David Dermer / AP
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels, center, stands on the sidelines during the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, in Canton, Ohio.
Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022 | 4:31 p.m.
The Raiders are now eight quarters into the tenure of new head coach Josh McDaniels and have yet to trail for a single minute of game time.
Las Vegas picked up its second victory of the preseason Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 26-20. The win marked the Raiders’ third straight home victory dating back to last regular season, the first time they’ve hit that long of a streak since moving to Las Vegas ahead of the 2020 season.
Like a preseason-opening win over the Jacksonville Jaguars as part of the Hall of Fame Game on August 2 in Canton, Ohio, the Raiders jumped on the Vikings early. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham led Las Vegas for scoring drives in each of their first two possessions.
The Raiders’ first drive stalled at the 5-yard line before Daniel Carlson booted a 23-yard field goal. There would be no settling for three points when the Raiders got the ball back, as Stidham led them on an penalty-assisted, eight-play, 52-yard drive for a touchdown.
The biggest play on the drive was what initially looked like a 16-yard completion to wide receiver Tyron Johnson. It ended up being a 36-yard gain, however, when the Raiders accepted a pass-interference penalty as well as a dead-ball personal foul facemask to deliver them into the red zone.
On a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Stidham dropped back to pass and saw an opening in the middle of the line. He took off for a rushing touchdown, his second in as many games.
Stidham completed 10 of 15 passes for 68 yards and added another 16 yards on the ground while playing the entire first half. Nick Mullens came in for him in the second half, and threw for 94 yards on 7-for-9 passing.
Mullens and wide receiver D.J. Turner combined for the Raiders’ biggest offensive highlight midway through the third quarter. Mullens fired a ball tightly past a Vikings’ linebacker with the speedy Turner on a drag route.
No one could catch Turner as he turned up along the sideline and sped out for a 34-yard touchdown. Carlson uncharacteristically missed the ensuing extra point, but was otherwise on point Sunday and chipped in a 47-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Turner was the Raiders’ top performer among the skill positions with three receptions for 58 yards.
The Raiders’ defense often allowed the Vikings’ offense to find success — the latter outgained the former 6 yards to 4.4 yards on a per-play basis — but continually stiffened inside the red zone. Minnesota settled for a pair of short field goals by kicker Greg Joseph in the first half, the second of which made the halftime score 10-6.
The Vikings finally found the end zone late in the third quarter when quarterback Kellen Mond hit wide receiver Albert Wilson to make the score 16-13. But the Raiders answered as Mullens piloted a 15-play, 60-yard drive capped by a Brittain Brown 1-yard touchdown run.
Brown, a rookie draft choice out of UCLA, finished with 54 yards on 14 carries, helping the Raiders secure victory in the final three minutes. The Vikings made it interesting when Wilson caught his second touchdown pass, a 20-yarder from Mond with 2:54 to play but Brown picked up a pair of first downs to drain the clock.
Check back later for more coverage of the Raiders’ victory over the Vikings.
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or