Raiders Down the Patriots in Miracle Finish 30-24
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Las Vegas Raiders couldn’t hold a double-digit halftime lead. However, this time they won with something of a miracle.
Defensive end Chandler Jones picked off a lateral and returned it 48 yards to a touchdown with no time left on the clock to give the Raiders an incredible 30-24 victory over the New England Patriots in a game that seemed headed for overtime on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The Raiders (6-8) kept their slim playoff hopes alive as first-year Coach Josh McDaniels went to 2-0 against his mentor, Bill Belichick of the Patriots (7-7), beating perhaps the best coach in NFL history again after doing in 2009 as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
With the Patriots trying to get into position for a game-winning score in the final seconds, Rhamondre Stevenson ran 23 yards to the Las Vegas 32-yard line. Still, the clock was at zero; he returned the ball to Jacoby Meyers.
Myers also tossed it backward, but former Patriot Jones was there for the steal, and after breaking one attempted tackle, he raced untouched the rest of the way to the end zone for the third touchdown of his career.
“It was crazy,” two-time All-Pro Jones said on the field afterward. “It was like something out of the Madden (video) Game. “I just saw the ball and took it, and there was nothing that was going to stop me.
“It was another close game and we just got together on the sideline and said we had to find a way to win, and we did. Now we’ve just got to keep it going.”
Stephenson, a native of Las Vegas who rushed for 172 yards on 19 carries, ran 34 yards for a touchdown with 3:43 left in the game to give the Patriots a 24-17 lead and the Raiders seemed finished after having to punt on their previous five possessions.
However, quarterback Derek Carr hit wide receiver Mack Hollins with a desperation 12-yard pass on fourth down. He later hit the tight end, Darren Waller, with a 20-yarder before wide receiver Keelan Cole made a brilliant catch of a 30-yard touchdown pass from Carr and the Raiders tied the score, 24-24, with 32 seconds remaining.
That 81-yard scoring drive came out of nowhere, as the Raiders had only 51 yards in the second half after gaining 186 in the first two quarters. Josh Jacobs rushed for 70 of his 93 yards in the first two quarters, missing the century mark for the second straight game after having three in a row over 100, but he still leads the NFL with 1,495 this season.
Carr finished with 20 completions in 38 attempts for 231 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Waller with a 25-yard scoring pass and Hollins on a five-yarder to lead the Raiders to a 17-3 halftime lead.
However, early in the third quarter, Carr threw an ill-advised pass that linebacker Kyle Dugger intercepted and returned 13 yards for a touchdown to make it 17-10 and start the Patriots on their comeback.
Quarterback Mac Jones, who McDaniels coached in his final season as Patriots’ offensive coordinator last season, led New England on scoring drives that resulted in field goals of 47 and 54 yards by Nick Folk to make it 17-16.
It stayed that way until the crazy final minutes when Stephenson’s touchdown run put New England ahead for the first time, and Jones added a two-point conversion pass to Meyers to make it 24-17.
Jones completed only 13-of-31 passes for 113 yards without a touchdown or an interception but seemed to have engineered a victory over the Raiders until Jones made his miracle play.
The Raiders will be back on the road next Saturday, Christmas Eve, to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, where they will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the infamous (in the eyes of Raider Nation) “Immaculate Reception.” The Silver and Black will return home to Allegiant Stadium for their last two games of the regular season schedule against the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 1 and the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 8.
That game against the Steelers kicks off at 8:15 PM ET/5:15 PM PT and can be seen on NFLN.
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