Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) leaves the field after a loss to the Indianapolis Colts, 20-25, during an NFL football game at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022.
Published Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Updated Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022 | 4:08 p.m.
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The Las Vegas Raiders hit a new low Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium.
The team fell to 2-7 on the year with a 25-20 loss to the Colts that, like so many games all season, came down to the final minute. And like all the other games that came down to the final minute, the Raiders couldn’t make the decisive play.
Former Defensive Player of the Year cornerback Stephon Gilmore knocked a pass intended for Raiders receiver Davante Adams away in the corner of the end zone to secure victory for the Colts. Indianapolis then kneeled out the remaining clock after the stop on the 4th-and-7 play from the 16-yard line.
The underdog Colts, led by first-time interim coach Jeff Saturday, led most of the day but the Raiders came on in the second half largely behind Adams and running back Josh Jacobs. The latter gave them a 14-13 lead in the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run, but the Colts scored less than a minute later when running back Jonathan Taylor broke loose for a 147-yard touchdown.
Jacobs played well with 106 combined rushing and receiving yards on the day but was outdone by Taylor, who finished with 147 rushing yards on 22 carries.
Adams, who had nine catches for 126 yards, struck back for the Raiders with a 48-yard touchdown reception where he eluded defenders on a short pass but the home team wouldn’t score again. What turned out to be Indianapolis’ game-winning drive came midway through the fourth quarter where it found the end zone on only five plays and gained 82 yards.
Veteran Matt Ryan, who somewhat surprisingly started at quarterback after having lost his job earlier in the year, keyed the drive with a 39-yard scramble followed by a 35-yard touchdown pass to Parris Campbell.
Ryan completed 21 of 28 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown in his return, while Raiders counterpart Derek Carr went 24-for-38 for 248 yards and two touchdowns.
Las Vegas will be on the road the next two weeks, at Denver and then at Seattle.
This is a developing story. Check back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage and read below for live updates from throughout the game.
The Raiders have been trying to force big plays to Davante Adams all day, and finally got one that came rather naturally.
Adams took a short pass from Derek Carr over the middle 48 yards for a touchdown to put the Raiders back ahead of the Colts 20-19 with 11:36 remaining. The two-point conversion missed, putting more pressure on the Raiders’ defense to hold the Colts out of field goal range with 11:36 remaining in the game.
Adams has six catches for 92 yards and the touchdown while quarterback Derek Carr has settled in as the game wears on for 184 yards on 17-for-25 passing.
Raiders cough up lead quickly
The Raiders’ lead lasted 50 seconds.
On the second play of the Colts’ drive after a Josh Jacobs touchdown late in the third quarter, Jonathan Taylor took off through a huge hole and couldn’t be caught for a 66-yard touchdown run. A two-point conversion pass attempt from Matt Ryan fell incomplete, but the Colts are back ahead 19-14.
Las Vegas has played better over the last quarter or so, but nothing has come easily as Taylor’s touchdown just did for Indianapolis all day.
Raiders take first lead
The Raiders are rolling now.
Las Vegas has its first lead of the day, 14-13 over the Colts at Allegiant Stadium with 1:51 left to play in the third quarter. Josh Jacobs scored on a 1-yard touchdown to tie the score before Daniel Carlson booted through the extra point.
Las Vegas went 67 yards on 12 plays over 7:11 of playing time on the scoring drive.
Raiders trail at halftime
The Colts are up 13-7 on the Raiders at halftime at Allegiant Stadium.
The first half concluded with Indianapolis kicker Chase McLaughlin legging through a 48-yard field goal after the Colts went 40 yards in seven plays over 58 seconds to get into his range. Colts running back Johnathan Taylor gashed the Raiders’ defense on a couple of attempts near the half and sits with 54 yards on 13 carries in the first half. Matt Ryan, promoted back to the starting quarterback role, threw for 147 yards while completing 14 of 18 passes.
Raiders answer off turnover
Foster Moreau scored his first touchdown of the season as the Raiders cut the Colts’ lead to 10-7 with a minute to go before halftime.
Las Vegas was at risk of going down three scores to Indianapolis about six minutes earlier, but Amik Robertson made a play that may have changed the course of the game. Robertson punched the ball out of receiver Keke Coutee’s hands, and Jayon Brown recovered to give the Raiders the ball back at their own 20-yard line.
