Raiders are coming in for a short week, hoping to rebound. But, Justin Herbert and the Chargers had something to say otherwise as the Raiders lose 30-27 in OT.
Yeah, this one hurts. But, kudos to Marcus Mariota for a good game. Derek Carr pulls his groin in the first half. Mariota comes in and reminded the NFL on his ability as a dual threat QB. Charger defense had no answer for him as he dominated through the air and on the ground with 226 yards passing and 88 rushing yards with 2 total TDs and that one pick. It wasn't his best throw of the night as the ball was behind Zay Jones. But, the offense felt more alive with Mariota at the helm. The Raiders were able to adjust the offense and throw in some read option plays to take advantage of Mariota's mobility.
But the night belonged to Justin Herbert this game. Despite the change with Rod Marinelli at DC, the defense still had its issues as I predicted. The run defense was okay. The pass defense? Not so much. It was a rough night for Trayvon Mullen as he accounted for 4 penalties to give Herbert and the Chargers offense some chunk yards. Despite a hobbled Keenan Allen, who was primarily used as a decoy this game, it was the Chargers 3rd, 4th, and 5th options that stepped it up. The trust that Herbert had in his receivers to make a play was something else even if he is a rookie. Like I said, last week, it was the run defense with a lot of problems. This week, it was the pass defense.
The Raiders are not mathematically eliminated, but those playoff hopes are slowly dwindling. Most likely, we've seen Derek Carr play his last game of the season. Groin injuries are very tricky and the timetable for them to fully heal varies depending on the severity. Luckily, this was the reason the Raiders brought in Marcus Mariota. They get a backup who is serviceable as a starter. The only issue is that he can be wildly inconsistent. I'm just going to say it now, this team is not ready to make that postseason leap. They exceeded expectations in the first half of the season. But in the second half, those cracks are beginning to show. We are pretty much seeing deja vu from last season. We'll see. The Raiders are going to have to finish strong and they're going to need some significant help. I'll see you guys next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment