Raiders’ Josh McDaniels Defends Controversial Late FG Down 8 in Loss vs. Steelers

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During the Las Vegas Raiders’ 23-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football, head coach Josh McDaniels elected to go for a late field goal deep in the red zone in the fourth quarter that turned out to be meaningless.

After the game, McDaniels defended the decision while speaking to reporters, saying he believed it would’ve taken multiple possessions to win the game anyway. He disagreed with the notion that the decision not to go for it from the Pittsburgh 8-yard line showed a lack of confidence in his offense:

The Raiders cut an eight-point deficit to five with Daniel Carlson’s 26-yard field goal. However, Las Vegas didn’t get the ball back until there were 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter. On the first play of the drive, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw his third interception to seal the game.

The loss dropped the Raiders to 1-2 this season. They will try to regroup when they return to action in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.