Category: Raiders buzz

AFC West report after Week 13: Chargers suffer worst blowout loss in franchise history

AFC West report after Week 13: Chargers suffer worst blowout loss in franchise history

Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert has been nothing short of phenomenal this season. And yet Chargers as a team are such a weekly debacle they have managed just two wins with him under center. Their 45-0 loss to the Patriots Sunday was a perfect example of why.

For the first time this season, Herbert didn’t either throw for over 300 yards or multiple touchdowns or both. And for just the second time he threw multiple interceptions. And without his play holding the team up, not only did they lose, they were destroyed in a historic fashion.

This team is a complete mess. Last week it was a goal-line play that had such utter confusion that Herbert ended up running a QB sneak while the offensive line dropped into pass protection.

This week it was three times the Chargers sending the wrong number of players on punt coverage. Once they sent 12 and two other times they sent ten. Anthony Lynn is a highly respected coach, but his in-game decisions and management have been disastrous, directly resulting in the team losing many games they could have and probably should have won. Including now the worst loss in franchise history.

Meanwhile, the Raiders were bailed out of what should’ve been a surefire loss to the winless Jets and the Chiefs kept rolling to beat the rival Broncos.

AFC West standings

1. Kansas City Chiefs 11-1 (4-1)
2. Las Vegas Raiders 7-5 (3-1)
3. Denver Broncos 4-8 (1-3)
4. Los Angeles Chargers 3-9 (0-3)

Week 14 matchups

Chiefs at Miami Dolphins (8-4)
Raiders vs Indianapolis Colts (8-4)
Broncos at Carolina Panthers (4-8)
Chargers vs Atlanta Falcons (4-8)

Raiders Week 13 snap counts vs Jets: Back-to-back weeks CB Damon Arnette concussed on opening series

These days, the NFL take concussions very seriously. Last week when the Raiders played in Atlanta, rookie cornerback Damon Arnette was shaken up after a helmet-to-helmet collision with teammate Cory Littleton on the game’s first play. He was …

These days, the NFL take concussions very seriously. Last week when the Raiders played in Atlanta, rookie cornerback Damon Arnette was shaken up after a helmet-to-helmet collision with teammate Cory Littleton on the game’s first play. He was evaluated and would return to the game only to exit again after seven snaps.

Arnette would go through the concussion protocol last week and ultimately be cleared to start against the Jets. Then on the second play of the game, Arnette put a hit on Frank Gore that had them both slow to get up. Both players would also leave and not return.

With Arnette’s exit, Nevin Lawson came in the game, seeing 42 snaps (68%) with Keisean Nixon also seeing 21 snaps (34%).

Arnette has played a total of ten snaps over two weeks due to concussions and probably should have not returned in the previous game either. Concussions on back-to-back weeks is a big deal. I would be surprised if he weren’t out at least next week if not longer.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kolton Miller T 78 100% 5 19%
Gabe Jackson G 78 100% 5 19%
Denzelle Good G 78 100% 5 19%
Rodney Hudson C 78 100% 0 0%
Derek Carr QB 78 100% 0 0%
Sam Young T 76 97% 0 0%
Darren Waller TE 74 95% 0 0%
Henry Ruggs III WR 63 81% 5 19%
Hunter Renfrow WR 52 67% 4 15%
Nelson Agholor WR 52 67% 0 0%
Devontae Booker RB 33 42% 0 0%
Jalen Richard RB 32 41% 0 0%
Foster Moreau TE 20 26% 17 65%
Jason Witten TE 16 21% 0 0%
Bryan Edwards WR 15 19% 0 0%
Alec Ingold FB 13 17% 15 58%
Theo Riddick RB 13 17% 0 0%
Zay Jones WR 7 9% 0 0%
Brandon Parker T 2 3% 5 19%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Erik Harris FS 62 100% 18 69%
Trayvon Mullen CB 62 100% 4 15%
Nicholas Morrow LB 62 100% 0 0%
Maxx Crosby DE 58 94% 3 12%
Clelin Ferrell DE 52 84% 0 0%
Jeff Heath SS 50 81% 14 54%
Nick Kwiatkoski LB 50 81% 3 12%
Johnathan Hankins DT 44 71% 3 12%
Nevin Lawson CB 42 68% 8 31%
Lamarcus Joyner CB 37 60% 0 0%
Cory Littleton LB 34 55% 18 69%
Kendal Vickers DT 29 47% 3 12%
Arden Key DE 25 40% 0 0%
Keisean Nixon CB 21 34% 19 73%
Maurice Hurst Jr. DT 21 34% 0 0%
Dallin Leavitt FS 12 19% 21 81%
Daniel Ross DT 9 15% 3 12%
Vic Beasley LB 8 13% 0 0%
Amik Robertson CB 2 3% 6 23%
Damon Arnette CB 2 3% 0 0%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Derek Carrier TE 0 0% 23 88%
Kyle Wilber LB 0 0% 21 81%
Raekwon McMillan LB 0 0% 21 81%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 11 42%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 8 31%
Trent Sieg LS 0 0% 8 31%
Andre James C 0 0% 5 19%
Patrick Omameh G 0 0% 5 19%

