Raiders’ Josh McDaniels explains confusing 2-point conversion decision in loss to Chiefs: ‘Trying to be aggressive’

Las Vegas’ Monday night gamble didn’t quite pay off.

In a topsy-turvy “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Raiders and Chiefs, Las Vegas had an opportunity to tie the game with 4:27 left after a stellar Derek Carr-to-Davante Adams touchdown pass.

With the score 30-29 and the clock potentially working against the Raiders, McDaniels played for the win instead of the tie, which came back to bite the Raiders in a sideways way.

Following the game, McDaniels explained his decision to go for 2 in that spot:

Felt like in that situation, they had a lot of momentum offensively, obviously in the second half. We had a play that we felt really good about, we had a look that we felt would give us a shot at it, for sure, and we had a chance, we had a fair fight at it. They played it a little bit better than we did.

We gave ourselves an opportunity to take the lead there, and then maybe put a little bit of extra pressure on them when they had the ball, nothing more, nothing less. Just trying to be aggressive, trying to win a game. I know it was 4 1/2 or whatever the time was. Our team felt good about it, and felt like it was the right call at the right time.

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In McDaniels’ defense, the analytics back up what he was attempting to do there, and the Chiefs had scored on six consecutive possessions, so taking a potential lead there and hoping for a stop could have played into their hands. Carr was in support of the decision to go for two, as well.

But the Chiefs were helped by the Raiders on their previous possession by way of penalties, so maybe the offense was running out of steam a bit — that proved to be something of the case.

The Raiders would stop the Chiefs on the ensuing drive and get the ball back with just over two minutes to play in the game, putting them in prime position for a win. Alas, they would come up empty after Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow ran into each other on the game-deciding fourth-and-1 call.

The 30-29 loss sent the once playoff-hopeful Raiders careening to a 1-4 start, and keeps the Chiefs plugging along at 4-1.

Well, at least McDaniels wasn’t called into the principal’s office again.