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Even with the bye week the offensive woes for the Las Vegas Raiders continued as the team took a loss in a game that tied the lowest points scored in an NFL game.
A third straight loss is what the team now faces after dropping a, 3-0, meeting with Minnesota Sunday, Dec. 10 from Allegiant Stadium. This three-game losing streak comes after back-to-back wins to start the interim campaign of Antonio Pierce.
“No excuse there,” Pierce said. “It is shocking. Plenty of time to prepare for the opponent and it did nothing new. Just again, poor coaching, poor performance by the players and it starts with myself.”
Las Vegas is now 4-3 at home this season after earning four wins in its first five tries inside Allegiant Stadium. Overall, the team is now 5-8 on the year with four games left in the regular season.
A fourth primetime game of the season awaits the Raiders when the team welcomes the Los Angeles Chargers into Allegiant Stadium Thursday, Dec. 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.
“It’s a one-game season every week,” rookie Aidan O’Connell said. “The opponents are difficult every week, it’s the NFL especially now we’ve got a short week. We’ve got to kind of turn the page really quickly and move on to play against the Chargers on Thursday night.”
The 3-0 outcome in favor of the visiting Vikings tied the record for lowest combined final score of any game in league history. It’s the first 3-0 finish in the NFL in 16 years.
Heading into the fourth quarter, both teams were still looking for their first points of the game in a game that produced 17 total punts. Minnesota kicker Greg Joseph netted a 36-yard field goal with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter to put the lone score of the game on the board. Earlier in the game, he missed from 49 yards out.
“Guys took accountability,” Pierce said. “We’ve got to pitch a shutout to get it to overtime, that’s what we can do. Three-point ballgame, yeah you’re frustrated but at this point [...] There was an opportunity for us on the defense to get off the field on third down.”
Through the first three quarters and most of the fourth, the Las Vegas defense stood tall while forcing Minnesota quarterback Josh Dobbs into inopportune predicaments. Before being pulled about midway through the fourth quarter, Dobbs had accounted for just 27 yards on 10-of-23 passing while being sacked five times.
Defensive end Maxx Crosby had another highlight reel day sharing in the team-high in tackles with Robert Spillane with 10 to go along with four pass deflections, three tackles for loss and two sacks. He now has 13.5 sacks on the season and has now become just the fifth player in franchise history to reach 50 sacks in his first five seasons with the team.
Replacement quarterback Nick Mullens entered and would later lead the lone scoring drive of the game, converting on three third downs of at least three yards along the way. Joseph’s field goal capped a drive of 56 yards over 13 plays that lasted just under three and a half minutes.
In the two offensive drives following that, the Raiders turned the ball over on both effectively ending any chance at tying the game or taking the lead.
O’Connell was picked off on the first play of the drive after the made field goal. On a final gasp with seven seconds left, Las Vegas had its lateral attempt fall to the grass where the Minnesota defense pounced on the loose ball.
“Just lack of execution,” O’Connell said. “I point to myself and say, ‘I’ve got to do a better job of just executing in the run game, in the pass game and make sure we have a good play going when I hike the football.”
The Raiders turned the ball over three times in the game versus none for the Vikings. All three of those turnovers came in the second half including those two fourth quarter mishaps.
O’Connell threw for 171 yards on 21-of-32 through the air with an interception. He led an offense that accounted for just 202 total yards with eight first downs and went 3-for-14 on third downs. In its 53 total plays of offense the team averaged 3.8 yards per attempt.