Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Raiders HC Josh McDaniels defends puzzling late-game decision

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Sep 25, 2023 4:08 PM ET

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels refuses to admit he made a crucial error in a 23-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With 2:25 left in the fourth quarter, the Raiders faced a fourth-and-4 at the Steelers 8-yard line and trailed by eight. Rather than going for a TD and two-point conversion, Las Vegas kicked a field goal. Per ESPN's Seth Walder, the questionable decision decreased the Raiders' chance to win from 15.8 percent to 10.2 percent. For context, a three percent error in ESPN's model is equivalent to taking a sack.

Raiders kick on 4th-and-4 on PIT 8

WP Go: 15.8%
WP Kick: 10.2%

A big error by McDaniels, per our model.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 25, 2023

Nonetheless, McDaniels stood by his choice. "I'm not going to stand here and tell you it was a 100 percent easy decision," he said Monday, via CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. "I can see both sides of it."

Regardless of what McDaniels sees, he made a mistake. The Raiders offense features stars, such as wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs, so they could've made a play in this situation.

Adams dominated against a vaunted Steelers defense, with 13 receptions for 172 yards and two TDs. Following the loss, he expressed frustration over the Raiders 1-2 start.

"It's not my mentality to sit here and try to take all season to figure it out," Adams said, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "You use these early games like this to establish an identity. We're not doing things the right way to establish a winning culture."

The Raiders regressed since McDaniels became HC in 2022, posting a 7-13 record. Adams' comments signal players are tired of losing and could lose faith in the HC if the team fails to improve.

Clearly, McDaniels must make better decisions. Otherwise, the franchise will keep spiraling, costing him his job.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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