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The Las Vegas Raiders did something that had never been accomplished before in franchise history, going undefeated in the preseason.
“I’m proud of our team that we were able to win four games,” head coach Josh McDaniels said. “I know what they are, they’re exhibition games but they still matter in the way you compete and play.”
Las Vegas clinched this accomplishment with a 23-6 victory over the New England Patriots on Friday, Aug. 26 inside Allegiant Stadium.
“I’m obviously very appreciative of the guys' effort tonight and what they did,” McDaniels said.
The Raiders’ offensive offensive skills starters did not play a single snap in this year’s preseason and will get their first snaps in live competition on Sunday, Sept. 11 versus the Los Angeles Chargers.
The game is set to take place at SoFi Stadium and can be seen at 1:25 p.m. PST on CBS.
Instead, it was backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham getting the start for the Raiders at quarterback four the fourth straight game.
Stidham led the Raiders to a field goal and a touchdown on the first two offensive possessions for Las Vegas. These would be the only two series that he would play before being replaced by rookie Chase Garbers for the remainder of the game.
Stidham went 4-for-6 with 72 yards passing yards for a 107.6 rating.
Garbers went 12-for-22 for 141 through the air, racking up a 74.2 rating. Garbers also ran the ball eight times for a total of 17 yards.
The Raiders offense made sure to keep control of the football as they did not commit a single turnover. In fact, they did not commit a turnover in any of the four preseason games and finished +5 in the turnover margin for the preseason which included forcing three turnovers in Friday night’s contest.
“The first thing you have to do if you want to win is not lose the game relative to turnovers, field position, penalties, and hurting yourself with mistakes that you have control over,” McDaniels said.
Las Vegas was only penalized one time for a total of ten yards while New England was flagged five separate times for a total of 55 yards.
When it came to field position, the Raiders had five of their 12 offensive drives start past the Las Vegas 30-yard line with two of those drives starting in New England territory. The Patriots’ offense only crossed midfield twice.