For the second week in a row, the Las Vegas Raiders earned an overtime win. Las Vegas beat the Seattle Seahawks 40-34 on a walk-off 86-yard touchdown run by Josh Jacobs as part of a career best day for the running back.
There were some questionable play calls and a fumble that wasn’t ultimately ruled a fumble which contributed to the chaos, however, the win improved the Raiders’ record to 4-7 to keep their razor thin playoff hopes alive.
Josh Jacobs Record Day
Jacobs finished the game with a franchise record 229 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He also added six catches for 74 yards, totaling 303 yards from scrimmage, which was also a new franchise record.
Jacobs has had a fantastic season thus far. After 11 games, he’s rushed for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns. But, with Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller out, the Raiders needed players to step up, and Jacobs answered the call and then some.
The Offensive Line Played Excellent
The Raiders as a team rushed for 283 yards thanks in large part to a strong performance from the offensive line. They did an excellent job opening up holes in the rushing attack, and did a tremendous job protecting Derek Carr, who was only sacked once.
Las Vegas’s offensive line has been a question mark all season, but over the last two weeks, they’ve been trending in the right direction. You can tell they’re starting to develop confidence and trust in each other. Hopefully for Raiders fans, it keeps up for the rest of the season.
Derek Carr Overcame a Shaky Start
Derek Carr threw two interceptions early in the game, including one on the game’s first play. But he bounced back nicely, throwing for 295 yards on 25-36 passing, with three touchdowns. Carr had plenty of time to pass and did a good job spreading the ball around to six different receivers.
Davante Adams led the Raiders with seven catches for 74 yards. Mack Hollins and Ameer Abdullah added touchdown catches from Carr.
Maxx Crosby is a Beast
Maxx Crosby finished the game with 1.5 sacks, which came at critical times. His sack in overtime came on third down and forced the Seahawks to punt. Crosby has continued his standout play from 2021 all season and has registered 10.5 sacks while remaining stout against the run.
Defense
The Raiders did a great job stopping the Seahawks’ rushing attack, holding them to 65 yards on the ground. However, it was once again the pass defense that gave the Raiders trouble. Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith threw for 328 and two touchdowns against the team’s subpar secondary.
At times, many of the Seahawks’ receivers were wide-open over the middle. That’s been a problem all season long for Las Vegas. The Raiders tend to blow far too many coverage assignments in the secondary, and it isn’t getting any better as the season goes on.
Vegas is next in action Sunday at 4:25pm ET against the Los Angeles Chargers.
-LaMarr Fields
Twitter: @raiderway83
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.