In a game that the Las Vegas Raiders absolutely needed to win, their defense made sure that another second-half collapse didn’t take place. Of all people, it was defensive end Chandler Jones who won the game for the Silver and Black.
Despite having a respectable lead at halftime (17-3), the Raiders’ offense once again sputtered in the third quarter. In response, the Mac Jones-led New England Patriots tallied 10 points to bring the game closer. However, the Raiders scored twice in the final 32 seconds to win the game. It was a wild finish, to say the least, especially when you consider that the Patriots had a chance to win it with a little more than 30 seconds left. Alas, this Mac we’re talking about is not Tom Brady. Rather than playing it safe and taking their chances in overtime, a bizarre set of circumstances ensued.
Raiders DE Chandler Jones continues to redeem himself
As mentioned before, Bill Belichick should’ve given himself a chance in this one. Instead, the Patriots ran a series of pitches in what we can only assume was an aggressive attempt to win the game. Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson pitched the ball to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who then heaved it right into the arms of Jones. From there, Jones stiff-armed the Patriots’ signal-caller. After that, it was all open field, straight into the arms of a Raiders’ victory.
As Jones quickly recalled immediately after the play, the crazy ending had the makings of something you’d see in a video game.
Chandler Jones: “That was crazy. It was almost like Madden, my stiff arm.”
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 19, 2022
Meyers commented on what went wrong in his opinion from the Patriots’ perspective. “I was trying to do too much. Trying to be a hero, I guess,” said Meyers while speaking to reporters after the game. Well, if you’re the Raiders, you’ll take all the breaks you can. Certainly, it was an error of judgment by Meyers in that moment, and there’s no doubt it’ll prove costly for the Patriots. As far as Josh McDaniels’ team is concerned, they live to fight another game.
*Top Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images