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The Las Vegas defense learned nothing from last week's late collapse against Miami, but the Raiders were nevertheless able to slink away with a 32-31 win over the Denver Broncos in the 2020 season finale.
After Josh Jacobs scored a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down to bring the Raiders within 31-30 with 27 seconds to play, head coach Jon Gruden decided to go for two, and Derek Carr hit Darren Waller on a slant to give Vegas the lead.
Faced with a similar situation as last week — an opponent trailing by less then a field goal with no timeouts — the Las Vegas defense allowed Broncos quarterback Drew Lock to hit a long pass down the middle to Jerry Jeudy for 25 yards. Raiders defenders then attempted to keep the ball away from the officials, and just like last week that drew a clock-stopping penalty while tacking additional yardage onto the play.
Denver then sent out kicker Brandon McManus to attempt a 63-yard field goal at the buzzer, but his kick was low and the Raiders were able to bat it down at the line, preserving the win and closing the book on an 8-8 season.
Some quick analysis on the finale:
Carr goes the distance
There is a contingent of Raiders fans who wanted to see what backup quarterback Marcus Mariota could do if given the start in Week 17, but incumbent franchise QB Derek Carr wasn’t having any of that.
Carr did not play particularly well. The seventh-year pro completed 24-of-38 passes for 371 yards and two touchdowns and led the go-ahead touchdown drive in the final minutes, but he tossed a pair of interceptions and took three sacks. The important thing, however, was that he took every snap in Las Vegas’ season finale, which probably tells you everything you need to know about his status going forward. Head coach Jon Gruden wasn’t interested in assessing Mariota any further; with the game on the line (a meaningless game, at that), he stuck with Carr down the stretch.
It’s all but certain that Mariota will head elsewhere this offseason, either in pursuit of a starting job or at least quarterback situation where he’ll be allowed to challenge the starter. Based on the way Week 17 unfolded, Mariota is not going to get that opportunity in Las Vegas a s long as Carr and Gruden are in place.
Minor accomplishments
The Raiders missed out on the one accomplishment they wanted more than any other this season — making the playoffs — but they were able to hit a few other notable milestones. On the team front, sweeping the division-rival Denver Broncos for the first time since 2010 had to feel good for long-timers like Gruden.
In terms of individual accomplishments, tight end Darren Waller completed his late-season tear by hauling in nine catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, plus the go-ahead 2-point conversion catch in the final seconds. More notably, he broke Tim Brown’s team record for receptions in a season; Waller’s new standard is 107 catches.
Josh Jacobs came into the game needing 24 rushing yards to record his second 1,000-yard season, and he took care of that by racking up 89 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He finishes his sophomore season with 1,065 yards, 12 touchdowns and his first Pro Bowl selection.
In a season that ended in disappointment, those minor achievements might not seem worth celebrating. But that fact that Waller and Jacobs, two of the team’s offensive cornerstones, are producing at such a high level is a good sign for Las Vegas moving forward.
Rookies wrap uneven campaign
There was a lot riding on the Raiders’ 2020 draft, and the returns after one full season are not encouraging.
Week 17, like the rest of the campaign, was a mixed bag for the first-year players. Wide receiver Bryan Edwards made the biggest impact by snagging a 26-yard touchdown pass and accumulating 51 yards on the day, but that only brought his season totals up to 11 catches, 193 yards and one score.
First-round receiver Henry Ruggs took a blow to the head on an end-around in the third quarter and was knocked out of the game (he also fumbled on the play). Before exiting he caught three passes for 38 yards, closing the book on his rookie year at 26 catches, 452 yards and two touchdowns.
Fellow first-rounder Damon Arnette left even earlier than Ruggs after injuring his neck while making a tackle in the first half. Arnette allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 80.0 percent of their passes when targeting him this year, allowing a passer rating of 107.4. And more concerning than his coverage, Arnette’s tackling form proved to be a huge concern; his habit of dropping his helmet and leading with the crown has led to multiple injuries, including a concussion and Sunday’s neck issue.
The rest of the draft class was even worse. Third-rounders Lynn Bowden (traded during training camp) and Tanner Muse (injured reserve) contributed zero, while fourth round cornerback Amik Robertson and fifth-round guard John Simpson played sparingly.
If you were hoping to see some encouraging signs from the rookies heading into the offseason, Edwards gave you two catches to chew on. The rest was disheartening.
What’s next
The offseason is probably not going to be as eventful as last year — unlike the 2020 offseason, the Raiders have no extra draft picks to package and little available cap space with which to pursue big-ticket free agents — but there are some very important decisions on the docket.
Most importantly, Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock will have to hire a defensive coordinator. The perfect candidate would be someone who can come in and work with the pieces already in place, molding the young Raiders into a competent defense in 2021. That’s a tall task, as the team ranked at or near the bottom of the league in just about every conceivable category this season, but the good news is there should be several strong candidates available.
There is some roster maneuvering to be done as well. Trent Brown, the highest paid right tackle in the league, has given Las Vegas very little during his two years with the team and cutting him would save $14 million against the cap next year while costing the team nothing in dead money. That seems like a no-brainer. Some of that money could maybe be used to bring back impending free agent Nelson Agholor, who emerged as the team’s best receiver.
And that’s without getting into the draft decisions that await Gruden and Mayock. There are holes up and down the roster and the team will be picking in the middle of the first round, so they’ll have to figure out which prospects to target and whether they want to stay put or make some deals to move around the draft board.
With no playoff game to prepare for, that offseason work begins now.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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