You rarely see a team shoot themselves in the foot and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as much as the Patriots did in Las Vegas on Sunday. And even with all the self-mutilation they did in this game, they still managed to make a comeback from 14 points down to lead the Raiders 24-17 with under two minutes left in the game.
That blowing double-digit leads thing is the Raiders’ MO this season. And it was only because of the final utterly inexplicably boneheaded decision to try a double lateral at the end of the game that the Raiders were able to win this one in regulation.
Ballers
DE Chandler Jones
Jones was the recipient of the ‘Right place at the right time’ award on that final play. He had missed the initial tackle on Rhamondre Stevenson that led to a big run which, for a moment, looked like he could go the distance. Everyone expected that last play to be stopped and the two teams to go to OT. But Stevenson lateraled it to Jacoby Meyers at the last instant.
That lateral wasn’t the big mistake. That came when Meyers decided to try and lateral it AGAIN, this time attempting to throw it way back to the entirely not athletic Mac Jones. Well, the lateral was complete to Jones, all right. It was just the wrong Jones. Then Chandler planted Mac with a stiff arm and took it back for the game-winning touchdown. Never seen anything like it.
Jones also had a pressure resulting in an incompletion two plays before that and made a run stop at the line on the previous possession leading to a crucial three-and-out. Earlier in the quarter, he hit Mac Jones from behind on third down to force the Pats to settle for a long field goal. All in all, a strong finish for Chandler.
CB Tyler Hall
He played 43 snaps (66%) and the only catch he gave up, he stopped in its tracks for four yards. He also had a big pass breakup on a deep pass to stop the Patriots’ first drive of the third quarter.
DE Malcolm Koonce
It’s not the number of snaps you have, but rather what you do with them. With 27 seconds left in the second quarter, Koonce came in on the punt team and streaked in to block the punt and give the Raiders the ball at the New England 20-yard-line. What looked like two teams that were headed for the locker room with the Raiders leading 10-3, would end up a scoring opportunity on which the Raiders were able to capitalize.
QB Derek Carr, WR Mack Hollins
The first touchdown drive for the Raiders came early in the second quarter. On the drive, Carr completed a 19-yard pass to Keelan Cole on third and nine and finished off the drive with a perfect pass over the middle for a 25-yard connection with Darren Waller.
After the punt block, Hollins made the first catch for 11 yards. He then drew an illegal contact penalty on the next play. Then in first and goal from the five-yard-line, Carr put the ball into a tight window, at Hollins’s knee level and he made the grab for the touchdown to give the Raiders a 17-3 lead at the half.
A Carr pick-six saw the Raiders lead cut to 17-10. Then they were unable to get back on track on the next drive. But Hollins would do his part to tilt the field. AJ Cole launched a 47-yard punt to the goal line where Hollins was waiting to down it at the two-yard line.
Ultimately the Raiders’ lead would disappear, giving way to a 24-17 Patriots lead with under three minutes remaining.
Carr would look to Hollins again. The first pass was overthrown and the Raiders went three-and-out. However, had Darren Waller not been in the wrong area and tried to catch the pass intended for Adams, that looked like it would have been a long touchdown catch and run.
Carr and Hollins got another shot with two minutes left in the game. Carr overthrew Hollins again on third down. But, the next play, on their last possible chance, Carr hit Hollins on a comeback route for 12 yards. They thought the play was so nice, they did it twice to the same result.
A few plays later, Carr found Keelan Cole for a 30-yard touchdown. It didn’t look like Cole actually got both feel inbounds, but Carr’s pass was where it needed to be and the officials saw no definitive evidence to overturn it so the score was tied at 24-24.