Rams complete improbable comeback vs. Raiders

The Rams completed an improbable comeback Thursday night to defeat the Raiders 17-16. Here’s what you need to know:
• Baker Mayfield, who was signed by Los Angeles on Tuesday, led the Rams on a game-winning, 98-yard touchdown drive in the final minute.
• Two Raiders’ penalties – a defensive pass interference call on Amik Robertson and an unsportsmanlike conduct call against Jerry Tillery – helped extend the drive.
• Mayfield finished with 230 yards on 22-of-35 passes with the touchdown and zero interceptions.
• The Raiders’ loss drops them to 5-8 and snaps their three-game winning streak and late-season momentum.
• Las Vegas QB Derek Carr finished with 137 yards on 11-of-20 passes with zero touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Rams will worry about building a cohesive plan about Mayfield and their cobbled-together offense in the coming days. They’ll worry about what comes next for him well after that.

For now, they needed this win – and the spark Mayfield provided in the game’s crucial minutes – badly. Mayfield probably got about 50 throws in before debuting for the Rams on Thursday night. In the game’s biggest spot, a 98-yard TD drive, he delivered. —Rodrigue

What in the world happened to the Raiders

The Raiders did it again. They lost a game they had no business losing in excruciating fashion, blowing a 16-3 lead in the fourth quarter to a team that signed Mayfield off the street two days ago. Mayfield drove the Rams 98 yards in the last two minutes, thanks to a lot of Raiders penalties, and his 23-yard pass to Van Jefferson in the corner of the endzone won the game.

Afterward, Mayfield said he couldn’t believe the Raiders were playing press coverage with 16 seconds left.

The Raiders took their foot off the gas and there were some conflicting decisions by coach Josh McDaniels – like punting on 4th and 1 at midfield and then later throwing deep on 3rd and 2. — Tafur

The 2022 Raiders are consistently inconsistent. They’re good enough to build multi-score leads, and somehow still bad enough to blow them in spectacular fashion. And every time it seems like it can’t get worse, it somehow does. I’d say their latest loss at the hands of the Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp-less Rams was their worst yet, but then there’s the Colts loss… and the Jaguars loss… and the Cardinals loss.

They may not be mathematically eliminated, but kiss the Raiders’ playoffs hopes goodbye. This team is done. —Reed

The loss drops the Raiders to 2-4 in games they’ve led by 13 points or more. The rest of the league is 93-14-1.
• Raiders to the playoffs? Exploring the possibilities of a still unlikely path
• Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson uses power of muscle memory in quest for perfection
• Rams’ effort is there, but they’ve lost control of big plays and season