Raiders Season Ends in 26-19 Loss in Cincinnati
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The Las Vegas Raiders’ four-game winning streak and dreams of a playoff run came to a sudden end, but not without a fight.
Derek Carr’s fourth down pass intended for wide receiver Zay Jones was intercepted by linebacker Germain Pratt at the Cincinnati two-yard-line with 12 seconds left and the Bengals held on for a 26-19 victory in a Wild Card playoff game before 66,277 raucous fans at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
“We just ran out of time today,” said Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who had a 7-6 record after replacing Coach Jon Gruden, who resigned in the wake of an email controversy.
“We did some uncharacteristic things with some penalties and gave up some drives, and didn’t capitalize when we had it in the red zone at times. So, it just didn’t go our way today.”
The AFC North champion Bengals claimed their first playoff victory in 21 years, while the Raiders remained winless in the post-season since 2002, the last time they went to the Super Bowl.
“Some of them might not understand the significance of what happened today,” Bengals Coach Zac Taylor said of his players. “The city can finally enjoy this team and take the pressure off of the last 31 years. Today was significant for a lot of people.”
The temperature was only 31 degrees at the opening kickoff and it only got colder, but it didn’t cool down Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who completed 24-of-34 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while Evan McPherson added field goals of 31, 30, 43 and 28 yards.
“It was a great win for us, for the fans and the organization,” said Burrow, who led LSU to the 2019 CFP National Championship and claimed the Heisman Trophy. “We took care of business, but there isn’t going to be a big celebration like when we won the division. It’s on to the next round.
“(The offense) didn’t get it done on that last drive and had to settle for a field goal, but the defense really stepped up at the end.”
Carr, who has a history of dramatic drives at the end of games, got the Raiders into scoring position with a 23-yard pass to tight end Darren Waller to the Cincinnati 19-yard-line with 50 seconds left in the game and hit wide receiver Zay Jones for 10 yards to the nine.
However, Carr threw three incomplete passes in the end zone in the last 29 seconds before Pratt picked off his fourth down throw.
“I don’t think penalties helped on some of them,” Carr told reporters. “Talking about the red zone and all of that, everything is just frustrating right now. I didn’t expect it to go this way. I didn’t feel like it was going to go this way all during the game at any point.”
Even though the Raiders scored on the opening possession on the first of Daniel Carlson’s four field goals from 47 yards, the Silver and Black trailed most of the game. Carr kept them in the hunt by completing 29-of-54 passes for 310 yards with one touchdown, the interception and a fumble when he was sacked that led to a Bengals field goal.
After Carlson’s opening field goal, Burrow hit tight end C.J. Uzomah with a seven-yard touchdown pass in the quarter to put the Bengals ahead for good and McPherson kicked two field goals to give Cincinnati a 13-3 lead in the second quarter.
After Carlson kicked a 28-yard field goal, Burrow hit tight end Tyler Boyd with a controversial 10-yard touchdown pass with 1:51 left in the first half to make it 20-6. Burrow was headed out of bounds when he threw the ball and replays showed he was still inbounds, but an official blew his whistle while the ball was still in the air.
By rule, the play should have been nullified, but was not.
“They can’t have a touchdown on that play, by rule,” former NFL referee Terry McAulay said during the NBC telecast.
The NFL had no comment.
Unfazed, Carr led the Raiders 80 yards in 11 plays, hitting Jones with a 14-yard scoring pass with 13 seconds left in the half to slice the deficit to 20-13.
That was the last touchdown of the game, as Carlson, who has made 27 in a row, and McPherson each kicked two field goals in the second half, the last a 26-yarder by Carlson from 28 yards with 3:34 left.
That led to the frantic finish.
Wide receiver Hunter Renfro led the Raiders with eight receptions for 58 yards, Waller had seven for 76 and Jones had five for 61.
Josh Jacobs rushed for 64 yards on eight carries in the first half and finished with 13 for 83 as the Raiders passed more in the second half while trying to rally, and he also caught four passes for 44 yards.
Linebacker Denzel Perryman again led the Raiders with nine tackles, linebacker Divine Deablo had eight, defensive end Maxx Crosby made six and added a sack, while cornerback Desmond Trufont also had six stops.
The Raiders held Joe Mixon, who gashed them for 123 yards in the Bengals’ 32-13 victory earlier this season, to 48 yards on 17 carries.
Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley was forced to play mix-and-match much of the second half as Deablo, defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson and cornerback Brandon Facyson all left the game because of injuries and did not return.
The Raiders, plagued by penalties at times this season, also hurt themselves with seven penalties for 46 yards.
It all led to a heartbreaking end to the Silver and Black’s season.
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