 44-yard field game-winning field goal, with the ball splitting the uprights with one second to play.
Miami is a game away from clinching a playoff berth at 10-5. The Raiders are 7-8, losers of five of their last six games.
If you think Gruden regretted his decision, guess again.
“( With) 19 seconds left on your own 25-yard line with no time outs, I’ve called plays a long time,
and the probability of getting that done is remote. I’m not going to get into all the scenarios. We played it exactly like we wanted to play it,” Gruden said.
“It was a heck of job by our offense closing the deal, I thought. But unfortunately they made a desperation play and the penalty was horrific.”
Here’s how it went down: The Raiders trailed 23-22 with 2:55 remaining after a 59-yard catch and run from Fitzpatrick to Myles Gaskin.
On second- and- 6 play from the Raiders’ 29-yard line, Carr threw deep for Nelson Agholor, who had already torched cornerback Byron Jones for an 85-yard touchdown play that had put the Raiders up 22-16. There was contact, and Jones was called for pass interference, a 49yard whopper to the Miami 22-yard line.
With 2:20 left, Jacobs gained seven yards to the Miami 15, taking the game to the two-minute warning.
On second- and- 3, Jacobs gained two yards, Miami called its second time out and then Miami’s Kyle Van Noy was called for a neutral zone infraction on third-and-1 — which was a big deal considering the Raiders were 0-for-10 converting third downs.
From the 8-yard line, Jacobs, gained two more yards, and the Dolphins took their last timeout with 1:50 to play.
From the 6, Jacobs had room to run but intentionally didn’t score. The Raiders called time to formulate their strategy, and Carr kneeled on the ball. The Raiders took time out to get Carlson on the field,
and he kicked the 22-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining.
Nineteen seconds. Surely, the Raiders were in better shape than when Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs on a game-winning drive inside of two minutes, hitting Travis Kelce with a 22-yard strike for the game winner. That’s what Gruden was thinking.
“We scored with 1:15 left and Mahomes went down and beat us,” Gruden said. “We felt the play was to eliminate all the clock and all the timeouts and put ‘em with their back against the wall with 19 seconds left. I don’t regret it. I didn’t want (Fitzpatrick) in a four-down situation . . . that’s all I can say. I don’t regret it one bit. I just regret the results.”
Had the Raiders scored the touchdown with Jacobs, Miami would have been forced to score a touchdown of their own to win 30-29 and had just under two minutes to get it done.
But as Gruden did a week ago in an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, he trusted his defense — although this time in a far more advantageous posi
tion for the Raiders. When the Raiders kicked the field goal against the Chargers, Justin Herbert had all the time he needed to counter with the touchdown.
“I thought we did it absolutely perfect,” Carr said. “I don’t regret it. You take all their timeouts away. You take time off the clock ... you just expect to win this game. Lord knows, if the outcome isn’t what we want, there are going to be questions. But the way coach handled it was perfect. His plays were perfect. His communication, coaching staff, was perfect.
Tight end Darren Waller deser ved a diplomac y award for the way he stood up for the Raiders defense.
“You’ve got to play complementary football and trust your defense and that’s what we did,” Waller said. “Things like that aren’t characteristic of our defense and won’t be characteristic of our defense going forward. I don’t think that defines them on this night or as a whole. I feel hindsight is 20-20. We could have done things different, but we went with what we went with and felt good about it at the time.”