It’s been quite a week for the Raiders. Two days after their latest collapse in which they scored just ten points in Pittsburgh, the team was informed Derek Carr had been benched and Jarrett Stidham would be making his first ever NFL start.
Carr’s longtime friend and former college teammate Davante Adams took it especially hard. That was to be expected.
What he and the rest of us didn’t entirely know what to expect was how the offense would look with Stidham behind center.
Things got off to a hot start, with Stidham driving the team down the field for an opening touchdown, capped off by a 24-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller. It was the first of two first half touchdown Stidham threw. The second going to Davante Adams from four yards out on which Adams would make a spectacular play.
The 17-14 halftime lead was impressive, but the answer to all their questions really came in the third quarter.
On third and four from their own 40-yard-line, Stidham rolled left to extend the play. He ran all the way to the left sideline to buy time. That’s where he was able to find Davante Adams for a wide open 60-yard touchdown. And just as he released the ball, he was lit up.
Adams recalled the play after the game.
“I had a return route and I was coming back and I just see Jarrett just kind of sticking with me, sticking with me, sticking with me, sticking with me, and I found a void in the defense and found a way to get behind them,” said Adams. “He stuck in there and he threw it. And when he came to greet me on the sideline with blood between his teeth. That’s what you want out of your quarterback and I’m really proud of him. He’s a tough guy. He’s not the biggest dude and he sticks in there, he’s going to look for his guys, and he’s going to find a way to get it done, so I’m really proud of him for the way he played.”
It’s no small thing to earn the respect of his All Pro receiver. But Stidham even had players on defense tipping their caps with the way he was moving around and extending plays while taking hits and still delivering passes.
“Jarrett played his ass off,” said Maxx Crosby. “Got a ton of respect for him . . . The dude is a competitor. . . He plays hard. He’s a playmaker. He’s always looking to extend the play and make this happen. He’s tough, he’s going to stay in the pocket and take hits and he did that today. He showed a lot. He showed a lot.”
The offense showed life most of the game that you simply didn’t see much of this season with Derek Carr at quarterback. The 34 points scored in regulation matched a season-high for the Raiders. And they did it against the league’s best defense.
“He balled. He balled, man,” Josh Jacobs said of Stidham. “He was calm and collected in the huddle, he was talking to the guys. You couldn’t tell he was a backup for real. He balled. He did his thing.”
“That’s one of the best defenses if not the best defense in the league, so for him to go out there and do what he did, I feel like that’s speaking to his campaign as the guy.”
Stidham looked very much in control of the offense. He threw for 365 yards on the day, which is more than Carr has thrown at any point this season. While just once this season did Davante Adams have a better performance than his 153-yard, two touchdown day.
Perhaps most importantly, Adams and the offense didn’t disappear in the second half. They had the exact same amount of points in the second half (17) as they did in the first half. And Adams had 105 of his 153 yards in the second half.
Adams’s final catch came on the game-tying final drive of regulation. It went for 45 yards and gave him the Raiders single-season record. A mark he said afterward “means a lot” especially in his “first year” with his “dream organization.”
Stidham would get hit as he attempted a pass in overtime which was then intercepted and that is what ultimately was the major factor that ended their chances of turning the strong offensive night into a win. But that didn’t dampen their spirits in terms of what they accomplished up to that point.
“[Stidham] took control of the huddle, took control of the game and played an amazing game today,” Adams added. “He apologized for not being able to finish it off and I think every single person on the team said “Man, get outta here with that, you balled out, you did your thing.’ We got to find a way to help him. Protect a little longer, catch a few more balls, and get a couple more first downs and a few more points and it would’ve been a dream situation for him too. But either way we went out here and we had a lot of fun today. It was one of those types a games where we rallied with each other and had a good battle with a really good football team. Proud of Jarrett.”
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