Raiders report: Darren Waller acknowledges critics in return

Darren Waller’s touchdown celebration in his return Sunday for the Raiders doubled as a message to those who questioned his commitment during his time on injured reserve.

“The people that were like, ‘Where is he at?’ or ‘Why is he dropping music videos and doing all this other stuff?’ Waller said of who he was waving to while standing in the end zone after his second-quarter touchdown in a 30-24 dramatic victory over the Patriots at Allegiant Stadium.

Waller missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury and had been on injured reserve since suffering another hamstring injury during a Week 5 loss to the Chiefs. Critics noted his injury-plagued season came after he signed a lucrative contract extension before the season and questioned his commitment to returning to the field, especially because of some of his outside interests.

He hauled in three passes for 48 yards and his first touchdown since Week 2 and second of the season.

“It was a lot of fun,” Waller said. “It felt like a party. Having the guys come in and celebrate with you and have a good time, everybody telling you it’s good to have you back, it just feels like family.”

Waller was content with his performance, which included a pivotal grab on a late game-tying drive.

“I felt like I made the most of the opportunities I had and ran efficient routes,” he said. “The Patriots do a really good job of disguising, so reading the coverage was a bit of a challenge, and I feel I did pretty well with that for the most part.”

Quarterback Derek Carr was certainly glad to have one of his key weapons back.

“I think everyone likes seeing Darren run down the middle of the field again, with how tall he is, how fast he is, seeing him get in the end zone again,” Carr said. “It was good for Raider fans to see him back out there and see Hunter (Renfrow) out there.”

Renfrow, who also returned from a stint on injured reserve, had one catch for 14 yards on three targets.

What happened?

The Raiders could not have won in regulation without a couple of silly decisions by the Patriots on the final play.

There was plenty of blame to go around, starting with Centennial High School alumnus Rhamondre Stevenson, who gained 23 yards before inexplicably pitching the ball to Jakobi Meyers, who made the even more baffling decision to try to throw the ball across the field to Mac Jones and instead found Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones for a game-ending touchdown.

“The play call was just a draw play and nothing more, nothing less than that,” Stevenson said. “I’m supposed to know the situation. I’m supposed to know how much my time is on the clock in critical situations, and I failed to do that today. It is what it is.

“The play started off with me with the ball, so if I didn’t pitch it back to him, Jakobi wouldn’t have the chance to do that. So I take full responsibility for the play.”

Meyers, who said he knew the game was tied, wouldn’t let Stevenson shoulder all the blame.

“I was just trying to do too much and trying to be a hero, I guess,” he said. “I didn’t see the dude back there (when I was) throwing the ball. Like I said, I was just trying to do too much. I should have just (gone) down with the ball.

“(The plan was) just run the ball, go down, go to overtime. I got the ball, and I tried to make a play. I thought I saw Mac open.”

Still breathing

The playoff prediction simulator on Fivethirtyeight.com gives the Raiders a 5 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason after Sunday’s results.

They do not control their destiny.

Should they win their next three games and finish 9-8, they would have a 54 percent chance of everything else falling in place for them to get a berth.

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