The Las Vegas Raiders opened up their new home, Allegiant Stadium, Monday night as they took on the New Orleans Saints. Though the Saints were heavily favored coming into this game, Derek Carr and the Raiders had something to say about that.
New Orleans started the game off with a strong drive that had four different Saints targeted for a pass. A Drew Brees pass to Tre’Quan Smith set the Saints up in the red-zone, but stalled quickly after that. Wil Lutz knocks through the 31-yard field goal to put New Orleans up by 3.
Vegas’ first drive in the Allegiant Stadium was anything but memorable as they only were able get off six plays before having to punt the ball back. A Malcolm Jenkins 13-yard sack on 2nd down pretty much ended any momentum moving the Raiders way.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, they would not be the first team to score a touchdown in their new home stadium. That would belong to Alvin Kamara. Kamara was a big part of the Saints next drive, rushing for chunks of 13, 21, and the 1-yard touchdown to cap it off. New Orleans would head into the 2nd quarter with a 10-0 lead.
Third times a charm! Las Vegas would get the ball back and successfully complete an 11 play drive resulting in a 3-yard touchdown pass to Alec Ingold. Darren Waller recorded three of his 12 catches for 35 yards on that drive.
Suddenly the tempo started to pick up, and teams started getting loose. It only took three minutes for the Saints to respond back with a touchdown of their own. Two big chunk plays from Tre’Quan Smith and Adam Trautman put New Orleans within the Raiders 10 yard line. Jared Cook lined up on the outside and scored on a 6-yard slant route.
Derek Carr and the Raiders would answer with a three minute drive of their own. Big receptions from Nelson Agholor, Hunter Renfrow, and Bryan Edwards helped flip the field in a matter of just five plays. Carr completed his 15-yard touchdown pass to, you guessed it, Zay Jones.
With the lead pushed back down to 3, New Orleans took the field trying to answer back once again. Nicholas Morrow had other ideas though, intercepting Drew Brees on the fourth play on the drive. With under a minute left the Raiders were only able to tie the game before heading into halftime.
In what felt like the blink of an eye the Raiders erased a 10 point deficit and also got the ball to start the second half. A defensive pass interference and a 31-yard pass to Foster Moreau quickly moved Las Vegas to the Saints 7-yard line. Derek Carr nearly cost it all up by fumbling the snap at the 1-yard line, but made up for it on the next play completing the touchdown pass to Darren Waller.
Las Vegas finally took a lead in their new stadium, and did good at maintaining it as well. The defense continued to put pressure on Drew Brees, and even kept the Saints from scoring after they recovered a botched toss at their own 40-yard line.
Jalen Richard, the same running back that fumbled the toss earlier, took the ball 20 yards to the house on a 3rd & 10. That makes for 24 unanswered points for the Las Vegas Raiders, as they now have a 31-17 lead.
The Saints would cover 67 yards in a three minute span to score and try to stay alive in the game. Kamara would get his second rushing touchdown of the night on his 3-yard touchdown. He finished the game with 79 yards rushing, two touchdowns and had nine receptions for 99 yards.
It simply wouldn’t be enough though. Daniel Carlson would put the game away with a 54-yard field goal with a minute left in the game. Drew Brees would finish with 312 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Emmanuel Sanders was held without a catch, even with the loss of Michael Thomas. Tre’Quan Smith turned out to be the receiver that would step up for the injured All-Pro. He recorded five catches for 86 yards tonight.
Derek Carr ended his night with 282 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Josh Jacobs once again was a bell cow for the Raiders, rushing for 88 yards on 27 carries while also grabbing three receptions for 17 yards. Darren Waller nearly matched a career high in receptions (13) with his 12 receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown tonight.
Las Vegas now moves to 2-0 as they get ready to face the New England Patriots (1-1) in Foxborough. As for the Saints, they look to bounce back against Green Bay (2-0) as they head back home to the Super Dome.
