Sunday afternoon’s contest once again delivered a drama-filled, back-and-forth game. Despite scoring 25 unanswered points, the Raiders needed overtime to knock off the Miami Dolphins 31-28.
“When you’re down 14-0 and then score 25 unanswered [points] in the NFL against a team like that, something is going right,” Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said. “But we have to finish better. There were some catastrophic plays today and we were lucky to overcome them.”
The Raiders played quite possibly their worst first quarter of the season so far. After exchanging punts on the first drive, the Raiders drove deep into Dolphin’s territory. However, due to a miscommunication between Derek Carr and Foster Moreau, Carr’s pass was intercepted by Eladon Roberts and returned 82-yards for a Dolphins touchdown.
On the ensuing Raiders drive, Gruden elected to go for it on fourth and one from their own 34-yard line. Peyton Barber was stopped short, giving the Dolphins prime field possession. Miami wasted little time moving the ball down the field. They capped off their short drive with a 24-yard scamper by Malcom Brown to give the Dolphins a 14-0 lead.
The Raiders finally got on the board at the tail end of the first quarter. After a punt backed the Dolphins up inside their own one yard-line, Casey Hayward Jr. made a clutch tackle on Jalen Waddle in the end zone for a safety. Daniel Carlson tacked on a field goal on the Raider’s next drive to cut the deficit to nine.
Just before halftime, the Raiders put together a 10-play, 95-yard drive that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Alec Ingold to make it 14-12.
Miami had a chance to extend the lead right before halftime, but the kick from Jason Sanders bounced of the right post.
The start to the second half was a night-and-day difference compared to the start of the first. The Raiders defense forced a three and out on Miami’s first drive of the half. The offense then proceeded to put together a 9 play, 72-yard drive capped off by a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow.
The Raiders scored early in the fourth quarter off a one-yard rush by Barber to take a 25-14 lead. Daniel Carlson’s missed extra point would later come back to bite them.
The Dolphins added a field goal on their next drive to cut the deficit to eight points. With time winding down in the fourth quarter, all the silver and black needed to do was score one more time to put the game on ice. Unfortunately, the offense stalled out. Their next drive resulted in a three and out and gave the Dolphins a chance to get back in the game.
Despite the defense stopping Jacoby Brissett on fourth and inches, the offense once again was unable to move the chains to ice the game. They were forced into another three and out, giving the ball back to Miami with just over three minutes to play in the game.
The Dolphins converted on two fourth downs on that drive to find the end zone with just two seconds left in the game. They converted on the two-point conversion as well, sending the game to overtime.
Thanks to some clutch throws by Derek Carr, the Raiders were able to score a field goal in overtime to put all the pressure on Miami to equalize.
The start to the Dolphins first drive of overtime was nothing short of disastrous. Thanks to a holding call and three incompletions, they were backed up to fourth and 20. Jacoby Brissett, however, came up with a clutch 27-yard pass to Mike Gesicki to move the chains. Seven plays later, the Raider defense finally came up with a stop to force a field goal from the Dolphins.
With the game tied at 28, and time winding down, Derek Carr drove the team into field goal range. Along with some help from Barber, they set up Carlson for a 22-yard field goal to win the game.
Carr finished the game with 386 yards passing. He became just the fourth quarterback to throw for 1200 yards in a team’s first three games.
New addition Peyton Barber also had a monster day. He carried the ball 23 times and rushed for 111 yards – the first running back for the Raiders to reach the 100-yard mark in a game this season. He also came up with two crucial runs in overtime to set up the game winning field goal.
“I’m so proud of him,” Carr said. “Coming in here, working his tail off. He is fighting to learn everything, which is darn near impossible.”
Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards played major roles in the Raider’s offensive success today as well. Ruggs had one of his best overall games as a Raider. He caught four passes for 78 yards on the day. Not gaudy numbers, but all four of Ruggs’ catches came at crucial times against one of the best cover corners in the league in Xavien Howard. None of them were easy as well. This game helped show that Ruggs is more than just a deep-ball threat and can be a consistent weapon for Carr.
Edwards finished the game with three catches for 89 yards. Two of those three came at crucial moments of the overtime period. Similar to the game against the Baltimore Ravens, Edwards came alive in crucial situations in overtime to help get his team into scoring position.
“Both those guys had good days against one of the better secondaries in pro football,” Gruden said. “The fun thing for me is I see these guys coming alive. I see a different look in their eyes.”
The Raiders now move to 3-0 on the season – a mark they have not reached since the 2002 season when last went to the Superbowl. Their next game is next Monday night, Oct. 4, where they face off against the San Diego Chargers.
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