A tough year for Josh McDaniels in his first year with the Las Vegas Raiders continues.
Just when you thought the McDaniels Raiders were getting it together after three straight wins, they let Baker Mayfield — in just his third day with the Los Angeles Rams — stun them with a gutsy last-minute 98-yard touchdown drive. Instead of a 16-3 win, they took home a heartbreaking 17-16 loss.
Given that the Raiders’ 13-point lead felt insurmountable with just a few minutes to play, it seemed like they had this one in the bag. Then McDaniels and Co. unfurled the steps to a stunning collapse on their end and a glorious comeback on the Rams’ side of the matter.
It’s the fourth loss for McDaniels’ Raiders this year, where they, at one point, held a two-score lead:
Josh McDaniels blown leads, 2022:
Week 2 vs. 4-8 Cardinals: 20-0
Week 5 vs. 9-3 Chiefs: 17-0
Week 9 vs. 4-8 Jaguars: 17-0
Week 14 vs. 4-9 Rams: 16-3 in final 3:35 with 2-day Rams veteran Baker Mayfield at QB— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 9, 2022
Oof. Not a great look for a first-year coach like McDaniels. Considering how utterly decimated the Rams are health-wise — literally having to sign Mayfield after losing Matthew Stafford — this one has to especially sting.
Instead of inching closer toward .500, the Raiders now slide back to 5-8 and need a lot of help to sneak into the AFC postseason picture. After already losing to interim/”limited” experience head coach Jeff Saturday in his first game on the job, McDaniels can now say the same of Mayfield … on his third day on the job.
NFL fans roasted McDaniels for the Raiders' embarrassing loss to the Rams
Josh McDaniels has now lost to both Jeff Saturday and Baker Mayfield in their first week on the job.
Nathaniel Hackett has some competition for worst coaching hire of the cycle. Incredible.
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) December 9, 2022
JOSH MCDANIELS LOST TO A ESPN ANALYST AND PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE AGENT IN THE SAME SEASON.
— Adrian Hernandez (@AdrianRadio93) December 9, 2022
Josh McDaniels you outta be ashamed of ya self !!
— Marcus Spears (@mspears96) December 9, 2022
Losing to Jeff Saturday after he'd gotten the head coaching job the previous Wednesday, then Baker Mayfield, who got the starting job the previous Tuesday, is not something you want on the resume if you're Josh McDaniels.
— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) December 9, 2022
Tonight's loss sits squarely on the shoulders of Josh McDaniels. Have to ask about play calling.
— Hondo Carpenter (@HondoCarpenter) December 9, 2022
So… Josh McDaniels lost to a first-time head coach who was hired in season off the street AND a quarterback who was cut and had 48 hours to learn a new playbook.
He’s horrible.
— Sammy P (@spshoot) December 9, 2022
Raiders: "We don't have the money to fire Josh McDaniels right now…"
Raiders fans: pic.twitter.com/YvM1iFaZ2b
— Ben Heisler (@bennyheis) December 9, 2022
Even by Josh McDaniels standards, this was an impossible game to lose. It's almost impressive. https://t.co/WeGQuPa1eO
— Dan Hanzus (@DanHanzus) December 9, 2022
Josh McDaniels might get fired
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 9, 2022
Josh McDaniels has lost three of the worse games you will EVER see this season. My goodness.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 9, 2022
Josh McDaniels can’t coach https://t.co/3FXZFd26lf
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) December 9, 2022
I’ll VERY RARELY advocate for firing a coach for competitive reasons, but if you’re Josh McDaniels you gotta quit after this.
There’s no coming back from this.
Only thing that’s worse is if that RB who played QB at Denver would’ve won.
— Coach Vass (@CoachVass) December 9, 2022
Guys, Josh McDaniels has now lost to an ESPN analyst and Baker Mayfield this season.
— Collin McCollough (@cmccollo) December 9, 2022
Josh McDaniels getting to Las Vegas and then headed right back to be the OC for the Patriots in 2023. https://t.co/AIgkF3i1Yu pic.twitter.com/TXoFHKBSQa
— Robert Judin (@RobertJudin) December 9, 2022
Rich Bisaccia earned that Raiders job. They hired Josh McDaniels anyway. https://t.co/jWYTVmxapv
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) December 9, 2022
The way Josh McDaniels has ruined a team that made the postseason last year is absolutely unforgivable.
— Colb (@___Colb___) December 9, 2022
Unbelievably bad. Isn’t Josh McDaniels an offensive mind? How do you get dunked on in the second half like that? https://t.co/gi0dVpj5Dy
— Cam Worrell (@CamWorrell) December 9, 2022
Josh McDaniels losing to *this* Rams team, one led by Baker Mayfield after being on the team for two days, is the funniest possible outcome.
— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) December 9, 2022
in less than a month, the Raiders have been beaten by a head coach who was an ESPN analyst 6 days before the game and a QB who was on a different team two days before the game
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) December 9, 2022
