Dec 16, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner reacts during the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
With the Falcons leading 15-3, the Raiders began moving the ball. First, they put together a nine-play, 68-yard touchdown drive to bring the score to 15-9 after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
A defensive stop gave the Raiders one of the few legitimate shots to win a game this season, as they had one of their few attempts at a game-winning drive this season. On that drive, the Raiders moved the ball 45 yards in 10 plays, coming up just short of beating the Falcons.
Raiders interim offensive coordinator credited the offense for playing better down the stretch but he also noted the Falcons' defense playing differently over the final two possessions than they had during the bulk of the game.
"I think it's a combination of both," Turner said. "I think the clock is always an aspect, so they don't want to take an unnecessary risk and give up one play quickly. So, there were a couple deals where we got a couple completions and you get in a rhythm, and now all of a sudden, it's a real game again, you know? And that's the deal with timeouts and two-minute warning. And it's not about points, it's about possessions.
"We were only down two possessions, so we scored, and now we're down one possession and obviously what happened, like we had a real shot to get that ball back with a real chance. And we did have a chance with two minutes, but it's just hard with no timeouts. Yeah, so there is a little bit of that. We went tempo, which I think that helped Desmond [Ridder] a little bit as well. But, yeah, I think it's a combination."
Turner acknowledged that the up-tempo style of offense the Raiders ran on the final two drives also played a part in the unit's success. Bringing it back during other points in the game may help.
"Yeah, for sure," Turner said. "I mean, the risk of it, obviously, is like there's a lot of passing, so potentially negative plays. Not being on the field very much and now you're putting a lot of pressure on your defense. That's really not how we wanted to play this past game. We would have liked to flip the field early, and then they're in the poor field position, but it just kind of didn't work out that way.
"But, no, that's definitely something that we've talked about of getting into the regular flow of the game and kind of mixing it in. And I think like what we're talking about, too, you get in tempo late in the game, and now the fourth down becomes an aspect. You're getting four downs instead of three, so that leads to a little bit of success. We had some success on fourth down, so there's more to it than just snapping the ball quickly."
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