Silver And Black Pride
Forcing a punt, then getting a timely interception in the end zone, and forcing another punt, the Las Vegas Raiders defense bent but didn’t break in the first half against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars.
And at halftime, all the Silver & Black yielded in terms of points was a record-breaking 68-yard field goal from Cam Little. With 6-3 lead in hand, things looked on the up-and-up.
However, looks can be deceiving.
That quick field goal drive (a minute and 36 seconds to be exact) was one of of six-straight consecutive drives by the Jaguars that resulted in points (two field goals and three touchdowns the rest of the way) to help pave the way for Jacksonville’s 30-29 overtime win in Allegiant Stadium.
When the Jaguars needed it most, they had their way with the Raiders defense going 9-of-16 on third downs and 3-for-3 on fourth downs. Jacksonville also outgained Las Vegas 151 to 57 on the ground to play bully ball.
“Well, count up how many third and ones they had. Was it four of them? It just like blankets that don’t fit. They had three sneaks or something like that, and they had a couple fourth down sneaks as well. They did a really good job there, but the point is getting out of those short yard situations,” Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said after the game. “That happened again to us. I think we talked about that last time out that you’ve got to stay out of those situations, and that we have to be better on second down so that doesn’t happen. We went into this with that thought, and we didn’t get that accomplished. It was directly addressed. We went after it, and we weren’t able to make it happen. That’s a whole lot different than third and sixes and sevens and eights. The numbers can kind of mislead you a little bit.”
What’s not misleading: The Raiders inability to tackle properly. There were plenty of whiffs on Sunday on both defense and special teams and, for a defensive-minded head coach leading the way, that’s egregious. It often appears like Las Vegas doesn’t practice physically tackling and on game days, it’s going for big collisions and blasts instead of wrapping up and bringing the ball carrier down. Either the coaching staff can’t teach or players can’t retain and execute. Or a combination of both?
And it’s no surprise to see the Jaguars systematically bludgeon the Raiders in overtime. After getting an electric 54-yard kick return from wide receiver Austin Trammell, Jacksonville ran the ball nine times, passing only once, to get the 44 yards needed to hit paydirt on a jumping and extending of the ball quarterback sneak from Trevor Lawrence.
Let’s hit the quick slants as fast as the Jaguars went up and down the field:
—Credit where credit is due: Las Vegas’ offense had Jacksonville’s defense heads spinning, too. The Raiders passing attack dropped 274 yards the Jaguars with tight end Brock Bowers...
