There are few men as certain of their own decisions as Jon Gruden. The mastermind behind the Oakland Raiders rarely seems to doubt himself or his players.
Gruden put his football convictions to the test as he decided to go for the two-point conversion in the waning moments of the team’s Week 17 game against the Denver Broncos. Down by just one point with seven seconds left, converting on those two extra points would have given the Raiders the lead and likely finish the season with an 8-8 record.
The team had trouble the entire day converting in the redzone, only scoring their first touchdown just moments earlier. With that in mind, asking them to go for two may have been a bit much, especially with Josh Jacobs not playing. Although they appeared to have a clean look, Broncos defensive end Shelby Harris batted Derek Carr‘s pass attempt out of the air to seal their victory for Denver.
While certainly exciting, the decision to go for two was a bit peculiar considering the Raiders very well could have won in overtime. Gruden explained his decision though as he worried about injuring an already hobbled defensive unit, via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle:
Gruden said no hesitation going for two at the end. Didn’t want to go back on defense with multiple LBs injured. Felt the play call and look were good. “Doggone Shelby Harris batted it down.” #Raiders
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) December 30, 2019
While a win is always better, the Raiders went out on their own terms, which is exactly how they always played in Oakland. With the loss to Denver, the Raiders’ time in Oakland comes to a close with a 7-9 record. Next year they will be headed to Las Vegas and the new Allegiant Stadium.
The entire day was just too little and too late for the Raiders. They reached the red zone numerous times throughout the game,but only managed 15 points.
While Carr did end up throwing the batted pass, the end result was really no fault of his. Carr finished the night 29-of-46 with 391 yards and no interceptions. This was Carr’s first game with more than 300 yards on the season and best performance since he threw for 437 yards against the Cleveland Browns last year.
Gruden’s play call late in the game highlights the faith and respect in Carr and the offense to make the play, they just didn’t get it done. It may have been a blessing in disguise though as the loss ensured a better first-rounf pick for the Raiders in the 2020 NFL Draft.
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