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Raiders select Miami DE Gregory Rousseau in new Draft Network mock

Raiders select Miami DE Gregory Rousseau in new Draft Network mock

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As we inch closer and closer to the end of the 2020 season, it’s never too early to look ahead to the 2021 offseason. Going into next year, it’s pretty clear what needs to improve for Las Vegas. They’ve got to improve their defense and there isn’t a position that couldn’t be upgraded.

However, knowing the way Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden want to build their team, it’s very likely that they will devote more resources to the front seven. And that means they could be in the market for a pass-rusher once again.

In a recent mock draft by Trevor Sikkema of The Draft Network, he has the Raiders selecting Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau. The former Hurricane opted out of the 2020 season and will enter the NFL Draft. Here is what Sikkema had to say about the potential pairing:

“If the Raiders can pull this off, they’d be doing backflips—well, maybe not that excited because it means they’d miss the playoffs.

Rousseau’s short resume might hold him back from being a top-10 pick, but his tools and his ceiling are high. Somewhere in the teens feels like a sweet spot for him, and Rousseau to the Raiders would be a perfect fit for the player and the need.”

Rousseau is the exact type of defensive lineman that Rod Marinelli loves to have on his unit. He’s long, athletic and can win from multiple positions. He does his best work as an interior rusher, but his quickness and movement skills allow him to dominate as an edge rusher, as well.

It’s very likely Rousseau ends up as a top-10 pick when it’s all said and done due to his incredible length and athleticism. But with only a handful of starts under his belt, it wouldn’t be a shock if he fell to the teens. Keep an eye on Rousseau’s draft stock throughout the next several months as he could be a potential fit for the Raiders in the first round.

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LOOK: Raiders QB Derek Carr’s passing chart from Week 13

LOOK: Raiders QB Derek Carr’s passing chart from Week 13

Sunday was another huge statistical day for Derek Carr. Against the Jets, he threw for the fifth-most yards in a game (381) in his career and threw the game-winning touchdown with just a few ticks left on the clock.

However, this really wasn’t one of Carr’s better games of his career. On the penultimate drive of the game, he missed Nelson Agholor in the end zone for what would have been the game-winning touchdown. Instead, the Raiders turned the ball over on downs and the game was thought to be over.

Even after the Raiders got the ball back one more time, Carr missed Agholor again in the end zone on the play before he hit Henry Ruggs for the touchdown. Carr surely made up for the misses, but they happened more so than usual on Sunday.

Take a look at Derek Carr’s passing chart from Week 13 via the NFL’s Next Gen Stats:

Ultimately, the Raiders got the win and it was because of the fantastic throw to Carr. However, they will need him to play better next week against a really good Colts’ team.

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Raiders playoff chances increase to 46 percent after Week 13 win

Raiders playoff chances increase to 46 percent after Week 13 win

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Until the very final seconds of the game, the idea of a playoff berth for the Las Vegas Raiders seemed to be drifting away. Down by four points with just a few ticks of the clock left, the Raiders were looking at 6-6 and three-straight losses. But fortunately, Derek Carr found a wide-open Henry Ruggs down the field for the game-winning score.

