That’s when Oakland did something the National Football League hadn’t seen in years: going for a two-point conversion.
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Not only did the Saints give up three fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 35-34 loss to the Oakland Raiders, they found a new level of rock-bottom when the Raiders felt so confident against them that they made a decision to go for the game-winning two-point conversion while trailing by one point with 47 seconds remaining.
He even gave a thumbs-up emoji to a tweet from an Oakland beat writer praising Del Rio for exercising situational – not conventional – strategy on Sunday. “I didn’t really ask for any feedback there”.
Del Rio was correct not to want to play into a fifth quarter with Brees and the Saints. They are no longer the “I need you to feel sorry for me” Raiders. He later quoted a tweet from ESPN Stats & Info that said the Raiders had just a 44-percent chance to win the game if they went for two.
That said, I keep going back to the dive Carr made for a first down in the first half. Carr ended up hitting Michael Crabtree in the corner of the end-zone to give the Raiders a 35-34 lead, which would hold up after a missed last-second 61-yard field goal attempt by Saints kicker Will Lutz.
In a back-and-forth game, the Raiders racked up 22 points in the fourth quarter and nailed a two-point conversion in the final minute to take a one point lead.
Previously, Billy Joe Hobert and Eddie Kennison owned the Saints’ longest scoring play – a 90-yard connection against Atlanta on October 10, 1999.
It was a gutsy move that worked, but with either result, the attempt itself would have been the talk of the week because conversions in those situations just aren’t attempted. That defensive performance and a 66-yard strike from Joe Flacco (23/34, 258, TD) were enough to pull out the victory against Buffalo once a couple Justin Tucker field goals were tacked on. He logged two touchdown receptions, including one 98-yard dash over cornerback Sean Smith.
Payton said one of the things that needs to be corrected is the pass rush, or lack thereof.
At one point in the game, the Raiders trailed 24-10.
Del Rio’s confidence, it turns out, was twofold: Not only did he feel the Raiders would convert, he told Carr before he started the winning 75-yard drive that they would go for two after they scored.
The Raiders’ offense did a tremendous job on Sunday, but the defense got torched on a number of occasions by Brees, Willie Snead, Brandin Cooks, and the Saints’ offense. It was their first game of the season, and he wanted to make a statement, not to the New Orleans Saints but his players, fans and rest of the NFL. “He’ll be kicking here a long time”.
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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.
