And it was the perfect start to new home life for Josh McDaniels, the new Las Vegas Raiders manager who joined in January after a long and trophy-rich spell with the New England Patriots.
His Raiders beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-11, ruining the debut game at the helm of Jaguars freshman coach Doug Pederson.
It was a homecoming win for McDaniels, a Jacksonville native, who was returning to the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium where he once played for Canton McKinley High School, patrolling the sidelines his father, Thom McDaniels, saw. coach for nearly two decades.
“You never know if you will have this opportunity again. I really savored it. It was a good opportunity for all of us and I think we all enjoyed it.”
In a game without most of the starters from both teams – Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and big catcher Davante Adams sat down as the Jaguars posted a list of 21 players who wouldn’t play, including sophomore quarterback , Trevor Lawrence – it was up to the more fringe players to come forward.
And like many preseason games without the stars, it wasn’t the finest deal.
No. The first overall pick in this year’s draft Travon Walker was called for a pass-by penalty against Raiders reserve quarterback Jarrett Stidham on his first scrimmage play. Walker showed why he was picked first when he picked up a lot later in the game.
However, there were opportunities for players to blink, as fledgling running back Zamir White showed, running 52 yards and adding another 23 in the air.
And it was the Raiders ‘quick attack that really ripped through the Jaguars’ defense, finishing the game with 159 yards in total and three touchdowns in the running; one each from Stidham, Austin Walter and Ameer Abdullah.
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson was also perfect from the field, adding two field goals and three extra points.
Jaguars running back Nathan Cottrell scored his team’s only touchdown of the night, receiving a pass from Kyle Sloter into the endzone.
After the game, Pederson praised his team’s effort that many of his starters were missing.
He added: “We made sure everyone plays in this match. As we move forward, there will be a little more starters and the boys we think will be on the roster of 53 (-players) as we go.”
