Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 16 review: Studs and Duds

Raiders Arden Key and Damon Arnette: Duds

This is a double whammy, as both of these young players helped doom the Raiders on the final drive of the game. The first mistake was by Damon Arnette, as he chose to stay in the flat rather than running upfield with the Miami receiver on the play that ultimately decided the game.

Arnette’s decision was even more baffling considering there was no underneath receiver, and even though he is just a rookie, this was an elementary mistake to make. The Raiders have struggled to play sound situational football all year long, but this was a mistake even more egregious than the deciding play against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The second piece of that play was the penalty on Arden Key, which took the Arnette mistake from disastrous to apocalyptic for the Raiders. Key was closing in on Fitzpatrick and stuck his hand out and nearly yanked Fitzpatrick’s helmet off his head, which tacked on 15 yards to the completion that Arnette’s mistake allowed.

Key was held on the play, but that is beside the point.

It was the biggest play of the game, and these two young defenders both made enormous mistakes that doomed the Raiders and delivered a Christmas miracle to the Dolphins. The hope is that these mistakes become a lesson for these players, who have shown flashes but have not been able to put it together just yet in their careers.