Raiders, Chiefs postgame notes: Big plays by Henry Ruggs III, Derek Carr lift Las Vegas
Henry Ruggs III returned with a vengeance for the Las Vegas Raiders. And he did it with just two catches.
His quarterback wasn’t half bad, either.
After missing the past two games because of a knee/hamstring injury, Ruggs enjoyed the best of it Sunday when he finished with two receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, helping the Raiders to a 40-32 upset victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium — the franchise’s first win in Kansas City since 2012.
“I’ve been telling the guys, it’s been too long,” Ruggs said about missing games. “I’m not a guy that sits out and I don’t like to sit out. Just being on the sideline and not able to do much. I told them I had to be back so we can do what we did today.”
The rookie’s first NFL career touchdown came late in the second quarter when he hauled in a 72-yard pass from Derek Carr for a 24-21 lead. Ruggs tied Fred Biletnikoff for 13th most receiving yards (118) by a rookie in a single game in franchise history.
He had plenty of trust in Carr, who completed 22 of 31 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns and an interception.
“I saw the look when we came out to the formation,” Ruggs said. “I knew it was the perfect play call and pretty much used my God given ability to just run. He was telling me just whenever we have something like that just run and I just trusted him to throw it up. That’s what we did. The ball was in the air and I was thinking how to attack it and how to stay away from the defender. Pretty much just make the play and once it came down to me, I knew I can run away from (the defender).”
He then celebrated à la Deion Sanders and looked up to the sky and signaled with three fingers — “3’s up” — in memory of his best friend Rod Scott, who died in 2016 after a rollover crash.
Ruggs continues to keep his friend’s memory alive — including during his milestone touchdown grab.
“Getting into the end zone, everything ... I do is for Rod,” Ruggs said. “That’s always a big thing for me and that’s always going to be a part of me forever.”
Carr’s big game
Carr had experienced some nightmares in his past six appearances at Arrowhead Stadium.
Not this time. Not even as a 10-point underdog.
The former Fresno State star did plenty in helping the Raiders win, even beyond the 72-yard touchdown pass to Ruggs. He also posted his 20th career game with three touchdown passes, tying Hall of Famer Ken Stabler for the franchise record.
He completed 11 of 13 for 246 yards, and all three touchdowns, in the first half.
Carr is the first Raider with 300 passing yards against the Chiefs since Rich Gannon in 2002.
He again posted a passer rating of at least 100.0 (actually 126.7), extending his personal best in that category to five consecutive games.
Carr ranks fourth in the NFL with a rating of 115.9; he has 11 touchdown passes to one interception through the first five games of the 2020 NFL season.
“I know everyone talks about the history and all of that stuff,” Carr said. “George Atkinson talked about it to the team yesterday in a team meeting. We have to make it a rivalry, and we have to win games like this to make it like that.”
Jacobs gets advice from Marcus Allen
Raiders running back Josh Jacobs recorded his fifth multi-rushing touchdown game of his career, scoring twice while tying Marcus Allen and Clem Daniels for the most by a Raider through a player’s first 18 career games.
It is no coincidence Jacobs — fully extended on his second touchdown, just like Allen did throughout his career — has sought advice from the Hall of Fame running back.
“I’ve been talking to Marcus like once a week,” he said. “We get on the phone or I text him for pointers on what I can do better. I’m just happy to have a great mentor like him to take me under his wing and coaching points. It’s huge to me.”
Allen made a habit of scoring in goal-line situations. That is what Jacobs wants to show he can bring to the game as well.
“I asked him how do I mimic things,” he said. “He gives me pointers, but not only that, just being a leader. He told me if something is not right, don’t be afraid to speak up. Just teach me how to be a pro and how to take that next step.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2020 at 5:15 PM.
