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It was fourth down on the first possession of overtime, and the Raiders were five yards away from a touchdown Thursday night that would keep their playoff aspirations alive. They took three points instead, gave the ball back to the Los Angeles Chargers one last time, and you can guess what happened next.
The trust coach Jon Gruden had in his defense was misplaced, as the Chargers scored on a 1-yard run by Justin Herbert with 1:32 remaining. The Chargers won 30-27, and any realistic hopes at playing in the postseason evaporated as the Raiders fell to 7-7 with their fourth loss in five games.
The loss came despite a near-miraculous performance off the bench by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, who entered the game with 13:29 left in the first half after Derek Carr departed on the previous series with a groin strain. Playing for the first time in more than a year, and with limited practice work, Mariota completed 17 of 26 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Trailing 24-17, Mariota took the Raiders on an epic 19-play, 75-yard drive, scoring on a 2-yard run with 6:16 left to tie the game. Then in overtime, the Raiders got all the way to the 4-yard line on first and goal when a touchdown would have won the game.
Jacobs gained a yard to the 3, then was dropped for a 2-yard loss to the 5. Mariota couldn’t hit Alec Ingold on third down, and Gruden took the points as Daniel Carlson kicked a 23-yard field goal for a 27-24 lead.
The Chargers quickly made the Raiders pay. Trayvon Mullen, who had issues with penalties all night, was called for a 20-yard pass interference penalty to the 45. Then Herbert hit Jalen Guyton for 53 yards over Keisean Nixon to the 2. Herbert ran for no gain, but a lowering the head penalty on Nick Kwiatkoski pushed the ball to the 1. Herbert then leaned in for the winning touchdown.
HERBERT GOES DEEP. #BoltUp
📺: #LACvsLV on NFLN/FOX/PRIME VIDEO
📱: https://t.co/W5bCPYgMfo pic.twitter.com/1WWvbE5d0O— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2020
Why didn’t the Raiders go for the touchdown and the win on fourth-and-5 rather than trust a defense that has had problems all year?
Let Gruden explain:
“It’s fourth and five. If we got a little bit closer, we would have thought about it. But it was fourth and five. We had them in second at 10, backed up on our own 25, and we had a penalty. A big penalty. But if it was a little bit closer, I would have considered going for it. I know I went for it a few times earlier in the game. But to take the lead with three minutes left, I thought it was the play to make at that time.”
Herbert, the rookie first-round draft pick out of Oregon, completed 22 of 32 passes for 314 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and was not sacked as the Chargers improved to 5-9.
The Raiders scored on a 35-yard Mariota-to-Waller touchdown pass, a 1-yard run by Josh Jacobs, Mariota’s 2-yard run and two 23-yard field goals by Carlson.
Herbert had a 10-yard scoring pass to Hunter Henry, a 26-yard strike to Tyron Johnson, a 1-yard run by Kalen Ballage and Michael Badgley’s 22-yard field goal. Badgley also missed field goal attempts of 47 and 51 yards that enabled the game to go to overtime.
It’s the second straight year the Raiders through 10 games had themselves in playoff position, only to play their way out of it.
“We’re trying to go on a journey of where we envision ourselves at the start of the year, what we want to do as a team and what we want to accomplish,” Jacobs said. “Obviously, it’s frustrating.”
Highs, lows and all you need to know with the Raiders having until Dec. 26 to think about the opportunities they squandered:
Mariota’s redemption: The two-year, $17.6 million contract with guaranteed Mariota $7.5 million had become a punch line. On Thursday night, it didn’t look half bad, although it would have been something to crow about had the Raiders won.
“It’s been a long journey. I’ve been through, kind of everything, Mariota said. “From injuries to surgeries, to mental lapses, the confidence thing. I just appreciate the Raiders and the organization for helping me through that.”
Ugly end of regulation: The Raiders, after a late Badgley miss, couldn’t manage a first down and were going to attempt an NFL record 65-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson at the buzzer, but A.J. Cole dropped the snap as time expired.
Badgley’s misses: Badgley missed a 51-yard field goal with 53 seconds left, which was set up by a Kendal Vickers sack of Herbert on third-and-9. The potential game-winner was set up by a Chris Harris interception of Mariota and 51-yard return.
Despite the Raiders defense giving up a 27-yard run to Austin Ekeler, and a 12-yard run to Herbert to get into scoring position, Daryl Worley broke up a third-down pass intended for Henry, forcing the Chargers to attempt a 47-yard field goal.
Badgley missed to the wide left, setting up the Raiders’ at the 35-yard line with 3:38 left.
Waller’s heavy heart: Waller finished with nine receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown but had to be talked into playing after the death of Lorenzo Taliferro, a close friend who died at age 28 in Virginia. No cause of death was given by the coroner.
“I didn’t even feel like playing tonight, honestly,” Waller said. “I thank people that support me, for speaking life into me and telling me to go out and play and represent him and have him on my mind when I was playing. I feel his presence and what his time on this earth meant to me is what motivated me to play football with a sense of urgency.”
The ultimate time of possession march: The Raiders took their time in tying the score 24-24, eating up an incredible 10:52 off the clock in driving 75 yards in 19 plays to score on Mariota’s 2-yard leap into the end zone on a scramble from his right.
