Mariota Plays Well Off Bench, But Chargers Win In OT, 30-27, Over Raiders In Prime Time Thursday
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Everybody said, “Whoa,” in the press box.
That meant a touchdown for the Raiders, a pass from a quarterback not named Derek Carr (injured his groin on a goal-to-go play in the first quarter). It was a gorgeous 35-yard dime tossed by Raiders back-up QB Marcus Mariota to tight end Darren Waller in the second quarter.
It gave the Las Vegas Raiders a 10-7 lead on Thursday Night Football here in Las Vegas, which enjoyed some free pub during the pandemic thanks to some overhead video shots during the prime time broadcast on FOX.
But in the end, Mariota’s effective running (88 yards) and throwing off the bench could not deliver a win for the Raiders, which dropped to 7-7. The Los Angeles Chargers responded to a Raiders field goal in overtime by scoring a touchdown on a one-yard keeper by LA quarterback Justin Herbert to come away with a 30-27 win over the Raiders at empty Allegiant Stadium.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden praised Mariota’s play.
It just shows the kind of player and the kind of football character he has. Our offensive coordinator isn’t here either, you lose Derek [Carr] and then we change gears offensively and Marcus came in and did a great job. I’m really proud of him I think this puts an exclamation point on why we signed him. I just wish we could’ve won the game for him. — Jon Gruden
It was a battle of Oregon quarterbacks after Carr bowed out of the game because of the injury and Heisman winner Mariota from Oregon sparked the Raiders. Mariota faced off against Herbert, the rookie from Oregon who looked sharp in the first half. In the end, Herbert was 22 for 32 and 314 yards, while Mariota was 17 for 28 and 226 yards and ran for an amazing 88 yards, too, including a touchdown run. It only seemed appropriate that Las Vegas’ first measurable rain in forever (240 days) came on a day that two Oregon Ducks QBs competed against each other and shared a national spotlight on FOX-TV.
Herbert converted several third-down passes to keep drives moving in the first half as the Raiders defense was down five starters, including players at all three levels.
After the Raiders’ TD gave Vegas a 10-7 lead in the first half, the Chargers moved 71 yards on 14 plays taking up more than seven minutes of playing time for a short field goal. LA moved to the Raiders four-yard line, but the Raiders D held and a chip-shot field goal put a pair of 10s on the scoreboard. Here’s Gruden, post-game:
The only other scrap of amusing drama in the first half was Raiders coach Jon Gruden wearing a Raiders ballcap that said, “Oakland,” instead of “Las Vegas.” Not good for Las Vegas during those prime time TV close-ups of Gruden. But Gruden switched caps to show the Las Vegas moniker. “I apologize for not having the right hat on, somebody played a pretty good trick on me.”
Late in the first half, Herbert took advantage of all that open space provided by the Raiders secondary. Herbert threw a dart to KJ Hill for 25 yards and then hit Tyron Johnson for a touchdown with a mere 19 seconds left in the first half.
And that was your first half — the Chargers went to the locker room after 30 minutes leading the Raiders, 17-10.
Mariota continued his sharp edge in the second half. He ran for 26 yards with a scamper that covered a lot of open ground. Mariota completed a nice pass to Waller to continue the drive. A pass interference call against the Chargers placed the ball at the one-yard line. And running back Josh Jacobs launched himself into the end zone to knot the score at 17.
The Chargers responded. They marched 75 yards in a little more than five minutes. The Raiders returned the favor with a pass interference in the end zone, setting up an LA one-yard score.
It was LA 24 LV 17 after three quarters.
Mariota talked about his journey to get to this point.
To be truthful, it’s been a long journey. I’ve been through kind of everything, from injuries, to surgeries, to mental lapses, the confidence thing. I just truly appreciate the Raiders and the entire organization for kind of helping me through that. I was trying to kind of find my way again, and they gave me an opportunity to kind of take some time. They were patient with me. I just appreciate the fact that they were willing to do that. Again, it’s kind of part of being an athlete, you’re going to go through some ups and downs. I think the staff did a great job of kind of keeping me level-headed and kind of fighting through it. When it comes down to it, it’s still ball. I just love being out there again, it was fun to play. Unfortunately, we just didn’t make enough plays — Marcus Mariota
In the fourth quarter, the Raiders embarked on quite a time-consuming drive. The Raiders took 19 plays to cover 75 yards, with Mariota flying in from the two-yard line after sprinting to his right and reaching pay dirt.
The drive covered an amazingly long ten minutes and 52 seconds.
The score was locked at 24 as the game moved to overtime.
The Raiders went ahead with a short field goal even thought they had a first and goal at the four and could not salt away the win.
Herbert responded by leading his own drive and then clinched the Chargers’ fifth win this season when extended the football to the goal line. The Chargers left Las Vegas with a three-point win to approve to 5-9.
As usual, there were no fans in Allegiant Stadium as Raiders owner Mark Davis said if all the fans can’t attend games then none will. The Raiders host the Miami Dolphins a week from Saturday in the final home game of the season in the inaugural year of Allegiant Stadium.
I keep everything in mind, but I have a one-track mind and that involves winning. This is going to help us in some ways, but it’s really painful right now to lose. We had a lot of tight games go down to the buzzer. This one was tough, but I am proud of our players, proud of our coaches and congratulate the Chargers. — Jon Gruden
