Getty Jon Gruden & Mike Mayock of the Las Vegas Raiders.
To say the Las Vegas Raiders shocked the world on Sunday with their win versus the Kansas City Chiefs would be the understatement of the season. However, they pulled it off and have officially announced themselves as one of the better teams in the NFL. Pretty much nobody predicted the Raiders to win the game and the team made sure to keep receipts.
Shortly after the game, Las Vegas put a bunch of analysts on blast.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Nobody could really fault them for their predictions. The Chiefs have been the best team in the NFL and were undefeated on the year. Also, they’ve dominated the Raiders for close to a decade. Even the staunchest Raiders fans had to be nervous about this game. Regardless, hindsight is 20/20 and now everybody knows Las Vegas is for real.
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Raiders Send Message to the NFL
After a big win on Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints early in the season, the Raiders showed a lot of people that they could be a good team. Many soured on the silver and black after back-to-back losses to the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills.
Those were two strong teams and the Raiders were competitive in both games before they started making mistakes. Outside of an early interception by Derek Carr, the team played pretty mistake-free football and showed just how good they can be. It wasn’t just a win against the Chiefs, it was a win in Arrowhead, which is something the Raiders haven’t done in a long time. It’s clear that they still have work to do, especially on defense, but this is a big morale booster for a team that was just on a losing streak.
Jon Gruden Talks Going for It on 4th Down
Any doubt that Jon Gruden can still coach in the NFL should be completely evaporated after this win. He put together a perfect gameplan and actually took some shots down the field. It’s exactly what Raiders fans have been wanting to see.
Over the years, Gruden has been called out for being a little too conservative from time to time. His decision making was tested on the last drive of the game when the Raiders faced a fourth and short with just two minutes left. Instead of punting it, Gruden made the call to go for it and the team converted. The coach explained why he made the call.
“Not with 15 standing over there,” Gruden said after the win.
Patrick Mahomes had just shown on the previous drive that he could drive his field down for a quick score. There’s probably no quarterback in the NFL who is more dangerous. Gruden made the right call to go for it and it could be the reason why his team is leaving Kansas City for the win. Gruden deserves a lot of credit for this monumental win.
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