After a historic game in Las Vegas, the Raiders are going to the playoffs. Take a look at how the passing game fared in this one. Derek Carr led another come-from-behind win.
The Chargers Make It Difficult
Going into this game, the Raiders’ offensive game plan was well known. Without a truly dominant threat on the outside, Vegas has run their offense through Hunter Renfrow for the bulk of the season. Of course, they would also get star tight end, Darren Waller, back in this one in hopes of adding another threat. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Chargers coach Brandon Staley had other plans. In this one, Renfrow and Waller were held to a combined six catches for 35 yards. While Renfrow had the two scores in the red zone, he was a non-factor everywhere else. The Chargers made sure to double at least one of the two on nearly every snap and forced Carr to beat them with someone else.
In addition, Los Angeles applied heavy pressure for much of the game. Of course, Joey Bosa was able to make plays and notched a strip-sack late in the game. Players like Bosa demand attention on every snap, so it is no surprise when he affects a game. However, it was the surprise threat of Uchenna Nwosu that really flipped the game early on. With seven tackles, four TFL’s and a sack, he was a problem for the Las Vegas offense all game long.
Derek Carr does enough (again)
Much like the game in Week 17 against the Colts, Carr really struggled in this one. While the crippling turnovers weren’t there, the missed opportunities were. The first came early in the game. On third down, Zay Jones was wide open behind the defense, and Carr simply overthrew him. This is another in a long list of plays where Jones hasn’t gotten it done down the field. He doesn’t have exceptional speed; he struggles to track the ball; and he and Carr struggle to get on the same page on these plays. The second was an overtime misfire to Waller. He popped open in the end zone on a play that would have ended the game, and Carr just couldn’t get the ball close to him. These are the types of plays the Raiders will have to start converting as the competition ramps up.
Regardless, Carr was able to put his team in a position to win the game once again. It feels like a weekly occurrence at this point, but when the fourth quarter hits, Carr is simply a different player. This was never more true than on the third-down completion to Jones in overtime. On third down and eight, Carr was able to zip the ball to the sideline and maintain the Raiders’ hopes of winning the game. While Carr is not playing elite football right now (he was just 20 for 36 with 186 yards and two touchdowns), he is doing enough to win. As long as Josh Jacobs continues to play the way he has, the Raiders can win with this formula.
What a throw by Derek Carr 👀@NFL | #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/li6ZvjJAho
— FanSided (@FanSided) January 10, 2022
Going Forward
Raider Nation will finally get to watch a playoff game this weekend. As the Raiders travel to Cincinnati, snow will be in the forecast. For Las Vegas, this should help limit the high-flying Bengals offense and play right into the hand of the Raiders’ new strategy. In addition, Waller will have another week of practice to knock the rust off and return to his usual self. If Carr could just do what he has to and let Jacobs carry the load, the Raiders could be well on their way to Nashville.
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*Top Photo: Rick Scuteri/Associated Press
