Jimmy G's Next-Play Mentality Was Strong Factor in Win
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been in the National Football League too long to not know the game is never over.
His ability to forget and focus on the next drive was what helped him will the Raiders to their season-opening 17-16 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.
With an opportunity to take the lead or tie the game after a missed field goal from Denver, Garoppolo threw a pass into the end zone that would be deflected and picked off, depleting the momentum Las Vegas had built up from a 13-play drive.
But the veteran would redeem himself with his second touchdown pass of the day to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and a late first-down conversion that ultimately sealed the victory.
"That's Jimmy," Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels told the media following the win. "Jimmy's got great mental toughness as a competitor. You have to have a short memory if you're going to play quarterback in this league and win games in the fourth quarter. There's just no other way around it. And so, we don't lose our poise on the sidelines as a coaching staff; we didn't as a group. He understood -- he was probably trying to make something there that maybe wasn't quite there and would love to take the three points and kind of tie the game at that point. But again, the game isn't over. Far from it. So, got to go back out the next time and take us down the field and put some points on the board again.
"And then I thought he was really good in that drive to try to close the game out with five and a half [minutes to go] or whatever it was, and we got it. So, just love his grit, love his toughness. Scramble for the first down and then make the smart play to slide in bounds. Just good situational play there. Some things to clean up like we talked about, but proud of the way he played."
The Silver and Black remain on the road next week as they travel to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Sept. 17, at 1:05 p.m. EDT/10:05 a.m. PDT.
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