– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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LAS VEGAS — Don’t tell Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Amik Robertson the long-held adage about why he finds himself as a professional defensive back, one that goes that he would be on the other side of the ball if he had a better pair of hands. The wide receiver skills he still possesses came in handy to complete a dominant performance on the defensive side of the ball for the Raiders, who avoided a disastrous start to the season with a much-needed win under the primetime lights.
Robertson’s interception of a deep ball in the end zone with 44 seconds remaining was the third and final pick by the Las Vegas defense, as that unit was dominant in sealing a 17-13 victory over the Green Packers at Allegiant Stadium on Monday Night Football. Linebacker Robert Spillane had the other two interceptions for the Raiders, who scored the game-winner on Josh Jacobs’ 2-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter.
A 2020 fourth-round pick by the Raiders who was an All-America cornerback while at Louisiana Tech, Robertson made his second start of the season a memorable one when he ran down the field to catch up with Packers big-play wideout Christian Watson before leaping in front of the 6-foot-4 receiver two yards deep in the end zone and coming down with the deep ball from Green Bay’s Jordan Love.
In a way, the 5-foot-9 Robertson played the part of receiver, something he is familiar with in his past days on the gridiron.
“I played receiver in high school,” Robertson said. “I’m an offensive player playing defense.”
Las Vegas came into Monday forcing just one takeaway after the first fourt games of the season, but all of the defensive players for the Raiders were on song in keeping the Packers to just 285 yards of total offense. Spillane coming up with the second and third interceptions of his career tonight, returning his first of the two picks to the Green Bay 7-yard line on the way to setting up a Daniel Carlson 26-yard field goal, giving Las Vegas a 10-3 lead going into halftime. On the offensive possession immediately before the field goal, Jimmy Garoppolo hit Jacobi Meyers for a 9-yard touchdown to give the Raiders their first lead.
Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby was a menace for the Raiders in the interior, with four of his five tackles on the evening going for a loss, including one sack.
“We were hoping we’d get a couple [of takeaways] and they come in waves, so those always make life a little easier,” Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels said. “So, plenty to work off of, but very proud of our group and happy to be 2-3.”
The Packers actually held the Raiders’ offense to even fewer yards, ceding just 279 yards, but Love’s turnovers proved pivotal. Green Bay’s only touchdown came from running back AJ Dillon, who ran up the middle for a 5-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10 midway through the third. Dillon’s score came on the fifth consecutive play that he carried the football, the first run of the sequence being a 3-yard run on a fourth-and-2 from Las Vegas’ 29.
Packers kicker Anders Carlson, the younger brother of Las Vegas’ All-Pro kicker Daniel Carlson, nailed a 22-yard field goal on Green Bay’s next drive to give the Packers their only lead, at 13-10, late in the third quarter.
Love completed just 16 of his 30 passes for 182 yards, and has thrown five interceptions combined in his last two games after throwing for seven touchdowns and just one interception in the first three games as Packers starter.
“Yeah, it’s tough. We had a lot of opportunities, definitely. Defense did a great job of giving us those opportunities, and we just didn’t do enough,” Love said. “I didn’t do enough. And obviously there’s a lot of good stuff to learn from, but it’s tough because we had opportunities go win it and we couldn’t do it.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s contest, with all photos taken by Las Vegas-area photographer Arnie Bazemore. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are two pictures in total.
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