Included was a fourth-and-1 flip for 7 yards to Waller to the 3-yard line. Mariota converted a third-and-6 with a 7-yard scramble and a fourth-and-2 with a 4-yard run.
Mullen’s flag day: Mullen was penalized four times for 58 yards with three pass interference calls and a facemask. A facemask and one of the pass interference calls came on the same play and both were enforced.
“We have to eliminate the penalties, and they have a lot of good receivers,” Gruden said. “They have done a nice job collecting those athletes there and they made some plays. But the penalties were very hurtful and we’ve got to clean that up.”
Chargers go the distance: A 1-yard run by Ballage with 2:08 left in the third quarter put the Chargers back on top 24-17, adding a 75-yard touchdown drive to go with earlier scoring drives of 78 and 49 yards.
Third-down conversions included a 19-yard Herbert to Henry pass to the 12-yard line on third-and-5, and an obvious Trayvon Mullen pass interference call on thrid-and-9 from the 11 in the end zone to set up the touchdown.
Jacobs ties it: The Raiders tied the score 17-17 on their first possession of the third quarter, with Jacobs finishing a 76-yard, 10-play drive with a 1-yard leap in to the end zone with 7:18 left in the quarter.
Jacobs had a couple of nice runs, but had to fight for yardage all night. He finished with 76 yards on 26 carries.
Mariota converted a fourth-and-2 from the Chargers 17-yard with a keeper to his left, and then Nelson Agholor drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone to set up Jacobs for the score.
The drive included a 25-yard Mariota-to-Waller catch and run on third-and-10 and a 26-yard run on a read option to the right from Mariota on the first play of the drive.
on the money.
📱: https://t.co/5he6oiDhwt | @_TBJXIII pic.twitter.com/TFziBctrtT
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 18, 2020
Uncomplementary football: The Chargers led 17-10 at halftime courtesy of a Raiders trifecta of poor football in all three phases.
First, on Mariota’s second possession, Theo Riddick was dumped for a 5-yard loss on first down, a play which essentially torpedoed the drive and led to a three-and-out when a Mariota completion to Hunter Renfrow came up way short.
Next, A.J. Cole, the Raiders usually reliable second-year punter, shanked a 19-yard kick which set up the Chargers at the Raiders 49-yard line 1:00 to play.
That’s all Herbert needed to continue an onslaught that looked like a 9-on-7 camp drill. A 25-yard pass to K.J. Hill and a 26-yard scoring play to Tyron Johnson with 19 seconds left put the Chargers up 17-10.
Herbert finished the first half 16 of 20 for 194 yards and two touchdowns, in the process tying the NFL rookie record with his 27th touchdown pass of the season.
Defensive stand, sort of: The Chargers responded to Mariota’s first drive with a 22-yard field goal by Badgley to tie the score 10-10 with 1:52 left in the half.
Herbert carved the Raiders up until the Chargers stalled at the 3, and was 13 of 15 in the game for 145 yards until a third-and-goal play from the 4 went over the head of Keenan Allen, who wasn’t open against Daryl Worley.
Mariota to Waller for the lead? Gorgeous.
Watch live: https://t.co/aePkClT2Tz pic.twitter.com/kABJuZfBX3
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 18, 2020
Mariota’s debut: Would you believe 86 yards in seven plays with a 35-yard touchdown strike to Waller? An absolute dime against pretty good coverage too.
Quarterback rating for the drive: a perfect 158.3. Mariota was 3-for-3 for 70 yards, completing a 22-yard pass to Foster Moreau for his first completion as a Raider and 13-yard pass to Waller. That didn’t include a 13-yard burst on an option for a first down where he broke a tackle to finish the run.
The touchdown was Mariota’s first since Sept. 29, 2019 for the Tennessee Titans to Corey Davis for 23 yards.
Carr goes out: Carr had the Raiders knocking on the door, having driven the offense 70 yards in nine plays before coming up injured on third-and-goal from the 2. Carr had completed a 17-yard pass to Jacobs and a 30-yard third-down pass to Nelson Agholor.
The Raiders were forced to settle for Carlson’s 23-yard field goal as Carr headed in to the locker room to get checked.
To add insult to injury, the Chargers at that point defensively had allowed 18 consecutive touchdowns in goal-to-go situations.
“I don’t believe it’s a real tear,” Gruden said of Carr’s injury. “But obviously if he can’t finish the game it has to be pretty significant . . . I’m really proud of our coaches and our players. We did a lot of good things tonight, but you have to win these tight games and often times that’s a reflection of the head coach.”
Marinelli’s first series: Herbert carved up the Raiders by going 6-for-6 for 75 yards and a 10-yard scoring pass to Henry. Henry’s other catch on the drive was a 14-yard completion in front of Nick Kwiatkoski on third-and-11. Chargers ran six times for three yards on the drive. The Chargers used 7:29 off the clock on their opening drive, which came after a Raiders’ three-and-out.
Renfrow out: Slot receiver Hunter Renfrow left in the second half with a concussion. The Raiders were already without Henry Ruggs III (COVID-19 reserve list), as well as defensive starters Damon Arnette (concussion), Nicholas Morrow (concussion), Johnathan Abram (concussion) and Clelin Ferrell (shoulder).
