Final Score: MIA 26 LV 25 [L] (7-8)
No matter if the Raiders move from Oakland to Las Vegas, some things just never change. This team is a comedy. I'm trying not to laugh at my own team. I've seen this script many times as a Raider fan. But, it never ceases to amaze me that this team just finds new ways to lose in the most undisciplined fashion. This is the "Raider Way." It has been since 2002.
I'm not going dive deep too much into this game. It was a tale of two halves. The first half, it was a defensive battle. Then in the 2nd half, both teams found themselves in a shootout. The defense was able to hold Tua Tagovailoa in check, getting to him 3 times. But, in comes Ryan "Fitzmagic" in the 4th quarter to change the whole complexity for the Miami Dolphins' offense. Low key, Ryan Fitzpatrick has been the Raiders' thorn on the side for some time. The fact that it took only one quarter for Fitzpatrick to rally the Dolphins says a lot on the unfortunate luck the Raiders had against him.
Some positives: we expected Carr to sit out the rest of the season with a groin injury, but he toughened it out this week to start. He did well with 21 passes of 34 attempts 336 yards and 1 TD despite being sacked 3 times. Nelson Agholor and Darren Waller balled out tonight and accumulated most of Carr's passes. Waller torched the Phins' secondary with 5 receptions on 112 yards. Inexplicably, the Dolphins were giving him one-on-one coverage and Waller just shredded his matchup. Agholor had 5 receptions for 155 yards, including the go-ahead 85 yard TD to put the Raiders up 16-22 with 3:37 left in the 4th.
Now, let's talk about to where things went south for the Raiders. The Raiders never converted a 3rd down. They went 0-10 in 3rd down conversions. Daniel Carlson missed the PAT after the Agholor TD. And then, that blown coverage and face mask penalty from Arden Key to help set up the Dolphins with the game-winning 44-yard field goal from Jason Sanders. Lets rewind before that, the Raiders didn't punch it in with Josh Jacobs. They let the clock run out with 19 seconds left and hitting the go-ahead field goal.
24-26, the Dolphins were out of timeouts and only had 19 seconds to go the length of the field. It was a reasonable decision. Jon Gruden's playcalling was anemic this game, but I understood the rationale of running out the clock and settling for the field goal. I mean we would've never expected the defense to blow coverage down the far side of the field and on top of that, commit a stupid asinine penalty to give the Dolphins 15 more yards for a manageable field goal to steal the game and the Raiders' playoff hopes! And I'm laughing again as I reminisce on this game's final drive. You thought this "she-it" was over when they hit Las Vegas huh? Some things just never change. This loss is just another page in the Raiders' long book of losing in embarrassing fashion.
I wish I could be angry and frustrated. But truth of the matter is as I said, I've seen the same old stuff in my tenure as a Raider fan. I've said it previously, it doesn't matter if this team moves anywhere else, the dysfunction will follow. To all who thought the Raiders would suddenly turn it around when they get to Vegas, the joke's on all...of...you. This team purposely continues to play us like a damn fiddle! I think I'll end it right there. This is just comical.
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