Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 9 review: Studs and Duds
Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 9 review: Studs and Duds
The Duds
Jon Gruden’s decision making
Jon Gruden had a head scratching game as he made a series of decisions that were downright wrong or erred incorrectly on one side or the other of aggression and being too conservative. The first was after the Chargers tied the game at 14 with 19 seconds left in the second quarter, rather than taking a knee and going in to the half, Gruden chose to be aggressive and try to air it out.
The Raiders were struggling with pass protection due to starting two backup tackles and RT Sam Young was blown up and Derek Carr lost a fumble in the pocket. The Chargers kicked a field goal and got three free points because of Gruden’s unnecessary aggression. The Raiders were getting the ball to open the second half which made the decision all the more puzzling.
The second decision was at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Gruden chose to punt on fourth and two from the Chargers’ 42. The Raiders were up 28-20 at this point and a field goal would have made it a two-score game but more importantly, going for it would have kept the Charger offense off the field. The Raiders struggled to stop them all day and a punt to the 18 did little to slow them down.
Aggression was needed in the situation to try and put more distance between the teams and Gruden’s decision to be conservative was the wrong choice. Later in the fourth when the Raiders were up 28-26 and the Raiders faced fourth and two at 13, a first down would have sealed the game but the decision to kick the field goal and go up 5 was more understandable. Gruden needs to realize that aggression has to be his baseline because he simply can’t trust his defense to make stops.
Paul Guenther…again
It has become tiresome to talk about Paul Guenther and the Raiders defense, but they deserve some extra scorn after their performance on Sunday. The Chargers offense is explosive and can make plays but when you get them, and just about any team, in to a third and long situation you should expect to get off the field.
In the second quarter as the Chargers were driving, they faced a third and 16 after an offensive pass interference penalty and they were able to convert on a short pass and run by Mike Williams. Guenther had Johnathan Abram lined up as a QB spy two yards from the line of the scrimmage and Erik Harris lined up at the first down marker. It was an inexplicable decision to have Abram up on the line of scrimmage in that situation when he could have been in a position to make a tackle on a short pass had he been in his normal alignment.
The Raiders seem to excel at giving up first downs on third and long and Sunday’s error was especially bad thanks to the resulting touchdown. If they stop Williams short then LA likely kicks a field goal with over 90 seconds left and plenty of time for Las Vegas to at least get a field goal of their own and go in to the half up 7. At least there was plenty of pressure on the QB this time, but there needs to be improvement on defense because the Raiders offense can’t score 30 points every week.