The Las Vegas Raiders won Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints, keeping their record perfect. The hosts were better last night, 34-24.
For the first time, the Raiders played in Las Vegas, and at the newly constructed Allegiant Stadium. And they delivered a victory.
It wasn’t easy, though, as Saints had a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, looking very commanding on the field, controlling all the aspects of the game. Sean Payton’s defense allowed just 25 yards to the Raiders on their initial two possessions, indicating a completely different ending than really happened in the end.
Once Raiders responded with a TD in the second period, the Saints had an answer too. At first, Alec Ingold caught a three-yard pass from Derreck Carr, only to see Jared Cook some three and a half minutes later restoring a 10-point lead.
However, until the end of the halftime, Carr struck again, this time connecting with Zay Jones for a 15-yard pass, and Daniel Carlson added a field goal as time went by at the end of the first half, to tie the game.
The Raiders got the first lead 5:02 inside the second, with Darren Waller recording a one-yard TD reception, while Jalen Richard broke the Saints midway through the final 15 minutes, with a 20-yard rush.
Alvin Kamara tried to reply with his second rushing TD of the game, but Carlson sealed the game with a 54-yard FG with 1:05 to go.
Derek Carr threw three TDs, 282 yards, 28-for-38, and was sacked three times having one fumble. But even so, the Raiders’ QB was excellent throughout the entire contest.
Waller was his favorite target with 12 receptions for 282 yards and a TD. Meanwhile, Josh Jacobs didn’t score any TDs but he rushed 88 yards on 27 carries, which is pretty solid against the Saints running defense.
On the other side, Drew Brees was picked once and had one TD toss, for 312 yards. Alvin Kamara was by far the best player in his team, with 174 yards from the scrimmage, 79 on 13 rushes for 2 TDs, and 95 receiving on 9 catches. Trequan Smith had 86 yards on five receptions.
The Saints now await the Green Bay Packers and, after that, head to Detroit to meet the Lions. On the other side, the Raiders are visiting Foxborough to play with the Pats, and after that, await another AFC East team, the Buffalo Bills.