Raiders come up just short on OT gamble to lose to Jaguars

LAS VEGAS—The Las Vegas Raiders lived by the sword, and unfortunately died by it.

On Sunday, the Raiders came up just short in their return from the bye week, falling 30-29 to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Allegiant Stadium.

The Raiders responded to a Trevor Lawrence touchdown by hitting Brock Bowers for a touchdown, but a two-point conversion was batted down to doom the Raiders to a 2-6 record.

Here are some of the major takeaways from the overtime heartbreaker.

Bow to the king

In his return to action, Bowers made his presence felt throughout the matchup.

Bowers provided the only touchdown of the first half, making an amazing one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone to give the Raiders an early advantage. The game was the first time since Week One that Bowers crossed the 100-yard threshold (127 yards), and he also put up three touchdowns on the afternoon.  It was clear that Bowers was not at full strength this season, and the decision to give him some time to heal up paid dividends.

Taking what they give

Raider Nation made their presence felt during the game, as they threw the Jaguars completely out of sync.

The Jaguars took a slew of penalties to put themselves in disadvantageous spots. Several pre-snap penalties pushed the offense back, a roughing the passer call set up a scoring drive for the Raiders, and Travon Walker got suspended after punching Stone Forsythe during a field goal attempt. The Raiders did not have the cleanest day themselves (seven penalties for 55 yards), but they made the most of the opportunities that their opponent gave them.

Back and forth

After a slog of a first half and signs of life in the third quarter, the Jaguars and Raiders both gave it everything they had to get a victory in the fourth.

Both teams traded touchdowns throughout the fifteen minutes, with the Jaguars using rushing touchdowns from Trevor Lawrence and Bhayshul Tuten. The Raiders responded both times with Geno Smith getting the ball to Ashton Jeanty and Bowers. Finally, Cam Little, already enjoying a game where he broke the NFL record with a 68-yard field goal in the second quarter, tied the game at 23 points apiece for Jacksonville, setting the stage for the thrilling overtime.