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Jon Gruden called a pass play that got intercepted on a first-and-goal attempt in the Oakland Raiders' 26-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5, and according to him, it won't be the last time. The Raiders trailed 20-3 at the time the play was called. Gruden was aggressive, because he needed to get his team back into the game. The play had an eerie resemblance to the Seattle Seahawks play that was picked off by Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl XLIX (49). For some reason, coaches don't trust Marshawn Lynch on the goal-line.
“It won't be the last pass I call on first-and-goal, either,” Gruden told ESPN. “I think that's the best time to throw down there. I regret that it was intercepted. Turns out to be a horrible call. But we were down 20-3, Melvin Ingram is their middle linebacker in a jammed front, I want to throw a play-action pass on the 1-foot line. My opinion is, it shouldn't have been intercepted; we shouldn't do that right down there, but we did.”
The Raiders are now 1-4. Their only win this season came in a 45-42 victory in a barnburner against the Cleveland Browns. Jon Gruden has been praised as an offensive mastermind, but he hasn't looked like one so far. The Raiders have a new problem emerge with each passing week.
After Gruden's questionable call, Lynch was furious. He threw his helmet as a response after the play transpired. Lynch only had nine carries for 31 yards in the game. He's becoming of tired of people overlooking his talents.
“I done seen it happen to me on the game's biggest stage,” Lynch said. “Now it's happened in a regular-season game. It's all right, though.”
The Raiders' Week 6 matchup should be interesting, because Lynch will get a chance to face his old team, the Seahawks. With a win, they can delay this season becoming a complete disappointment.
