The Oakland Raiders have defeated the Green Bay Packers in the last seconds of the bizarre preseason clash in Winnipeg. It was Daniel Carlson’s field goal which decided the match some 8 seconds before the end, and Jon Gruden’s guys won 22-21.
But what will most of the fans and the players remember from this game was an 80-yard field. It was shortened due to concerns about the players’ safety. The problem appeared because of the spots for the CFL goal posts, who were in the middle of the end zones. After that, the organizers decided to shorten the field for 10 yards on both sides, and to avoid any risks of injuries.
But on the other hand, this turn of developments was a reason for coach Matt LaFleur to keep his starters on the bench, including Aaron Rodgers. Meanwhile, Gruden didn’t want to bring in Derek Carr and Antonio Brown.
“We certainly have all played on much worse surfaces in our life, but it was just one of those deals where they weren’t playing their starters and so we just decided to sit them,”
said LaFleur, whose team had a 21-10 lead at the halftime but failed to score any points in the last two quarters.
Oakland reached the lead first with Carlson opening the show with a 42-yard field goal. But then the Packers responded with a massive barrage in the second quarter. LaFleur’s guys recorded three touchdowns, two of them prepared by Tim Boyle, the 24-year old QB from Kentucky. He ended the game with 191 yards, completing 16 of his 25 passes.
And that was about everything from the Packs in this game. Maybe they didn’t want to risk anything more because of players’ safety, but it seems that boys from Green Bay played much easier until the rest of the match. By the way, the third TD was the work of Tra Carson who rushed for 12 yards.
Carlson was once again in the middle of attention in after the break, with a 40-yard field goal. The Raiders wanted this win so bad, and have increased the tempo in the final period. With 5:48 until the end, Nathan Peterman finally found one of his players for a TD. It was De’Mornay Pierson-El. Raiders’ backup quarterback had a solid game with 210 yards, 23 of 37 for two TDs.
After this, the Raiders reached the ball once more, and Carlson brought them the third straight preseason win. There wasn’t going to be any excuses for Gruden regarding the field, and he clearly denied any speculations about the possible lower intensity of play than it should have been.
“I’m not going to make a big deal about the field,” Gruden said. “We liked the field. We thought the field was perfectly ready to roll. You’ll have to ask Green Bay about that.”
Up next the Raiders are moving to Seattle, to face the Seahawks on Thursday night. On the other side, Packers are wrapping up their tests with a home game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
