Learning how to win is a big step in the process of becoming contenders, and the Raiders took that first step on Sunday.
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Payton agreed with Brees’ assessment and noted New Orleans should have gotten better field position than its own 23 for its final drive after an unsportsmanlike penalty, not to mention Lutz’s missed 50-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. It would have made a lot less sense for Del Rio to not make the gutsy call at that point.
With 47 seconds remaining last night, and his team trailing 34-33 to New Orleans, Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio took the decision to go for the two-point conversion – and the win – rather than take the safe bet and kick the game-tying extra point.
Del Rio said that Smith, one of Oakland’s top free agent acquisitions this offseason after signing a four-year contract worth almost $40 million, will start again this week in the Raiders’ home opener against Atlanta.
His Raiders had already demonstrated considerable resolve just to get to that point. The Raiders were down 14 at one point, but came storming back to beat the Saints on the road.
METAIRIE, La. – New Orleans Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux is expected to miss six weeks after having surgery Monday to fix a broken left fibula, coach Sean Payton said.
On a more positive note, the Saints offense had a hope-inspiring performance led by Drew Brees’ 424 yards of passing and 4 touchdown passes. “I don’t wanna be Debbie Downer”, he began, “but this is the kind of game you have to win if you’re gonna get to double digit wins and be a playoff team and somehow have a winning record instead being:500!” There will be a ton of things we see on film when we make the corrections, but I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. I thought he was the Saints’ best defensive player on Sunday. “The ball moved on me”. He caught five passes for 84 of his game-high 172 yards, including a one-yard touchdown on fourth down to tie the game at 10 early in the second quarter.
Rookie and Louisiana native Jalen Richard’s 75-yard touchdown run and a crucial pass interference penalty against linebacker Craig Robertson on fourth down stood out as backbreakers for the beleaguered New Orleans defense.
The next four opponents are the Falcons, Titans, Ravens and Chargers, who went a combined 20-44 last season.
“I don’t know that it changes the vision for the defense”, Payton said of Breaux’s injury. “That was just one play”. Brees tied Peyton Manning for the National Football League record with his 14th 400 yard passing day of his career. He wasn’t ideal – he should’ve had a touchdown pass to Clive Walford when he got open up the right sideline but Carr’s pass was ill-timed and out of bounds.
Saints receiver Brandin Cooks absolutely torched new Raiders cornerback Sean Smith in the third quarter of Sunday’s 35-34 loss. The pass protection held up, and kept Drew Brees upright for the most part.
“I prefer to keep strategy inside, in-house”, Del Rio said.
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“He looked like Usain Bolt running down the sideline there”, Brees said. The play was both the longest scoring play in Saints history, and Brees’ longest completion.
