Week 5 brought a Monday night matchup for the Las Vegas Raiders, as they welcomed the Green Bay Packers to Allegiant Stadium in primetime. The Raiders went into this game with a three-game losing streak, but had a very beatable opponent in front of them in the Packers, led by Jordan Love, making his sixth start at quarterback in his NFL career.
As has been the case for most of the Raiders games this season, this one was a back-and-forth affair, and it was decided by the Raiders defense of all things. Maxx Crosby dominated the Green Bay offensive line all game long, Robert Spillane came up with two interceptions, and Amik Robertson, starting in place of Jakorian Bennett, had arguably his best game as a pro.
Despite all the good that came out of the game, Josh McDaniels and his terrible clock management, and playcalling once again reared its ugly head, and in the end, almost cost Las Vegas the game.
Raiders win despite another Josh McDaniels miscue
With the Raiders up 17-13 late in the fourth quarter, the team had a fourth-and-1 to go, an obvious Josh Jacobs rushing down. However, instead of going for it and pushing the Raiders lead to seven, Josh McDaniels decided to be the smartest man in the room, which is sarcasm of course.
McDaniels called on the field goal unit, and after the 52-yard attempt by Daniel Carlson hit the upright, it was a foregone conclusion that Las Vegas would lose to the Packers on a last-second drive. However, this was not like every other time, as Amik Robertson highpointed a Love-to-Watson throw in the end zone to seal the victory with an interception.
Robertson played out of his mind all game long, so it was a fitting end to the matchup for the Raiders. For the second week in a row, the Raiders defense showed up in a big way for the Silver and Black, and with how well Jacobs ran the ball on offense, the team suddenly looks like a real unit on both sides of the ball.
McDaniels tried his best to playcall the Raiders out of a victory for the third week in a row, but in the end, the team stepped up.