3 takeaways from Raiders’ win: Early Christmas gift
Three takeaways from the Raiders’ 30-24 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium:
1. Early Merry Christmas
The Raiders were gifted a victory by the Patriots.
Instead of settling for overtime, New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson tried to lateral the ball to Jakobi Meyers, who then tried to throw it back across the field to Mac Jones.
Chandler Jones intercepted the throw and flattened the Patriots’ quarterback on his way to a game-winning touchdown with no time on the clock.
Jones, a much-maligned free-agent signing, was credited with 48 yards on the return.
The Raiders set up the wild finish with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Keelan Cole with 37 seconds remaining that was upheld after a lengthy review.
Before the crazy final minute, the Raiders were facing the possibility of falling to 0-5 in games they led by at least 10 points at halftime.
A 17-3 halftime advantage vanished into a 24-17 Patriots lead until the final minute.
The victory keeps the Raiders’ playoff hopes alive and gives them momentum heading into a Christmas Eve game at Pittsburgh.
2. Streaks end
The Raiders did several things they had not done in a long time.
A blocked punt by Malcolm Koonce in the second quarter was the first by the Raiders since Denico Autry had one in 2014.
It proved to be a big play, as the Raiders scored just before halftime to take the 17-3 lead.
The Raiders also forced a rare field-goal attempt with their backs to the goal line early in the second quarter.
It was the first time an opponent failed to score a touchdown in a goal-to-go situation in the past 32 opportunities against the Raiders.
That dated back to last season, but it didn’t come easy.
The Patriots had scored a touchdown two plays earlier only to have signaled for a timeout just before the snap to wipe out the play.
Mac Jones then jumped over the pile and across the goal line on a fourth-down play, but the Patriots moved early.
After moving 5 yards back, they settled for the field goal.
3. Welcome back
Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow didn’t put up huge numbers in their return to the lineup, but they made their presence felt.
Waller’s first catch went for a 25-yard touchdown down the middle of the field.
It was a reminder of what his role in the offense was expected to be with so much defensive attention focused on Davante Adams outside.
Instead, Waller struggled to find a rhythm early in the season after missing most of training camp and then went on injured reserve when a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 5 was slow to heal.
Waller’s touchdown Sunday was his second of the season. He finished with three catches for 48 yards on four targets.
Renfrow looked dangerous as a punt returner, though he officially went for just 20 yards on three attempts.
While he secured just one of three targets, he moved the chains on third down.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
