The Albany Gazette - Raiders welcome McDaniels with win over Jags to open NFL pre-season

The annual Hall of Fame Game exhibition opener provided both teams the first opportunity to test schemes, analyze personnel and see how they perform against a rival ahead of next month's start to the 2022 NFL campaign.

The matchup was played at the Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, adjacent to the museum where past NFL greats are memorialized.

The game marked the debut of Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, who was hired in February after a year away from the NFL following five seasons coaching the Philadelphia Eagles, including a 2018 Super Bowl victory.

For McDaniels, a long-time New England Patriots assistant coach and Denver Broncos head coach from 2009-10, his first game guiding the Raiders ended with a win in his Ohio hometown.

Daniel Carlson kicked field goals of 32 and 55 yards in the first quarter while Ameer Abdullah scored on an eight-yard run and Jarrett Stidham added a 12-yard touchdown run as Las Vegas grabbed a 20-0 half-time lead.

Jacksonville's Elliott Fry answered with a 46-yard field goal in the third quarter but Austin Walter's eight-yard TD run had the Raiders up 27-3.

Kyle Sloter connected on a five-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Cottrell late in the fourth quarter. Cottrell then scampered up the middle for the two-point conversion for Jacksonville.

The Raiders reached the playoffs last season but lost to Cincinnati in the first round. They haven't won a playoff game since the 2002 season when they lost the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay.

The Jaguars have reached the playoffs only once since 2007 and have suffered 13 losing seasons in the past 14 years, including a 3-14 mark last season.

(T.Burkhard--BBZ)