“I have to make those kinds of calls and guys have to trust my judgment”, Del Rio said.
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So, when Derek Carr and Seth Roberts collaborated on a 10-yard scoring pass to pull within 34-33 with 47 seconds left, Del Rio stayed true to his words.
In fact, Del Rio told Carr even before the final drive started that Oakland would be going for two if it scored a touchdown.
“That long run really gets under my skin, because I felt like they weren’t getting much at all explosive-wise”, Laurinaitis said.
Second year New Orleans Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux is feared to have suffered a fractured fibula in action against the Oakland Raiders in the first game of the 2016 campaign. As we’ve seen for years and years, notoriously risk-averse head coaches in the National Football League are reluctant to put the game on the line with one decision, and most would have opted to kick the extra point and try to win it in overtime.
“We’re here to win”, Del Rio said after the game, via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Vic Tafur. There was one instance with a playoff-bound Houston Texans attempting to go for two in a Week 17 game against the Tennessee Titans, but this was more about avoiding overtime than trying to win the game as the Texans clinched the AFC South despite not converting. They also had to sweat out rookie kicker Wil Lutz’s last second field goal attempt from 61 yards, which narrowly missed wide left as the Superdome crowd briefly erupted before realizing the kick was no good.
Oakland had to overcome a 14-point, second-half deficit and a 424-yard, four-touchdown performance by Drew Brees. But Saints coach Sean Payton conceded the obvious: “Looking closely at that fourth quarter, we were having trouble stopping anything”.
For Oakland coach Jack Del Rio, calling for a do-or-die, 2-point conversion was less a gamble than a philosophical declaration.
Particularly noteworthy was the Raiders’ late-season win on the road against the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, during which the new look Oakland roster outplayed their AFC West rivals in a statement win. Even if the Raiders allowed 423 yards passing and struggled for much of the game, what is most important is the 1-0 record at the end of the day.
“And yet, if I’m managing the game or paying attention to what just happened on a punt return, we’re far enough along in this process where it’s easy for us”. Then the symbol of your country can’t just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest.
Cooks caught the pass in stride and went almost the length of the field in just 11 seconds for the bulk of his 143 yards on six receptions.
Cruz, who missed most of 2014 with a knee injury and all of last season with a bad calf, broke free in the end zone for a 3-yard TD with 6 minutes remaining, prompting his trademark salsa dance. He racked up 984 receiving yards and three touchdowns past year, and only Cooks had more receiving yards in 2015 for the Saints. The pass protection held up, and kept Drew Brees upright for the most part. Lutz hit his first field goal from 42 yards out.
Per our chief analyst Keith Goldner, the conversion jumped their odds to 80.46 percent, and tying it up with a field goal actually would have bumped their odds to 41.09 percent.
“There are obviously going to be some bumps along the way, as there will be for any of the rookies that played tonight”, Payton said.
Take the percentages for the Raiders during Sunday’s game.
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Prater missed an extra point wide right with 4:04 left in the season opener, a miscue that almost cost the Lions. Cooks finished with 6 catches for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns. The inability to generate pressure with a four man rush is going to be the thorn in Dennis Allen’s side all year long.
