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Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – This wasn’t the season Raiders owner Mark Davis envisioned.

True, thanks to Davis’ financial control of Allegiant Stadium, revenue flows and his team’s value has skyrocketed, surpassing the $7 billion mark. Remember, just a decade ago, the Raiders were valued at $1.43 billion by Forbes magazine when the once-powerful NFL franchise played at the Coliseum in Oakland.

But the Raiders have received more attention for Davis selling shares of the franchise to the likes of Tom Brady than for winning games. The Raiders split their first four games, including a headlining win over the Ravens in Baltimore, before losing nine straight games. Because the Raiders’ value was so high, Davis theoretically made more than $1 billion thanks to the sale of those team shares.

The nine-game losing streak includes the departure of star receiver Davante Adams, an ankle injury to star defensive lineman Maxx Crosby that ended his season this week and the trades of quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell.

To compound the Raiders’ problems, a defensive end named Charles Snowden was charged with drunken driving after he was found passed out in the driver’s seat of his car last week. This brought back memories of former Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs, who killed a 23-year-old woman, Tina Tintor, while driving his car at 156 miles per hour in a fiery accident on November 2, 2021. Ruggs was sentenced last year to a minimum of three years in prison.

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The Raiders are outnumbered in this game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Crosby is out for the season and O’Connell is an inactive player but is slated to be an emergency third quarterback.

The Falcons scored first on a 30-yard TD pass from Kirk Cousins ​​to Drake London late in the first quarter.

The Raiders countered in the second quarter with a 52-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson.

Atlanta scored a safety and led 9-3 at halftime as the Raiders mustered 78 yards of offense behind quarterback Desmond Ridder.

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Allegiant Stadium has hosted Raiders games for four years. Let’s take a look:

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The Raiders have the first pick of the draft with the worst record in the league. Last year, after Josh McDaniels was fired by Davis, Antonio Pierce was a popular interim coach, winning five of the last nine games.

But will it remain in place in 2025?

There is a lot of talk about the Raiders selecting Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders while his father, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, is coming along to coach the Raiders.

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