Las Vegas Raiders at Rams 2022 Week 14: Things we learned

Las Vegas Raiders at Rams 2022 Week 14: Things we learned

Raiders coaches played not to lose…again

The saying goes that old habits die hard, but with the Raiders is it the case that they never go away? Las Vegas, with a 16-3 lead over the Rams, played not to lose…once again, and surprise surprise, it cost them a surefire victory on Thursday night. There’s blame to be had in different places, but this takeaway goes on the coaches.

Heading into Week 14 the Rams were ranked fourth in run defense while being a much more susceptible 22nd in opponent passing yards per game. And yet Josh McDaniels, with only 16 points on the scoreboard, figured that was good enough to stick with the ground game throughout all four quarters. Las Vegas had 38 rushing attempts to just 20 pass attempts, finishing with just 4.3 yards per attempt.

Three of Jacobs’ carries came after the Rams cut the lead to 16-10. Jacobs gained just 9 yards before the Raiders punted it back to the Rams.

It remains baffling as to why McDaniels felt that a 16-3 lead was enough cushion to put away this team given Las Vegas’ struggles in holding onto double-digit leads, but Thursday night was another blown lead on the resume. Until the Raiders play to win and not to lose, any semblance of progress is going to be negated by embarrassing losses like Thursday night.