OAKLAND – Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson converted his first three field goal attempts on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, important points in a tight game.
Carlson had a chance to double a late three-point lead but missed from 50 yards out. He got a second chance thanks to a running into the kicker penalty, and then missed again from 45.
Jacksonville got great field position, taking over from the spot of the miss, and proceeded to march down the field and score a game-deciding touchdown in the Oakland Coliseum finale. The Raiders lost 20-16, a painful end to the team’s time playing here in the East Bay.
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That late turn of events was a complete disaster, and Carlson played a big role in it. If he converts, the Raiders push their lead to six and, as important, can pin the Jaguars back at their own 25-yard line with a touchback.
That didn’t happen, setting up Jacksonville’s late-game heroics.
Carlson knows how big those misses were and was apologetic that he couldn’t come through in a big moment.
"They came a little hot on that [first attempt], but I missed it. I take full responsibility for that,” Carlson said. “I’ll get a chance to watch film here soon and see exactly what happened, but it obviously sucks letting the team down like that. I feel for these fans. This was their last chance to be here. I’m hurting for the team and those fans who have been so great here in Oakland.”
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Carlson has missed a bunch of kicks lately, a negative development for a player who set the single-season franchise record for field-goal accuracy in 2018.
He has missed seven kicks since Week 9, including five field goals and two extra points.
“There are some different things I’ve noticed, from how I was playing the wind and how I was hitting the ball on a given day,” Carlson said. “There are some things I’ve learned and I will continue to learn. I had a great warmup today and I was hitting the ball well. I just didn’t take advantage of those opportunities late. I didn’t hit it perfectly.”
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Head coach Jon Gruden didn’t want to put it all on his kicker. The Raiders failed to make important plays in every phase while allowing 17 unanswered points in the second half, and certainly could’ve sealed this victory over a terrible Jacksonville team several different ways.
“That’s not the reason why we lost today,” Gruden said. “I take responsibility for it. We had opportunities to make plays in all three phases of the game and we didn’t take them.”