They went 80 yards from there — 89 if you include penalty yards that backed them up — with running back Josh Jacobs powering the scoring drive. Quarterback Derek Carr was out of sync for some of the possession, but came up when the Raiders needed him with the touchdown pass to Moreau.
Foster Moreau scored his first touchdown of the season as the Raiders cut the Colts’ lead to 10-7 with a minute to go before halftime.
Las Vegas was at risk of going down three scores to Indianapolis about six minutes earlier, but Amik Robertson made a play that may have changed the course of the game. Robertson punched the ball out of receiver Keke Coutee’s hands, and Jayon Brown recovered to give the Raiders the ball back at their own 20-yard line.
They went 80 yards from there — 89 if you include penalty yards that backed them up — with running back Josh Jacobs powering the scoring drive. Quarterback Derek Carr has been out of sync for most of the game, but came up when the Raiders needed him with the touchdown pass to Moreau.
Colts score first
There’s already a sense of “here we go again” with the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Indianapolis leads Las Vegas 7-0 in the first quarter after Matt Ryan snuck in a one-yard score. The Colts were lined up to go for it on 4th-and-1 from just outside the 1-yard line, but the Raiders had too many men on the field and gave the visitors a first down. The Raiders have also picked up a pair of penalties on offense, where they have one yard on six plays.
This looked like a spot for the Raiders to leave behind their struggles and get back on the winning path, but so far, they’ve only exacerbated them.
Inactives announced
The Raiders’ defense will be without one of its leaders and several other players who have received consistent playing recently in today’s game against the Colts.
Linebacker Denzel Perryman, defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr., defensive tackle Matthew Butler and defensive end Clelin Ferrell are all inactive, the team just announced. Perryman is the most notable absence, but also perhaps the least surprising.
He missed the first practice of the week and was limited in the two others with rib and hip injuries. Ferrell has only been inactive in one other game this season, and played both in the interior and defensive end the last two weeks against the Jaguars and Saints.
Farrell and Butler were also both in the rotation the last two weeks, where it seemed the pair of rookies would remain for the rest of the year with coach Josh McDaniels stressing the importance of evaluating young talent. But that won’t be the case today with veteran Kendal Vickers, who was inactive last week, the only man left to back up Bilal Nichols and Andrew Billings.
Training-camp sensation Tashawn Bower will get his first action since Week 3 with Ferrell sidelined.
WEEK 10
Colts at Raiders
1:05 p.m., Allegiant Stadium
KLAS Channel 8, CBS
Raider Nation Radio 920 AM, KOMP 92.3
Betting line: Raiders -6, over/under 42
PREGAME
Inter-divisional opponents Las Vegas and Indianapolis meet for the fifth consecutive season in what this year feels like the Disarray Bowl.
There might be worse teams in the NFL than the Colts and Raiders on paper, but none are currently dealing with as much drama caused by falling so far short of preseason expectations. The Raiders were tabbed to improve on last year’s playoff appearance after upgrading their roster but have instead made a postseason berth next to impossible with three blown 17-0 leads and five losses of a touchdown or less.
Top receiver Davante Adams was critical of coach Josh McDaniels’ playcalling after the latest defeat, a 27-20 loss in Jacksonville. That’s led to increased calls for McDaniels’ job, though he should be safe for now.
The Colts, on the other hand, fired their fifth-year coach, Frank Reich, this week after a 26-3 loss to the Patriots. They drew criticism by replacing him with former All Pro center Jeff Saturday, who’s never coached above the high school level, on an interim basis.
Favorable matchup: Raiders’ edge rusher Maxx Crosby vs. Colts’ offensive line
The collapse of the once-feared Colts’ offensive line might be the single biggest reason for their struggles. They gave up an NFL season-high, single-game nine sacks against the Patriots to drop to the 31st ranked unit in the league by Pro Football Focus’ metrics — ahead of only the injury-ravaged Rams’ front. Indianapolis’ run blocking hasn’t been any better than its pass protection, also sitting 31st ahead of the Rams in adjusted line yards. Enter Crosby, who’s continued to be a menace despite getting double-, and occasionally even triple-teamed, as the Raiders’ only consistent difference-maker on defense. Crosby is tied for the league lead with 13 tackles for loss and rated as the NFL’s best run defender by Pro Football Focus. That strength will be needed this week with the Colts expected to get back running back Jonathan Taylor, last year’s NFL rushing-yards leader, from an ankle injury. Crosby has gone three straight games without a sack, but given the Colts’ problems up front, this also feels like a game where that dry spell will end.
