Losers
Alex Leatherwood, Andre James, John Simpson
The Raiders offense marched downfield in the third quarter after Crosby’s sack forced a Bengals punt, but they had to endure holding penalties from guard Alex Leatherwood and center Andre James on the way to the red zone.
And when Las Vegas got to within the Bengals’ 5-yard line, a holding penalty from G John Simpson pushed them back on the 19. The golden opportunity for a touchdown ended in one of Carlson’s four field goals, making the score 23-16.
Foster Moreau
It’s not Foster Moreau’s fault that he had to block DE Trey Hendrickson by himself in pass protection, but he did, and it didn’t end well for the Raiders. The play resulted in a fumble from Carr, which was scooped up by Cincinnati.
Can't hide from Trey Hendrickson.
Watch on NBC pic.twitter.com/RJuLgOzNpu
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 15, 2022
The first quarter play led to a field goal, much to the credit of the Raiders defense. But another mistake just minutes later helped put the Bengals in scoring position yet again.
Peyton Barber
Running back Peyton Barber made the type of playoff miscue that will burn in the memory of many Raiders fans. The Raiders defense held the Bengals to a field goal after Hendrickson’s strip-sack, but Barber caught the ensuing kickoff and went out of bounds at the 2-yard line.
The Raiders eventually had to punt out of their own end zone, and the short field position resulted in another Bengals field goal. Though the defense did well to limit the damage, without their two first-half, 3-point mistakes, the Raiders may have only needed a field goal to win the game late.
Derek Carr
Carr has been waiting since 2016 to get a crack at a playoff game, and his squad came up short. While he played admirably, that’s a loss for the Raiders signal-caller.
He totaled 310 yards through the air on 29-54 passing, with one touchdown and his one interception that sealed the loss. He also had that fumble — it was on a fierce rush, but Carr has to find a way to somehow hang onto that football in that situation.
Still, with how poorly the Raiders offensive line has been all season, especially in pass protection, it’s a testament to Carr’s resolve (along with Crosby and an improved defense), that the Raiders made it as far as they did in 2021. It will be up to management — whomever that ends up being — to decide whether Carr’s effort was enough to earn a new contract, which is set to expire after next season.
The Raiders faced plenty of adversity in this game, just as they have all year long. In the end, they came up just short. But this was a hard-fought playoff game against a quality Bengals team, and the Raiders proved that their magical season was no fluke. And they showed their (relatively) new home city of Las Vegas that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win.
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