The Las Vegas Raiders fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther after their 44-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts with the intention of shaking things up. The defense didn’t play much better, and the team lost their fourth game in the last five weeks.
How did the Raiders fare in the first half?
The Raiders weren’t able to do much in their first drive and ended up punting the ball. Meanwhile, the Chargers didn’t have much trouble moving the ball and scored in their first possession. Although they couldn’t get their running game going, they made up for it by throwing the ball efficiently. A 10-yard pass to tight end Hunter Henry gave the ‘Bolts’ a 7-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, this Las Vegas team got close to the Chargers’ end zone. Nevertheless, they couldn’t seal the deal and had to settle for a field goal. To add insult to injury, quarterback Derek Carr suffered a groin injury and had to leave the game.
Marcus Mariota took over the quarterback position and quickly set the tone when he threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darren Waller. He was 3-of-3 for 70 yards in that drive and had Las Vegas up 10-7. The Chargers then struck back and tied the game. The Raiders had another chance to score before halftime but didn’t do much with it and let Los Angeles march down the field and take a 17-10 lead.
Overall, the Raiders’ defense was stout against the run in the first half and only allowed 32 yards. On the other hand, their pass defense was a liability and gave up 194 yards and two touchdowns. In Marinelli’s defense, he didn’t have much time to make many meaningful changes since he only had three days to prepare for the game.
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How did things go in the second half?
The Raiders scored on a 10-play, 76-yard drive in their first possession in the third quarter, but they didn’t make it easy on themselves. They had to go for it on a fourth-and-2 and finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Josh Jacobs to tie the game 17-17.
The Raiders’ defense didn’t fare much better in the second half and let the ‘Bolts’ score once again and take a 24-17 lead. However, this Las Vegas team answered back in the following drive and Mariota scored on a two-yard touchdown run. Tied 24-24, Los Angeles attempted a 47-yard field goal but failed.
The Silver and Black had a chance to take the lead in the next drive, but Mariota ended up throwing an interception that cornerback Chris Harris returned for 51 yards. Chargers kicker Michael Badgley went on to fail his second field goal of the night and the game went to overtime.
Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn won the coin toss but elected to punt. The Raiders then scored on a Daniel Carlson’s field goal that gave them a 27-24 lead. Los Angeles got the ball back and quarterback Justin Herbert put an end to the game with a one-yard touchdown run.
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Top Photo: Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun