Isaiah Johnson secures Raiders’ win days after death of friend

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Raiders cornerback Isaiah Johnson’s mood went from jubilant to somber as he took a moment to reflect on an emotional week.

Days after one of his close friends and former teammates was killed in a shooting in Houston, Johnson was thrust into a prominent role Sunday and made two game-saving plays in a 31-26 win over the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

Johnson broke up fade passes to Mike Williams and Donald Parham Jr. in the closing seconds as the Raiders won for the third time in four games to improve to 5-3.

The effort came after Johnson learned that Ka’Darian Smith, his close friend and former University of Houston teammate, was killed Wednesday in a shooting inside his apartment.

“I didn’t tell a whole bunch of people about it because I knew we still had to prepare and try to win a game, and I didn’t want to be a distraction,” Johnson said. “I feel like that play, that game, not to make it about myself whatsoever, but I feel that moment was for him, just because I know he would be with me in a situation like that.”

Big plays have been rare for Johnson, a 2019 fourth-round pick who has spent far more time on the scout team preparing the Raiders’ offense than he has contributing defensively.

Johnson, who has size and length at 6 feet 2 inches and 210 pounds, had played 14 defensive snaps in the past six games, including none last week at Cleveland, as he has taken on more of a special teams’ role on game days.

That wasn’t the case Sunday, as an already short-handed secondary lost starting cornerback Trayvon Mullen during the game. The performance earned Johnson a game ball, coach Jon Gruden said.

“I thought he got baptized today in the NFL,” Gruden said. “Mullen comes out, (Damon Arnette) is on the sideline, Keisean Nixon hurt his groin. We needed someone to step up. Thank goodness for Isaiah Johnson and his length.”

With six seconds left and the Chargers facing a second-and-goal from the 4, Johnson dislodged the ball from the 6-foot-4-inch Williams in the corner of the end zone. He thought he had sealed the victory.

“When Mike Williams came to line up against me on second down, I was like, ‘OK, he already beat me on a fade once, so I would think they’d try to go to him again,’” Johnson said. “Initially, I think he may have caught the ball, but I felt like fighting through to the ground would make the difference. I felt the ball pull through, and I knew it was OK. But I thought it was the last play of the game. I didn’t know there’d be one second left.”

There was, and this time Johnson was isolated against the 6-foot-8-inch Parham.

“I knew I had to make this play or it would be the game,” Johnson said.. “I just did whatever I could to make the play for the team. He’s so tall that I couldn’t get my hands on the ball when he initially caught it, but coming down I knew if I could rake it out we could possibly win the game.”

The Raiders weren’t ensured of victory for several minutes. Officials ruled the play a touchdown, but the call was overturned after a lengthy review.

“I felt it come out,” Johnson said. “I pulled the ball out of his hands. I didn’t know if they’d review it or not because I didn’t know if we could throw a challenge flag or not.”

Once the review process began, which can only be initiated by the officials in the final two minutes,Johnson insists he knew the outcome. He just had to wait for the announcement to celebrate, an outburst that felt even more special after an emotional week.

He sprinted across the field with his arm raised skyward, then took a knee in reflection. Quarterback Derek Carr said it was a special moment for the entire team.

“As a team we just kind of wrapped our arms around him, and I think that’s the story,” Carr said. “The week he went through personally and then to be the guy to knock the ball out at the end for us, I hope someone gives him a lot of credit for what he went through this week and what he was able to do.”

Johnson’s size and hands helped him make the key plays, but his understanding of what the Chargers were trying to do put him in the right position.

He knew the Chargers were going to get two plays, at most, from the 4-yard line with six seconds left, and he knew he would be the target because of his lack of experience.

“Knowing I haven’t had the opportunity to put that many snaps on film and they haven’t really seen me, then you’ve got Mike Williams and then their biggest tight end line up on me, absolutely I knew in the red zone that’s what was coming,” Johnson said.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.