Garoppolo, Raiders Offense: Just Won Baby

For the Las Vegas Raiders, a win is a win, and that's all that matters as they took down the Denver Broncos, 17-16, for the seventh straight time.

In his first game with the Las Vegas Raiders and his first game since December of last year, Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 200 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. 

While it was not quite a perfect performance, Garoppolo was still grateful for the win. 

“I’m really proud; I thought a lot of guys stepped up today," Garoppolo said. "It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't perfect by any means, but it’s a divisional game. We know it's going to be tough, and the guys just stuck with it for 60 minutes. We knew it was going to be one of those games."

The quarterback's cool, calm, and collected influence was just what Las Vegas needed to win such a close game. Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels shared that Garoppolo is a winner whose leadership is undeniable.  

“He’s a good leader; he’s won a lot of games in this league," McDaniels said. "The guys in the locker room know who they have and what this guy can do -- how competitive he is. He’s a very good leader -- a great communicator.

"He does what it takes to win. He doesn’t care about his statistics or anything like that. Just: ‘Whatever I have to do in my position to try to help the team win, I’m going to try and do it’. Again, I'm super happy that he’s a Raider.”

Garoppolo not only led a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter while down six, but he and the offense also made sure to end the game with a commanding final possession to run out the clock.

It might have taken some time, but the Raiders' defense gave up only three points the second half. That gave Garoppolo and the offense enough time to figure out the Broncos' defense and drive down the field for a go-ahead touchdown. 

“It was awesome, just everything came together," Garoppolo said. "I thought guys really stepped up in those big moments today. [WR] Jakobi [Meyers] making a huge first down for us, getting the penalty, the O-line blocked great today. It was all of those little things coming together.”

It isn't often that an offseason move can have as much of an immediate impact as Garoppolo has had and could potentially have. The Raiders felt like they upgraded at quarterback. So far, it looks like that is the case.

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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