Coming into Week 15, the Raiders absolutely needed a win on Thursday Night Football to keep their playoff hopes alive. They were just a few yards away from accomplishing that goal, but they fell just short.
Early in the first half, quarterback Derek Carr injured his groin in the red zone and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Backup Marcus Mariota entered the game and had immediate success. He found Darren Waller in the end on a 35-yard pass that helped the Raiders take the lead.
However, the story of this game was the lack of defense for the Raiders. Once again, the Raiders failed to rush the passer for most of the day and Justin Herbert dominated in every way. He moved the ball up and down the field all night and the Raiders had no real answer.
However, a field goal miss by Michael Badgley of the Chargers gave the Raiders life with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter. With the score sitting at 24-24, Mariota got the chance to be the hero. After leading the team down to the red zone, Mariota threw a ball behind Zay Jones that led to a 53-yard interception return by Chris Harris.
The Raiders did hold the Chargers to a 51-yard field goal attempt that was eventually missed once again by Badgley. With 0:51 seconds left, Mariota led a drive that eventually led to a botch 65-yard attempt by the Raiders.
The game would eventually go to overtime where the Raiders won the toss and they took the ball 70 yards and eventually settled for a 23-yard field goal to go up 27-24. Unfortunately, Herbert led them right down the field for the game-winning touchdown.
According to FiveThirtyEight.com, that loss nearly eliminates the Raiders from playoff contention. The site gives them just a two percent chance of making the playoffs and that number is only expected to get lower after Week 15. Needless to say, it was a season-ending loss for the Raiders.
The Raiders will host the Miami Dolphins next Saturday night at 8:15 p.m. E.T. That game will be televised on NFL Network in Week 16. The Raiders now sit at 7-7 on the season and have lost four of their last five games.
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