Las Vegas Raiders: Late errors crush hopes of a winning season
Arden Key’s penalty, Damon Arnette’s lapse in coverage
On Fitzpatrick’s final throw in bounds, he connected with wideout Mack Hollins for 34 yards and the referees added 15 yards because of a facemask penalty:
Gruden had strong words for Arden Key‘s infraction per Vic Tafur of the Athletic.
On the same play, rookie cornerback Damon Arnette allowed Hollins to streak behind him and find a soft spot within the Cover 2 zone. The Dolphins didn’t have a receiver underneath, and Fitzpatrick isn’t Kyler Murray, who’s capable of running for chunk yardage in a few seconds. Yet Arnette dropped down to cover absolutely no one, which opened a spot between him and Isaiah Johnson, who couldn’t cover enough ground to break up the deep ball to Hollins.
The Raiders’ defense could’ve had a chance to force Sanders into a long field goal if Key didn’t pull Fitzpatrick’s facemask. If Arnette covers his area with situational awareness, the Dolphins would’ve only advanced the ball 15 yards to their 40-yard line because of the penalty.
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As the Silver and Black rewind the tape, several players and even coaches may think about the what-ifs through the fourth quarter. Even though Gruden won’t budge on his thought process, Saturday’s loss could stick to Carlson, McMillan, Key, and Arnette for a few days.
This doesn’t even take the Raiders’ inability to convert on third down (0-for-10) into account. Vegas only managed to draw Miami into the neutral zone on 3rd-and-1. The offense, defense, and special teams all share the burden of this loss.