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Entering play with one takeaway through the first four games of the year, the Las Vegas Raiders used three takeaways Monday night to secure the team’s first primetime win of the season while putting an end to three-game losing streak.
Las Vegas beat Green Bay, 17-13, Monday, Oct. 9 from Allegiant Stadium for the team’s first win over the Packers since 1987 after having lost the last eight meetings. By ending its three-game losing streak, the Raiders picked up their first home win in the process.
“This game is about getting at-bats or shots on goal or whatever,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “Eventually they come and they come in bunches, we got three of them and I’m super excited about it.”
Through the first five weeks of the season, Las Vegas (2-3) have played in two primetime games and have a .500 record. This most recent win puts an end to four straight losses in primetime while improving the team’s overall mark to 3-9 in the last 12 chances with the lights on bright.
The second of back-to-back home games lies ahead for the Raiders as the New England Patriots are next on the team’s schedule. That game is slated for Sunday, Oct. 15 with kickoff squared away for 1:05 p.m.
“We need to make [winning] a more familiar feeling,” receiver Davante Adams said. “We did enough to get the dub but it still is not looking the way we’d like it to look. At the end of the day, you have to do whatever it takes to get the win. I think there’s another level we can tap into forsure.”
An interception by cornerback Amik Robertson in the end zone put an end to what looked like a soon-to-be scoring drive for Green Bay with Las Vegas up four. Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw deep down the sideline to his left looking for receiver Christian Watson only to have the fourth round pick out of Louisiana Tech.
The 5’9” Robertson made the game-saving play over the 6’4” visiting receiver in his second start of the year and 10th of his career.
“I just walked out on the field and said, ‘I want to be the reason,’” he said. “I knew they were going to test me, I’m the smallest guy on the field. I knew they were going to test me, I just wanted to not just get a [pass breakup], I was tired of those. I wanted the ball, I wanted them to feel it.”
Love threw three interceptions on the night to the Raider defense with the first two going to linebacker Robert Spillane. Coming into Week 5, Spillane had one interception in his five-year career.
“Just keep trusting the process,” he said. “Everyday we’re process-oriented and we look at the results, we clean things up and we move on. We’re going to do the same going forward.”
Spillane’s first interception of the night set Las Vegas up in prime territory at the Green Bay 7-yard line. Soon after, the team would add a field goal to go up seven.
Now up 17-13, Spillane’s second pick came in the fourth quarter to give the Raiders’ offense the ball back with about nine minutes left in regulation. He finished the night with nine tackles to go along with those two interceptions.
“I consider myself an all-around football player,” Spillane said. “Who loves the game – all facets of the game. I just love being out there and helping my team get a win.”
The aforementioned Crosby had himself a day with five total tackles, four for loss and a sack, which he picked up his lone sack the play before Spillane’s second interception. Last season, Crosby was first in the league with 22 tackles for loss.
“We want to be the reason we win,” he said. “A lot of people have been talking about our defense and what we don’t have so we just have to keep improving and going in the right direction.”
Las Vegas needed its defense to step up as the offense continued to work through its early season struggles. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo returned to action after missing last week’s contest with a concussion.
Despite having QB1 back, the Raider offense still sputtered in several spots throughout the win.
In his return, Garoppolo went 22-for-31, throwing for 208 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He now has a league-leading seven interceptions this season after throwing seven or more interceptions in three of the last five seasons.
Adams caught the first pass of his career against his former team in the first quarter on Las Vegas’ first drive of the game. That’d not only be his lone reception but his lone target until late in the third quarter.
Adams caught all four of his targets for 45 yards.
Fellow receiver Jakobi Meyers led the team in receiving once again with seven receptions, 75 yards and a touchdown.
“Provided that I wasn’t here, he’s going to see some of the coverage,” Adams said. “Anytime he gets a one-on-one, I’m expecting Kobi to win that because that’s the type of player that he is.”
Running back Josh Jacobs scored for the second straight game, giving the Raiders the lead for good on the first play of the fourth quarter. In addition, that was the first Las Vegas score since just before halftime.
Jacobs rushed for 69 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown.
The Raiders picked up the win despite two missed field goals from kicker Daniel Carlson, who entered play with a perfect 4-for-4. His brother, Anders, is in his rookie season with Green Bay and the duo met as professionals for the first time with many family members in the building.
Anders went 2-for-2 on the day and is now 7-for-7 on the season.
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