Vegas stunner
Derek Carr celebrates an OT win over Baltimore on Monday night, a game the Raiders nearly squandered. It was the first regularseason game with fans in Vegas.
LAS VEGAS — Derek Carr threw a 31-yard TD pass to Zay Jones after the Raiders squandered their first possession of overtime, beating Baltimore 33-27 on Monday night in the team’s first game with fans in Las Vegas.
Carr’s second TD pass of the game came after Carl Nassib’s strip sack of Lamar Jackson at the Ravens’ 27. Nassib made big news this offseason when he became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.
The Raiders had thrown an interception after driving to the 1 on the opening possession of overtime and made another blunder with a delayof-game penalty before a field-goal try.
Head coach Jon Gruden then sent the offense back on the field and Carr hit Jones on the next play for the game-winner.
The Raiders trailed 14-0 early, ending a 98-game, regular-season win streak for the Ravens when leading by at least 14 points dating to 2004.
The loss capped a rough stretch for the Ravens, who have had a run of injuries that sidelined top three running backs J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, as well as cornerback Marcus Peters, for the season.
They had won the past five openers by a margin of 17726, but came up short in this nail-biter because of a strong game from Carr, who threw for 435 yards.
The overtime came after a wild back-and-forth fourth quarter that featured the Raiders rallying to tie the game on three separate occasions, with Carr driving Las Vegas to a tying 55-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson in the final 37 seconds.
The Ravens had taken the lead when Jackson scrambled 28 yards to help set up Justin Tucker’s 47-yard field goal.
The Raiders earlier got a forced fumble by Quinton Jefferson against Jackson to set up Josh Jacobs’ 15-yard TD run, tying the game 17-17. The Ravens answered when former Raiders running back Latavius Murray ran it in from 8 yards one play after Jackson found Sammy Watkins on a mismatch for a 49-yard reception.
Carr then connected on a 37-yard pass to Henry Ruggs III that set up a tying 10-yard TD to Darren Waller with 3:44 to play.
The Raiders got off to a sluggish start offensively after sitting most of their starters in the preseason. A holding penalty and botched snap spoiled a promising first possession that reached the Ravens’ 21 before going backward and ending in a punt.
The Raiders then punted on the next three possessions, marking the first time in 15 years they punted on the first four possessions of the season.
They found a groove late in the half with a 75-yard drive capped by Jacobs’ 2-yard run and then getting a 34-yard field goal from Carlson to make it 14-10 at the break.