CLICK HERE if you’re viewing on a mobile device.
Marcus Mariota saw his first regular season action as the Raiders quarterback Thursday against the Los Angeles Chargers after Derek Carr was forced to leave with a groin injury.
Carr had escaped the pocket on a 3rd-and-goal play at the Chargers’ 2-yard line late in the first quarter and was looking toward the end zone to try and attempt a pass when he pulled up and stepped out of bounds. Daniel Carlson stepped on and made a 23-yard field goal, as the Raiders trailed the Chargers 7-3 with 55 seconds left in the first quarter.
Carr was then helped to the Raiders’ locker room at Allegiant Stadium and was initially listed as questionable to return. But Raiders coach Jon Gruden told FOX Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews at halftime that Carr was done for the night with a strained groin.
Gruden said after the game, a Raiders 30-27 overtime loss, that he did not believe Carr tore a muscle in his groin, but added, “obviously if he can’t finish the game, it’s got to be pretty significant.”
Gruden added that Hunter Renfrow suffered a concussion during the game. Renfrow absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit from B.J. Bello as he returned a punt in the third quarter.
Mariota replaced Carr to begin the Raiders’ next drive with 13:29 left in the second quarter. He helped engineer a seven-play, 86-yard drive capped by a 35-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darren Waller with 9:19 left in the first half. Mariota finished the first half 5-for-5 for 80 yards, as the Raiders trailed 17-10 at the break.
Like our Raiders Facebook page for more Raiders news, commentary and conversation.
On the Raiders’ first possession of the second half, Mariota led a 10-play, 76-yard drive to tie the game 17-17. Josh Jacobs scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by with 7:18 left in the third quarter. By that point, Mariota was 6 for 8 for 105 yards and a TD. He had also rushed for 39 yards.
Mariota was far from done.
With Carr looking on from the sidelines in a Raiders’ hoodie, Mariota led the Las Vegas offense on a 19-play, 75-yard drive that ate an astonishing 10 minutes and 52 seconds off the clock. Mariota capped the epic possession with a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter, tying the game 24-24 after Carlson’s extra point kick.
At that point, Mariota had completed 12 of 17 passes for 162 yards. He also had six carries for 55 yards. For the game, he completes 17 of 28 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 88 yards on nine carries. Complicating matters for the Raiders was the absence of offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who was sent home for COVID-19 reasons, the Raiders said before the game.
For complete Raiders coverage follow us on Flipboard.
When Carr exited Thursday’s game, he was 3 for 5 for 53 yards.
Coming into Thursday, Carr had completed 300 of 440 passes for 3,343 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also had seven interceptions and fumbled 11 times. The Raiders came into Thursday ranked 12th in rushing and 14th in passing. Carr has taken 862 snaps this year coming into Thursday’s game and gets all the reps in practice.
Mariota had been active for the last three games. Before Thursday, his last game action came on Dec. 29 of last year when he completed one pass for 24 yards for the Tennessee Titans in their 35-14 win over the Houston Texans.
Mariota started six games for the Titans last year, going 2-4, before he was benched in favor of Ryan Tannehill. Mariota signed a two-year deal with the Raiders in March.
“It just shows the kind of player and the kind of football character he has,” Gruden said of Mariota. “Our offensive coordinator isn’t here either. You lose Derek and then we change gears offensively and Marcus came in and did a great job. Really proud of him. I think that this kind of puts an exclamation point on why we signed him and just wish we could have won the game for him.”
