The Las Vegas Raiders ended their three-game losing streak with a 17-13 win over Green Bay, thanks to a surprising source: the team’s much-maligned defense.
All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby notched two sacks, linebacker Robert Spillane intercepted two Jordan Love passes and cornerback Amik Robertson ended the game with 44 seconds left with a leaping interception in the end zone to secure the Raiders’ second win of the season.
The defense had to step up as Las Vegas’ offense continued to struggle under Jimmy Garoppolo and is clearly a growing bright spots for a Raiders team still tyring to find answers on offense.
Here are key takeaways from the Raiders’ second win so far in 2023:
Defense gets game ball
Spillane deserves a special call out for his performance against Green Bay. Spillane made history by being the first Raiders linebacker in 20 years to secure two interceptions in a game. His first interception came from a pass by Love while the second was a result of a Marcus Peters deflection.
Maxx Crosby consistently applied pressure on Love and constantly disrupted the Packers’ offense. It’s worth noting that holding the Packers to 13 points was quite significant and the Raiders have held them and the Chargers to just those 13 points — shutting out Los Angeles in the second half of their loss.
“I think I’ve said it, we’ve been playing better and better as the season has worn on, and sometimes that happens where one side of the ball is kind of playing well enough to win and the other side has got to kind of catch up,” head coach Josh McDaniels said after the game. “I think that’s kind of where we’ve been. But our defense, I mean, at every level, we have guys playing their butt off. Great effort, incredible fight, good communication.”
Michael Mayer shows what he can do
Rookie tight end Michael Mayer finally got to show a little of why so many were excited after the Raiders picked the Notre Dame standout in this year’s NFL Draft. Mayer finished the game against the Packers making two catches for 39 yards.
Ok, so it’s not Rookie of the Year type numbers but the increased use of the tight end was a good sign for an offense that has trouble moving the ball.
Before this game, Mayer had only managed one catch for two yards in the four games. His performance on Monday night shows progress in his rookie season. Mayer is looking to build on this momentum as the Raiders prepare to take on the Patriots in Week 6.
Jimmy Garoppolo continues to struggle with offense
When Garoppolo was signed, the Raiders touted his maturity and ability to protect the ball. But, through five weeks, and playing in just four games, he leads the NFL with seven interceptions and appears far from comfortable in Josh McDaniels’ offense.
The Pack takes it back! @Rfordtwo3
— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2023
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To put it simply: it’s just not working. The Raiders need to see more out of the veteran quarterback or be faced with a key decision: does he stay or does he go?
While Garoppolo’s numbers — 22-of-31 for 208 yards, one touchdown and one interception — weren’t terrible, his continued turnovers plague the offense.
Garoppolo signed with the Raiders in March, agreeing to a $72.75 million contract for three years — $33.75 million guaranteed. It might seem the Raiders are now stuck for two years with a quarterback that doesn’t seem to be catching on and has trouble moving his loaded offensive team.
However, there’s a possibility that he could be traded next year (if any takes would want him), and if that happens, the new team will take on his salary of $11.25 million for 2024. On the other hand, the Raiders might choose to have Garoppolo compete with a new quarterback and rookie Aidan O’Connell before making any decisions about his future before his contract’s final year starts.
Either way, we’re only five weeks in and McDaniels is sacrificing players and resources for a quarterback who’s increasingly unable to catch on. McDaniels has simplified and narrowed the playbook for Garoppolo, making the Raiders offense stall.
Josh Jacobs has better day despite O-line’s continued regression
One encouraging takeaway from the Raiders yawner of a win over the Packers was the performance of running back Josh Jacobs. Behind an offensive line that isn’t even close to resembling the unit that helped him capture the rushing crown in 2022, Jacobs carried the ball 20 times for 69 yards and a touchdown.
It’s hard for any running back to get a head of steam going when you’re constantly hit behind the line scrimmage, but Jacobs made the most of it on this night.
“We came out, we ran the ball, we felt like we could do that coming into this week,” Jacobs said after the game. And even the runs that we had, they were tough runs, but we always felt like we had the better of the runs, even when it was three-yard runs, two-yard runs, it just felt like a win. We definitely need to stack on that.”
More ‘what was Josh McDaniels thinking’ moments
Just before the Raiders decided to try a 52-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, NFL’s Next Gen Stats placed the team’s win probability at 93%. Based on the data, it would have been a better choice to go for it on 4th-and-2 with a 7.7% advantage in the odds that it would be successful. After Daniel Carlson missed the field goal, the probability dropped to 75%. It returned to 99% when Amik Robertson intercepted Jordan Love in the end zone.
Just how bad was McDaniel’s decision? Consider this: after Carlson missed the 52-yard field goal with 1:56 on the clock, nursing a four-point lead, his decision handed the ball back to Green Bay in excellent field position on their own 42-yard line. Add in the timeout Packers coach Matt LaFleur had in his back pocket, and it could have been a disaster in the making.
McDaniels also had trouble managing the clock yet again throughout the game. That included a questionable decision to end the half. With 1:47 remaining and the Raiders holding the Packers to a three-and-out in their own zone, instead of calling a timeout to give his offense more time, McDaniels let the clock run Green Bay punted the ball away. That left Las Vegas with just :55 seconds to rally its offense to try and score some points. A key point as the Raiders were also receiving the kickoff after halftime having deferred after winning the coin toss.
Asked about this after the game, McDaniels acknowledged the thought about a timeout there but decided against it.
“I thought we still were able to have either a minute or so and then be able to use the two timeouts. There’s a lot of things going through your head there,” McDaniels answered. “If you get it back with too much time, and then you kind of leave time on the clock if you don’t do exactly what you want to do. So, I did consider it, but I thought having the two timeouts was also going to be valuable for us.”
It might have been an afterthought had McDaniels and the Raiders not wasted a timeout in the first quarter due to their inability to get their offense set with a play. Even so, McDaniels’ explanation shows that time management and game management continue to struggle for this team.
It all worked out in the end for the Raiders with the victory, but it was eerily reminiscent of McDaniels’s decision in the team’s home loss to Pittsburgh. That time, the Raiders were on the 3-yard line of the Steelers and he didn’t trust his offense there either and ended up losing the game to the Steelers
Adding to concerns over McDaniels’ leadership of the Raiders is his continued conservative play calling and approach on offense. Las Vegas’ offense has been lackluster this year and significant improvement is needed for the Raiders to exceed expectations in 2023.