Paul GutierrezESPN Staff Writer September 25, 2023, 2:00 AM ET4 minutes read
Jimmy Garoppolo threw the ball for the third time and ended the game
Jimmy Garoppolo throws his third interception of the game as the Steelers cruise to a victory in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – Eight points behind and in fourth and fourth place With 2:25 left to play at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 8-yard line, Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels sent his field goal team onto the field.
Less than a minute earlier, Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson had converted a 48-yard throw, but it was nullified by a Steelers penalty, bringing the Raiders closer to the end zone.
“You have two options,” McDaniels said after the Raiders lost 23-18 to the Steelers on Sunday night. “You try to make it a five-point game [with the field goal], where you have the opportunity to win with the touchdown if you get the ball back. Or you can try it there. And then when you convert, you have to do the two-point conversion.”
Accordingly ESPN analysisthe Raiders would have had a 15.8% chance of winning, compared to 10.2% if they had kicked the field goal.
With three timeouts remaining and the 2-minute warning, McDaniels trusted his defense to get the ball back in time to score a game-winning goal.
Instead, the Steelers started at their own 25-yard line, got a first down, and by the time Las Vegas got the ball back there were just 12 seconds on the clock, all the Raiders’ timeouts had been burned, and they were on their own 15-yard line. Line.
An interception by Jimmy Garoppolo – his third of the game – on a long-range pass to Davante Adams on the left sideline ended the game.
When asked if not trying was a sign of a lack of confidence in the offense, McDaniels shook his head.
“You’re going to need another possession anyway, you know what I mean?” he said. “So it’s not a lack of confidence.”
Then how close was McDaniels to finishing fourth and fourth?
“I don’t know, I mean, we scored one earlier in that sequence … and then we were lucky enough to get a penalty on that field goal and then we got down there,” McDaniels said. “I mean, it is what it is. Like I said, you can go either way with it and I was confident that we played well enough defensively and with two minutes left maybe we would have a chance to win the ball back and have the opportunity to go there and to take the lead.
Garoppolo did not comment on the decision as he was not made available to the media after the game. A team spokesman said the quarterback was being evaluated for a concussion. It was not clear when Garoppolo was injured, as he was not diagnosed with a concussion during the game and played the entire game, although he took several hard hits and was sacked four times. He finished the game completing 28 of 44 passes for 324 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
And while running back Josh Jacobs said he supported the decision to kick the field goal, Adams only said he didn’t want to be seen as questioning anyone.
“I agree with what Coach did,” said Jacobs, who rushed for a season-high 62 yards on 17 carries. “At the end of the game the defense started playing well. We could have gotten the ball back in time and scored a goal.”
Adams, who had 13 catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns, said: “I don’t like getting into it. This doesn’t look good to me. I’m a receiver.”