Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 13 review: Studs and Duds

Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 13 review: Studs and Duds

Dud…and Stud

Henry Ruggs’ errors and his redemption

This week is a little different because we have a rare player that fulfills the criteria for both categories and that unfortunate/fortunate individual is Henry Ruggs. The Raiders turned the ball over twice and Ruggs was directly responsible for both and made the game far closer than it should have been.

On the Raiders’ first drive on offense with them marching into Jets territory, Ruggs let a short pass from Derek Carr hit him right in the hands and deflect in right to a New York defender. The ball may have been a tad high from Carr but it’s still a pass that you expect an NFL receiver to make, much less your first-round pick.

Later in the game with the Raiders up 24-21, Ruggs makes a nice catch on third down but fails to secure the ball and gets the ball poked out by a Jets defender and couldn’t recover it. Ruggs’ fumble set up the Jets in Raiders territory, and they drove right down the field for the go-ahead touchdown.

It was looking like a dark day for Ruggs until literally the final few seconds of the game. With the Raiders down four with five seconds left, facing defeat on the Jets 46, Derek Carr and Ruggs came through.

The Jets inexplicably brought the house and Carr stepped up to find Ruggs in the end zone after the rookie had absolutely torched his man.

During the celebration, Carr and Ruggs had a moment where it was obvious the veteran quarterback was telling his young receiver that he always had faith in him or something along those lines. Ruggs went from being one of the main reasons the Raiders almost lost to the game to the reason they won in an instant and that shows you how fast things can change in the NFL.

We just need to see more of the Ruggs that won the game and less of the one that caused two turnovers.