No Offense, But Raiders Look Awful And Come Up Empty Sunday: Minnesota Vikings 3 Raiders 0 Sunday
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
Game Summary: Raiders played an inept offensive game, scoring no points and lacking execution after a bye week in a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas Sunday. The Raiders’ offense had no consistency under rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell. Interim coach Antonio Pierce: “Gotta win. Not good enough.”
Paid Respects: The Raiders remembered the two fallen Nevada state troopers and the three UNLV professors before the game.
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I was busy tapping my laptop keyboard when the crowd of 62,000 or so roared with cheers at the Las Vegas Raiders’ home venue, Allegiant Stadium.
But when I looked up and saw what happened, a Minnesota Viking defender had sacked Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell for a loss of yardage.
Yes, it’s another repeat at the Raiders stadium of a visiting team’s fans filling about half of the seats at the venue for a team once known for its intense partisan rooters.
But those days at the Coliseum in Oakland are long gone and Las Vegas is Tourism USA, so many in purple yelling, “Skol,” have come to Allegiant Stadium to root on their Vikings. If they’re staying in hotels in Southern Nevada, they’re paying a hotel room tax that is helping the public pay off its debt on the $750 million used to help build the domed stadium on the west side of Interstate 15 across from Mandalay Bay hotel-casino.
Lots of Deep Purple in the AL for Raiders vs Vikings. Raiders stat of the day: 20 touchdowns in 12 games. Opposition has 28 TDs. pic.twitter.com/VheILf0PgS
— LVSportsBiz.com (@LVSportsBiz) December 10, 2023
The Raiders are a mediocre team, winning five of 12 games so far. The team was so unproductive that owner Mark Davis canned coach Josh McDaniels and McDaniels’ pal, the former general manager, Dave Ziegler.
The beauty of calling Las Vegas home is that the Raiders sell out even when they’re losing because fans enjoy checking out four-year-old Allegiant Stadium and the team that is playing the Raiders.
The Viking have won half of their 12 games, and they are also mediocre. Which might explain why neither team scored a single point in the first half.
Both fan bases appeared to be let loose with, “boos,” when the two teams ended the first half scoreless.
During the previous McDaniels regime, Raiders receiver Hunter Renfrow was the Invisible Man.
But there have been Renfrow sightings during the current interim coach Antonio Pierce era.
He caught a pass in stride from Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell and ran 38 yards to deep inside Minnesota territory.
But Renfrow giveth to the Raiders and taketh away when he caught another pass, but fumbled the ball.
And Minnesota recovered.
The fumble recovery prompted the Vikings to perform a celebration that drew quite a bit of attention:
Vikings hit the keg stand celebration 😂 pic.twitter.com/Bi8USJGpGE
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) December 10, 2023
Game shutout intact.
After third quarters: Minnesota 0 Las Vegas 0.
The last time an NFL game finished with a 0-0 score was Nov. 7, 1943 when the Giants and Lions did not score a point at Briggs Stadium in Detroit.
But Minnesota’s kicker, Greg Joseph, booted a 36-yard field goal with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter.
And that was your ballgame.
Vikings 3 Raiders 0
Las Vegas could muster only 173 yards of offense after a bye week. The Raiders have now won five games and lost eight.
