Raiders find winning formula again in topping Saints

Aidan O'Connell threw two touchdown passes, Daniel Carlson kicked four field goals, Ameer Abdullah had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career and the visiting Las Vegas Raiders defeated the New

Raiders find winning formula again in topping Saints

Aidan O’Connell threw two touchdown passes, Daniel Carlson kicked four field goals, Ameer Abdullah had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career and the visiting Las Vegas Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints 25-10 on Sunday afternoon.

Abdullah, playing in the 141st game of his 10-year career, finished with 115 yards on 20 carries. O’Connell completed 20 of 35 passes for 242 yards as the Raiders (4-12) won their second straight after a 10-game losing streak.

Brock Bowers added seven receptions for 77 yards, giving him 1,144 receiving yards, which broke the NFL single-season record for a rookie tight end, set by Mike Ditka with 1,076 yards in 14 games in 1961.

Rookie Spencer Rattler passed for 218 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and fell to 0-5 as the starter for the Saints (5-11).

Las Vegas’s first possession of the third quarter resulted in Carlson’s 54-yard field goal, which increased its lead to 16-10 at the end of the period.

Carlson’s 25-yard field goal pushed the lead to 19-10 on the third play of the fourth quarter. O’Connell added an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tre Tucker to complete the scoring.

The Raiders received the opening kickoff and held the ball for 17 plays before stalling. Carlson kicked a 31-yard field goal and the 3-0 lead held up through the end of the first quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Rattler threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to former Raiders tight end Foster Moreau and the Saints took a 7-3 lead with their first points in the first half in three games.

The ensuing possession ended with Carlson kicking a 39-yard field goal that trimmed the lead to 7-6.

O’Connell threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers to give Las Vegas a 13-7 lead with 57 seconds left in the second quarter. Rattler completed 5 of 7 for 54 yards in driving New Orleans to Blake Grupe’s 34-yard field goal as time expired that trimmed the lead to 13-10 at halftime.