Josh McDaniels made another controversial decision for the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth quarter. This time, however, it didn't cost his team the football game.
Facing a fourth-and-2 with two minutes left and Las Vegas holding a 17-13 lead over the Green Bay Packers, McDaniels decided not to go for the victory and try to convert the first down. Instead, he kicked a 52-yard field goal with Daniel Carlson -- only for Carlson to miss the kick and give the ball to the Packers at their own 34-yard line.
The Packers had one time out, so the Raiders would have won the game with a first down since they would have been able to run the clock out. McDaniels also had Josh Jacobs at running back, who had just 20 carries for 69 yards but is still one of the best short-yardage backs in the game.
According to the NGS Decision Guide, Josh McDaniels made the suboptimal call by kicking a FG on 4th & 2 from the GB 34 up 17-13 with 2 mins left.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 10, 2023
The model recommended GO by 7.7%, the most suboptimal call of the season.
The Raiders still won the game.#GBvsLV | #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/cEDH1OJQ7x
Fortunately for the Raiders, they were up 17-13 anyway. The Packers still needed a touchdown to win, but they needed to go 66 yards in 1:56 (which was highly manageable). If Carlson made the field goal, the Raiders would have had a 20-13 lead -- but the defense still would have been on the field needing to keep the Packers out of the end zone.
This isn't the worst decision McDaniels has made this year, but it comes two weeks after the worst one in the young season.
Week 2 vs. Steelers
The Raiders were down 23-15 -- a one-possession deficit that could be overcome by a touchdown and a two-point conversion. McDaniels decided it would be best for the Raiders to kick a 26-yard field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-4 from the 8-yard line with 2:22 remaining in the game.
Not only was it fourth-and-goal, but Las Vegas could have earned a fresh set of downs at the Pittsburgh 4-yard line. Despite having all three of their timeouts and the two-minute warning -- four chances to stop the clock on defense -- the Raiders didn't get the football back, so they lost by five points.
Earlier in the game, McDaniels went for it on fourth-and-5 at the Steelers' 22-yard line with 13:18 left in the fourth quarter (the attempt was unsuccessful).
