Oakland Raiders: The good, bad, and ugly from week five loss to Chargers
By Kevin Saito
Bad: That Play Call
If you tuned in late in the third quarter of the Raiders/Chargers game, you can be forgiven if you thought you were watching a replay of Super Bowl XLIX. Or, at least, a reasonable fascimile of it.
If you recall, in that Super Bowl game, the Seahawks sat on the one-yard line, with a chance to win the game and claim their second consecutive championship. And yet, despite the presence of Marshawn Lynch in the backfield – who’d already gashed the Patriots for more than 100 yards – HC Pete Carroll tried to get cute, and let quarterback Russell Wilson fling it in the endzone for the win. Yeah, didn’t really work out all that well, it would be fair to say.
And the rest, as they say, his history. It’s a play that will live in infamy in the minds of Seattle fans forever more.
The stakes weren’t quite as high in the week five matchup, but the setup was exactly the same. Having put together a solid 74-yard drive, the Raiders sat at the Chargers’ one-yard line, with a chance to cut into LA’s 20-3 lead, and maybe, just maybe claw their way back into the game.
But, rather than give the ball to Lynch, and let him do his thing, Gruden and Carr dialed up a play action. The results were less than desirable.
Rather than being down just 10 point with a full quarter to play, Carr’s pass was picked off in the endzone (for the third time this season).
Adding insult to injury, the Chargers took the turnover, marched straight back down the field, and stuck it in, building an insurmountable 26-3.
The game was over the minute they didn’t hand the ball to Lynch on the one – on a first down play, no less – and let Carr wing it. It’s one of the worst play calls so far this season, and one that makes you scratch your head and wonder what Gruden is thinking.
That’s really it. There was no good that came out of the game with LA. No moral victories. No silver linings. Nothing but a big, steaming plate of something that shall not be named in a family friendly forum such as this.