Problematic matchup: Colts’ uncertain offensive game plan vs. Raiders’ preparation
One of Saturday’s first acts of business was promoting assistant quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier to interim offensive coordinator. Frazier has never called plays at any level of football, which makes him a complete unknown for the Raiders in terms of preparation. McDaniels covered his eyes when asked how the team will try to get insight and anticipate Frazier’s tendencies. “For us to sit here and spend a lot of time and energy guessing on how they will or won't call the offense this week, I think we would just be wasting our time because we really don't know,” McDaniels said. Instead, the Raiders will emphasize playing strong fundamentally on defense, something that’s eluded them in recent weeks. Coverage breakdowns specifically have haunted Las Vegas as it’s regularly been out of position in the passing game. With the Colts starting struggling second-year quarterback Sam Ehlinger for the third time, the Raiders should have a personnel edge but it could be neutralized if Frazier plots unforeseen ways to attack them.
Gamebreaker: Wide receiver Davante Adams
It’s not a bold choice, but at this point, it might be the only choice. Adams isn’t going full Keyshawn Johnson and demanding, “just give me the damn ball,” but his message isn’t all that different. Adams is unhappy with the Raiders’ struggles and feels like he could have helped prevent them if given more chances. Adams had a season-high nine receptions for 146 yards in last week’s 27-20 loss at the Jaguars, but all the production aside from one catch came in the first half. In a 24-0 loss to the Saints the week before, Adams had two touches for three yards. He’s been constantly double-teamed but said if that’s stopping McDaniels from trying to manufacture looks for him then he’s “got no business” playing for the Raiders. Adams is the centerpiece of the Raiders’ hopes going forward after signing a five-year, $141 million contract this offseason so McDaniels will want to keep him happy. He also may have no other choice but to call plays for him after the Raiders added both tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow (hamstring and ribs) to injured reserve this week.
Big Number: 142
That’s the number of tackles lost from the Raiders’ defense this week after the exit of three starters. Linebacker Divine Deablo was added to injured reserve with a forearm injury, safety Johnathan Abram was released and linebacker Blake Martinez retired from football. The veteran Martinez led the team with 11 tackles last week against the Jaguars before announcing his retirement on Instagram four days after the game. Deablo and Abrams are the Raiders’ leading tacklers on the year with 74 and 48, respectively. But the Raiders’ defense has regressed rapidly and fallen to last place in the league by Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings. They’re desperate to turn it around, but to do so, McDaniels said they will be looking towards younger players and evaluating them for the future. That could include rookie safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (whom McDaniels mentioned by name), rookie linebacker Luke Masterson and newest signee cornerback Sidney Jones, who was cut by the Seahawks last week.
THEY SAID IT
“They’ll see how I feel when we play them. We go to their house. They’ll see why they (expletive) up…They’re going to have to pay. They’ll pay.”
—Edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue in an interview with golongtd.com this offseason after the Raiders traded him to the Colts
“He was one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever had, so when he left, that broke my heart. That hurt because we were so close.”
—Quarterback Derek Carr on the Raiders trading Ngakoue
“I’ve had multiple games where I’ve had two catches, so I don’t think we should be talking about me getting the ball forced to me. That’s ridiculous. I think when you have certain players, you do what you can to get them opportunities. That’s why I’m here.”
—Adams when asked if he has a patient mindset when he’s double-teamed
“It’s part of the game. That’s a sign of respect, and it’s something I look forward to every day. Coming out to practice, it’s the same thing. They’re making it hard on me, and that’s what I want.”
—Crosby on adjusting to offenses tailoring their game plan to stop him
Best Bet (2-6): Josh Jacobs under 89.5 rushing yards
Perhaps the only thing the Colts have done well all year is stop the run. They’re second in the NFL in giving up 3.8 yards per rush attempt. Colts' All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard and his cohorts also have a history of slowing down Jacobs. The Raiders’ running back has never eclipsed this number in three career games against the Colts while also not breaking a single run for more than 18 yards. Jacobs has arguably been the Raiders’ best player and sits fourth in the NFL with 743 rushing yards, but coming into the season, his yardage totals at sports books were 25 yards lower — sitting around 64.5 on a weekly basis. This is too big of an adjustment upwards, especially against a strong rush defense.
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or
