Las Vegas Raiders analysis vs. Miami Dolphins: Ugly start, but another win in Week 3
It wasn’t pretty for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Then again, nothing has been for the storied franchise in recent seasons.
In the end, the Raiders pulled out a 31-28 win over the Miami Dolphins to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2002 when the team advanced to the Super Bowl.
Not to guarantee that is where the Raiders are headed, but Sunday’s win helped their cause by extending their quick start to the 2021 NFL season.
“It was tough,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “We gave up fourth-and-20 and we missed an extra point. We make things awfully difficult sometimes, but it was a good team win.”
The Raiders had many chances to put the game out of reach after gifting the Dolphins early points when Foster Moreau stopped a route that led to a pick-6. The Raiders went for it on fourth down in their own territory and were stopped.
That turnover on downs led to a second Dolphins touchdown as the Raiders fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter.
Then the Raiders responded, led by a safety converted by cornerback Casey Hayward Jr.
The Raiders went on to score 25 unanswered points before the Dolphins got a late touchdown in the fourth quarter and converted on a two-point conversion, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime again, in Las Vegas
The Raiders won the coin toss and were trying to repeat what they did against the Baltimore Ravens in the season opener.
But Derek Carr and the Raiders couldn’t find the end zone as they did in the Ravens game and ended up settling for a Carlson field goal and a 28-25 lead.
The Dolphins marched downfield before settling for their own field goal.
Carr and Co. then took over, thanks to the Raiders’ defensive stand in holding them to three points.
Carr connected with Bryan Edwards for a 34-yard gain to the Miami 46-yard line and Peyton Barber had a 27-yard run to the Dolphins 19.
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Carlson finally came on and kicked the game-winning field goal from 22 yards out.
“We have a good football team,” Carr said. “We have yet to play great on all three phases all together. We haven’t played our best football. Just keep the process going and trying to do whatever it takes to play as long as it takes to win the football game. We’ve been able to win three of them and that’s a good start.”
Down early, defense sparks team
The Raiders, in digging that early 14-0 hole, were in a familiar place.
Las Vegas opened the season trailing the Ravens 14-0.
But the defense dug deep and finally were sparked by Hayward Jr.’s safety.
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Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow liked what he saw.
“It’s something that we’re excited about this year and we had defenses last year and the year before that we didn’t know if they’re going to go out there and stop them to be honest,” he said.
“It’s just awesome to be apart of this group and it’s some much fun to watch that d-line work. Seem like Yannick (Ngakoue) was jumping the snap count every time. Just explosive off the ball and Maxx (Crosby) and all those guys. They are great leaders and they care and they’re a special group.”
Final analysis
The Raiders are 3-0.
It’s been a while since that happened.
But this also was a must-win for the Raiders and though it didn’t look good in the early going, the defense has stepped up in the early going.
Defensive stands have been missing for the Raiders for what seems like an eternity.
Carr and the offense could have used several stands in seasons’ past, but with new Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley in the fold, the results have changed in this young season.
That needs to continue if Las Vegas wants to make believers out of the NFL experts, but going 3-0 could go a long way to enhancing the Raiders’ argument.
This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 6:57 PM.
