Raiders Fall Short in OT: Breaking Down What Went Wrong vs. the Jaguars

A closer look at Geno Smith’s final play explanation, Brock Bowers’ monster return, and how the Raiders’ defense let this one slip away.

Author

Jesse Merrick
November 03, 2025

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

We’re doing things a little differently today for the quote of the day.

After the game, Maxx Crosby tweeted, “Raider Nation, I love ya’ll with everything in my heart and soul. Ya’ll deserve better. Stay as one, it will change.”

Dominic Lavoie of the Las Vegas Review-Journal asked him about that tweet, and Maxx offered up his thoughts on why he felt the need to tweet that. You’re going to want to hear his full answer in Dom’s tweet to the right.

Maxx gets it.

In today’s newsletter, we’re breaking down the Raiders’ heartbreaking overtime loss to the Jaguars — from Geno Smith’s take on the final play to Brock Bowers’ record-setting performance in his return. We’ll also dive into why the offense finally found rhythm, but the defense couldn’t get off the field, allowing Jacksonville to control the game. Plus, we unpack Pete Carroll’s comments on the defense’s early-down issues and why it all led to another frustrating finish for the Silver & Black.

RAIDERS FALL IN OT TO JAGUARS

If you’re looking for full reaction and analysis from the Raiders’ heartbreaking overtime loss to the Jaguars, check out our latest Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast linked above. I break down what went wrong on the failed two-point conversion, share Geno Smith’s perspective on how that final play unfolded, and highlight the big performances from Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty. Plus, I dive into the defense’s struggles against the run and explain why Vegas needs to find more balance — and more bite — heading into the next matchup.

DAVON HAMILTON DENIES RAIDERS’ 2-POINT TRY

The Raiders had a shot to win the game in overtime. Geno Smith even said they had the right play, and look, they wanted.

"They were in a three-week, we knew they would be in a three-week, that's their call down there. We had the alert that we wanted and had the play. Chip (Kelly) called a great play. Got the alert we wanted. They reacted how we wanted, Tyler Lockett's open in the back of the end zone. We'd win the game if the guy (DaVon Hamilton) didn't jump up and tip the ball. Hats off to him, he made the play."

— Geno Smith, Raiders Quarterback

As the folks at Raiders Beat pointed out, Geno double-clutched it, and it timed out perfectly with Hamilton’s jump and ultimately ended up in a bat down and another Raiders loss. I asked Geno after the game why he double-clutched it, and he said, “That’s football, brother.”

BROCK BALLED OUT IN HIS RETURN

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

Brock Bowers returned from a three-week absence thanks to a knee injury and reminded the world that he’s the best tight end in the game right now. Bowers caught 12 passes for 127 yards and 3 TD. He became the first player in NFL history to have five games with at least 10 catches in his first two seasons. Bowers is also the third Raiders tight end and first since Todd Christensen in 1983 with three touchdown catches in a game. Jakobi Meyers reminded everyone after the game to make sure they appreciate Bowers’ talent.

“Shout out to that boy Brock...try to enjoy the show. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime type player..he just (does)all the little things right. He’s a really good player, a really good dude. I’ve got a son now, hopefully he turns out somewhat like that.”

— Jakobi Meyers, Raiders Wide Receiver

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MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

Raiders vs. Jaguars: How Vegas Can Contain Travis Hunter and Control the Trenches

— Here’s how Vegas can beat Jacksonville.

Raiders Crushed by Chiefs | Breaking Down the 31-0 Disaster


— The Raiders hit rock bottom in Kansas City — here’s how the Chiefs picked them apart and what must change after the bye.

DISECTING THE OFFENSE

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

Geno Smith and the Raiders offense actually played a solid game. Smith finished the day going 29-for-39, for 284 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.

"Today I feel like we played a decent game. I thought we gave ourselves a shot to win the game as you can see. I think if we make one or two plays here and there, I think the game is different, and we may not even go to overtime. But it's a step up from obviously what we did in the past week. But still, not enough. Not close to enough."

— Geno Smith, Raiders Quarterback

If Geno doesn’t throw that pick, if Daniel Carlson doesn’t miss the PAT, or if they score from a yard out on 1st and goal in the third quarter instead of settling for a field goal after Cappa’s false start, they likely win the game. BUT this game was not entirely on the offense, they played well enough to win and scored a touchdown on three of their final four drives in regulation and overtime.

THE DEFENSIVE LET DOWN

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

The Jaguars were missing Travis Hunter and Tim Patrick, two of their top three wide receivers, and Brian Thomas Jr. didn’t even play in overtime because of an ankle injury, but they still couldn’t get the Jaguars off the field. Jacksonville won the time of possession battle 42:57 to 26:47. On top of that, they converted on 9-of-their-16 third downs and went 3-for-3 on 4th down conversions in the redzone. That’s not all, of those third downs, seven of them were third-and-three or less. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham stressed that they needed to be better on early down to make third downs tougher for their opponent, that definitely didn’t happen.

"Well, count up how many third and ones they had. Was it four of them? It just like blankets that don't fit. They had three sneaks or something like that, and they had a couple fourth down sneaks as well. They did a really good job there, but the point is getting out of those short yard situations. That happened again to us. I think we talked about that last time out that you've got to stay out of those situations, and that we have to be better on second down so that doesn't happen. We went into this with that thought, and we didn't get that accomplished. It was directly addressed. We went after it, and we weren't able to make it happen.”

— Pete Carroll, Raiders Head Coach

The Raiders defense also didn’t tackle very well. According to Pro Football Focus, the Jaguars forced nine missed tackles in the running game and seven missed tackles in the passing game. It just wasn’t good enough on defense on Sunday against a beaten up bunch of Jaguars.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s a short week for the Raiders. They hit the road this week to play the Denver Broncos on Thursday so they’ll be on a condensed practice schedule.

We’ll hear from Pete today at 11:00 a.m. PT in his normal availability then on Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll be out at Raiders HQ for practice in the afternoon. So stay tuned for our updates from practice this week a littler earlier than usual.

Also, keep an eye out for our next podcast dropping on Wednesday morning. We’ll be catching up with Cody Alexander of matchquarters.com. Cody’s football knowledge is second to none, and he also happens to be a Broncos fan so he’ll be able to do a deep dive on the matchup with us.

Catch ya next time,

Silver & Black Sports Network is an independent media outlet. We are not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by the Las Vegas Raiders or the NFL.

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