With 2:44 seconds left in the game, Baltimore’s Justin Tucker kicked a 31 yard field goal to give the Ravens their first lead in the game, going up over the home-team Raiders 33-30.
I thought – as many of you probably did – that this was yet another example of the Raiders being the Raiders and losing the game in the final minutes to a team that wanted it more. And then something surprising happened – the Raiders put together a fairly clean, crisp, efficient 9 play drive to go down the field and get into the endzone for the go ahead points and putting the game back into a winnable position.
Neiko Thorpe intercepted Joe Flacco mere moments later on his first throw of the next series and the Raiders were able to take a knee in the victory formation.
A Raiders team that rose to the occasion? That executed when it needed to execute at the end of the game? On both offense and defense? How pleasantly unexpected.
In years past, this is exactly the kind of game that would end up being a moral victory: “Sure, the team didn’t win but they came close and this is a good opponent, after all. The team is this close to turning the corner, I’m telling you. Listen, at the end of the day…” And so on and so forth.
Instead, the Raiders did what they had to do to win. Sure, it wasn’t always pretty. Flacco was incredibly efficient and the Ravens offense was almost able to move down the field at will, at times. BUT, so were the Raiders and therein lies the difference.
Derek Carr, who initially looked like he may not be able to play for weeks due to a hand injury sustained early week one, was efficient if erratic when passing the ball, completing 65% of his 46 passes on route to a 351 yard, three touchdown day. He also held the team together to make sure that the offense’s last drive was its’ best.
Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, who both joined the team this year, each crossed the century mark in receiving yards and both made their fair share of plays on offense to help the team out. Despite their similarities as Biletnikoff winners, they contributed in very different ways.
Cooper was the X-factor at receiver starting with the first offensive series in which he badly burned his defender, got wide-open for a deep Carr pass and then outran the defense for a 68 yard touchdown. He contributed 6 other receptions on the day.
Crabtree was a great possession option. He wasn’t burning defenses deep or showing blazing speed but he was consistently showcasing his great hands and was able to reel in some difficult catches to help the offense move the chains and he ended up 9 receptions for 111 yards on the day, both team highs.
However, it was neither of these high-profile pass catchers who provided the game-winning points for the Raiders. No, that honor went to Seth Roberts, an unheralded, undrafted free agent out of West Alabama who snagged a 12 yard TD reception out of the slot. It was his only reception – actually, his only target – on the day.
The Raiders may not have even been in the position to win at the end of the game if it hadn’t been for some good luck. Twice, Ravens defenders were wide open either in the end zone or beyond coverage and Joe Flacco wasn’t able to throw a catchable ball to them to capitalize on the Raiders’ coverage mistakes.
The second of these happened on the Ravens’ second to last offensive drive – the drive that ended with Tucker’s 31 yard field goal. Ravens’ WR Steve Smith was left uncovered in the end zone and let’s be clear: it’s not like Smith is an unknown factor in either this game or in NFL history. Smith is one of the most prolific wide receivers in NFL history and he had already grabbed 10 balls for 150 yards in this game.
But somehow, some way Flacco overthrew Smith and he wasn’t able to come down with the reception and both feet in bounds. Instead, the Ravens had to kick their field goal to go up by 3 and hope that their defense would hold.
And for the Raiders, they lucked out that Smith wasn’t just a little taller, that Flacco didn’t throw the ball inches lower and that their defensive mistakes weren’t enough to overshadow their offensive successes.
As they say: “Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.”
The Raiders will now embark on a two-game road trip, playing in Cleveland and Chicago in subsequent weeks. While playing away from home and especially in the Eastern Time zone is always tricky for the Raiders, they can capitalize on this win and build some confidence to make a splash this season. They then return home in three weeks to take on the Denver Broncos before their bye week during Week 6.
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