They also overcame another one-touchdown deficit in style, marching 75 yards in the final minutes for a touchdown and a bold, do-or-die, 2-point conversion from Derek Carr to Michael Crabtree with 47 seconds left.
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Del Rio had no interest in a conservative point-after kick, and he let his offense know it well before the decision had to be made.
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.
“Listen, I’m not gonna start the season off paying a fine”, said Payton, who admitted he had a bad angle on the play at first – but didn’t like what he saw on the video-board replays.
“We’ll be fine”, said veteran right guard Jahri Evans, who was re-acquired last week to shore up the unit. He also set personal and team records for longest passing play on a 98-yard TD to Brandin Cooks.
Carr finished with 319 yards and one touchdown passing Jalen Richard ran 75 yards on his first National Football League carry for a touchdown and Amari Cooper caught Carr’s pass for a 2-point conversion to briefly tie the game at 27 in the middle of the fourth quarter. On first-and-20 from their own 30, Carr hit Amari Cooper for 43 yards, resulting in a touchdown three plays later.
Saints quarterback Brees called the late two-point try gutsy but not surprising. The gamble worked out in the Raiders’ favor, which sealed the late victory. With just seconds remaining on the clock, rookie kicker Wil Lutz missed the 61-yard field goal wide left to secure the Raiders 35-to-34 road win to start the season 1-0.
But Brees marched New Orleans for another score, highlighted by a 57-yard completion that receiver Willie Snead fumbled and rookie wideout Michael Thomas recovered and advanced to the Oakland 2.
Payton said one of the things that needs to be corrected is the pass rush, or lack thereof. That set up Travaris Cadet’s short touchdown catch to give New Orleans a 34-27 lead.
The Raiders had touchdown runs of 6 yards by Latavius Murray and 2 yards by Jamize Olawale. But a pass-interference call against Saints linebacker Craig Robertson kept the drive alive, allowing Oakland to come back for a 35-34 victory. “This year, we are talking about learning how to win, learning how to close these games, sticking together and making plays at the end”. Brees opened his 16th season by eclipsing the 400-yard mark for the 14th time in his career, tying for first all-time with Peyton Manning. It was the longest pass play in franchise history. That type of speed will likely lead to plenty of yards after the catch and game-changing plays this season. I’m sure I’ve got that down pat.
“I like this guy a lot”, Payton said of Lutz.
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What’s more, Brees often has chemistry with tight ends considering Benjamin Watson was third on the team with 825 receiving yards past year and Jimmy Graham notched a combined 4,396 receiving yards and 46 touchdown catches from 2011 to 2014 with New Orleans. He also handled kickoffs and hit a 20-yard field goal that was almost blocked. “I said, ‘When we score here, we are going to go for 2 and win it right here'”.
