The Las Vegas Raiders faced another heartbreaking loss, this time at the hands of the Miami Dolphins. They blew a late lead with 19 seconds left to fall 26-25 and are now officially eliminated from the playoffs with a collapse reminiscent of 2019.
The Raiders’ offense moved the football but struggled in the red zone and on third down. They kicked four field goals on five of their red-zone trips and were a abysmal 0-10 on third down. However, the Raiders still average 6.85 yards per play and put up 25 points against a team that allows 18 on average. The red zone play calling should be questioned as well as the end of the game decision.
The Raiders’ defense came out strong holding Tua Tagovilova to his worst game of the season. The Dolphins struggled to move the football and get passes downfield while the young quarterback was in the game. The Dolphins decided to flip the script and brought in Ryan Fitzpatrick, who created his patented Fitzmagic and led the Dolphins to three straight scoring drives. His best play was at the end of the game when the Raiders blew an ugly coverage leading to the game-winning field goal.
Who were the winners and losers from Week 16? Let us take a look.
Winner: TE Darren Waller
Here we are again, and Darren Waller makes the winners list, adding on to his resume on the season. He solidifies himself as an elite tight end in this league and continues to ball week after week.
Waller finished the game with seven targets for five catches and 112 yards. He has become a serious deep ball threat the past few weeks, with quarterbacks able to throw the ball up and have him make plays. Contested catches was an area he struggled with before but now seems to be part of his repertoire in the future, which will be huge for the Raiders’ future.
The story of Waller’s rise to fame from his previous struggles makes this such a success story. One thing for sure he has definitely outplayed his deal, and the Raiders might want to look at extending him even further to lock him in for good.
Winner: WR Nelson Agholor
The passing offense two main plays are Waller and now Nelson Agholor. Agholor continues his career season with a stellar performance against the Dolphins and becoming a player Carr can lean on in clutch situations.
Agholor finished the game with five receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown. His biggest play of the game came on a late scramble by Carr, where he found Agholor deep down the field. He was able to make a tough catch and add yards after the catch for a huge touchdown. He has made these types of catches all year and emerged as the number one receiver on this team.
The Raiders have to find a way to bring him back, especially with his production since his snaps and targets have increased. He’s having a full workload as the number one receiver might come back to haunt them, but he has it earned with his play on the field.
Loser: LB Raekwon McMillian
The Raiders were missing two of their primary linebackers going into this game and needed to look to their depth for help in that area. They Looked to Raekwon Mcmillian, who was making his first start for the Raiders against his former team in the Dolphins. It was not the performance he had hoped for in his revenge game.
Mcmillian had two huge missed tackles in this game that led to points. The first one was on a fake punt where he played it perfectly and met the ball carrier in the hole, but the player spun off, which led to a huge gain on the punt return. The next one was ugly, with him missing a tackle on Myles Gaskin that led to a 59-yard touchdown and the Dolphins taking the lead.
Also, he gave a huge play playing Tampa 2 in coverage against Mike Gesicki. Mcmillan is usually good playing run defense, but he will always be a liability in coverage. He is definitely a player the Raiders should not bring back.
Loser: CB Damon Arnette
The Raiders took a chance in the draft by selecting Damon Arnette in the first round after a lackluster combine from the young corner. His struggles continued this season and showed their head against the Dolphins and him allowing the massive play to end the game.
Arnette did not have a good game in coverage, with all six of his targets leading to the reception. His tackling was herald as one of the reasons he was taken that high but missed three tackles according to PFF on Saturday, giving him a total of 12 on the season. Of course, his biggest mistake was not getting deep in his cover 2 responsibilities leading to the field goal that helped seal the Dolphins’ win.
This draft pick will be scrutinized for awhile if Arnette doesn’t pan out. He has struggled all season but has displayed small flashes that display he can be a good player at this level. Corners do take time to develop, but fans still want to see more from their first-round pick.
Loser: HC Jon Gruden
Gruden continues to have late-season collapses, and his ugly record in December continues to grow. It all came to a head with his decision to go for a field goal instead of scoring a touchdown late in the game. The conservative play call wasn’t terrible, but it was a microcosm of everything of Gruden’s tenure so far.
The decision will be discussed for a while, but technically, it was smart from an analytical perspective. The Raiders had a win probability was 99 percent at that point, and it seemed they had the victory locked in. But the approach is just something Gruden has in him altogether, and in today’s NFL, it is hard to win that way.
The collapse still has to be on him as the coach. You can’t two years in a row where these types of things happen. These areas are starting to become apart of Gruden’s legacy as a head coach, and he has to get them fixed fast.
