Fans Shocked By Raiders HC Josh McDaniels' Late-Game Decision To Kick 'Meaningless' Field Goal

Raiders coach Josh McDaniels made a questionable decision to kick a field goal over sending his offense out on a crucial fourth down against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 24: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the Las Vegas Raiders walks off the field after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Allegiant Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Down 8, Josh McDaniels Goes For The Field Goal

Facing a 23-15 deficit, with less than three minutes left, McDaniels sent his field goal unit out in lieu of Jimmy Garoppolo and a dominant Davante Adams to gain the first down.

Audiences were confused by McDaniels' call until a 'leverage' penalty on Pittsburgh gave the Raiders a fresh set of downs.

Crisis averted ... until it wasn't.

McDaniels went back to the same decision in the ensuing fourth down attempt: down eight points, facing a fourth-and-4, and now less than 10 yards away from a TD.

Despite the favorable scenario for a go-ahead score, McDaniels sent Daniel Carlson to make the 26-yard kick.

23-18. Raiders down. Two minutes left in the game.

After the game, McDaniels spoke with the media about his baffling decision.

"Those are the decisions you've got to make," McDaniels said.

He added, "I thought we put ourselves in third down there the next series with the defense to try to have a play to get off the field, and we just didn't handle that play very well ... You're going to need another possession anyway, you know what I mean? So it's not a lack of confidence. We went for it multiple times."

McDaniels' decision proved costly...

Las Vegas' defense did give the offense another go after Carlson's FG, but Garoppolo threw a game-sealing interception in the potential go-ahead drive.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 24: Head coach Josh McDaniels and Marcus Epps #1 of the Las Vegas Raiders walk off the field after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Allegiant Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

It was a bleak ending to the Sunday night game as the Raiders dropped to 1-2 — stymied again by poor coaching.

The Raiders offense wasted a tremendous performance by Davante Adams. The perennial All-Pro tallied 13 catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Adams' heroics saved plenty of fantasy teams Sunday night. But the Herculean performance wasn't enough to elevate the Garoppolo-led Raiders to a win.

Garoppolo threw three interceptions. His connection with Adams helped him reach 324 passing yards and two touchdowns. On Sunday, Jimmy G's mistakes were too great to overcome.

Raiders fans were, predictably, on fire.