Silver Minings: Isaiah Johnson joins elite company

I have to admit, I didn’t start work Sunday thinking I’d be writing about Isaiah Johnson being the hero of Week 9.

But life is funny and it’s beautiful this morning for Johnson. He was indeed the hero of the Las Vegas Raiders’ 31-26 win at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Johnson started the day as a little-known 2019 fourth-round pick, whose short career has been hampered by injuries. Yet, Johnson entered the game in the second quarter when starter Trayvon Mullen injured his hamstring. Johnson, who is big and smart, started making plays right away.

However, Johnson saved the best for last. He broke up would-be game-winning touchdowns in the final 10 seconds on back-to-back plays to save the Las Vegas win.

That just doesn’t happen very often. According to the Associated Press, Johnson became the second player to break up game-winning touchdowns in the final 10 seconds in the past 20 years in the NFL. The other player was none other than Pro Football Hall of Famer Champ Bailey for the Denver Broncos 11 years ago.

Welcome to a cool club, kid.

In other Raiders’ links:

• The Chiefs win close game: The Kansas City Chiefs hung on to beat the Carolina Panthers to improve to 8-1 and they are on their bye next week.
• The Broncos lose: The Denver Broncos, who the Raiders play in Week 10, lost at the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to fall to 3-5.
• What is defining Raiders’ season? The Athletic thinks its money.
• Five observations: The Athletic breaks down the win.
• Betting favorite: The Raiders opened as a 4.5-point favorite over Denver. I think that is not enough.
• Ingold goes to hospital: Raiders’ fullback Alec Ingold had to go to a local hospital after suffering a ribs injury Sunday. He looks to be in good spirits, though.