Sitting at 7-5, the Raiders are right in the thick of things in the AFC Wild Card hunts. According to FiveThirtyEight, the team’s playoff chances at 46 percent at the end of Week 13. That is a fairly significant increase from last week after the odds dropped down to 30-35 percent after the team’s loss to the Falcons.

Now, these odds could drop some with a Ravens win on Tuesday night against the Dallas Cowboys. But an upset would actually increase the Raiders’ chances by quite a bit. The Raiders are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the Wild Card hunt. But with upcoming against the Colts and Dolphins, that can change quickly.

Consider this; a win in Week 14 against the Colts would increase the team’s playoff chances to 70-71 percent. But a loss would give them a less than 25 percent chance to play in the tournament in January.

Needless to say, next week’s game against the Colts is the biggest of the season. And the Raiders are going to have to play much better than what we’ve seen over the last two weeks. If they can pull off the win, they will certainly be in the driver’s seat for their first playoff berth since 2016.

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Raiders winners and losers in Week 13 vs. New York Jets

Raiders Wire covers the winners and losers from the Week 13 win vs the New York Jets

The Las Vegas Raiders gave their fans a heart attack this week. They took an 0-11 New York Jets team to the wire and pulled out a 31-28 victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. It was an ugly game for the Raiders on both sides, but a win is a win in the NFL.

The offense was up and down for most of the ball game. It was a tale of two halves with the Raiders dominating the Jets in the first half, basically moving the football at will through the air. In the second half, Gruden got conservative and attempted to run the football to no avail.

The Raiders were shut down consistently with three and outs and allowed the Jets to get back into the game with a turnover. They still finished with 5.9 yards per play, but it was not a consistent performance against a lesser opponent.

The defense was terrible for most of the game, allowing the 26th ranked rushing attack to run for 206 yards. They were constantly beat outside, and that has been an Achilles heel for the Raiders this season. Allowing 28 points to a Jets team who averages 13 points per game is inexcusable at this point. Raiders have to play better defenses if they actually expect to be a playoff team.

Who were the winners and losers in Week 13? Let’s take a look.

Winner: TE Darren Waller

Darren Waller has been great all season, but his 8.5 yards per catch have kept him from breaking out. That all changed Sunday with Waller having the best game of his career. The Jets had no answer for him all game, and he dominated from the first snap.

Waller finished the game with 13 receptions for 200 yards on his 17 targets. He added two touchdowns, with his second one being as impressive of a play you will see from a tight end. The Jets refused to cover him in the first half, playing man to man and getting toasted on every snap. He is the fourth tight end in NFL history to have 200 yards receiving, which makes a historic day for Waller.

The former Georgia Tech receiver is one of the top three tight ends in the NFL and has solidified his position this season. He is the Raiders’ best weapon in the passing game, and they have to lean on him while they make this push towards the playoffs. However, other teams will probably double team him.

Winner: DE Clelin Ferrell

Clelin Ferrell made his first appearance in two games after coming down with Covid-19. Fans have been hard on him all season, especially because he did not have a sack going into Sunday. That all changed with Ferrell putting together his best performance of the season.

Ferrell created huge plays, getting his first two sacks of the season on the day. He created two turnovers, with both sacks coming from the strip variety. A good surprise from today was Ferrell displaying his ability to bend around the corner. We didn’t see that on tape before, but this game, Ferrell showed up and bent around the corner like a good pass rusher.

While he was bad on a few of the run plays, he also set the edge where linebackers were expected to fill their fits. The performance should give Ferrell more confidence going forward, and hopefully, we see more of that bend to finish this season.

Winner: Trayvon Mullen

Another week with Mullen making the winners list, adding a third straight good outing. Mullen is the best player in this secondary and is coming into his own during the last few weeks. This just added another dot on the resume with a great performance against the Jets.

Mullen did well outside in man to man against the Jets receiving corps. He stole the ball away from the receiver on his second interception of the season, which was a massive play for the Raiders. Also, he had a pass deflection as well, adding more to his season total.

The Raiders have missed on a few draft picks the past couple of years, but Mullen is not one of them. He is already a solid cornerback in this league and is about a year away from becoming a great corner if he continues to evolve.

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Prevailing conspiracy theory among NFL minds that Jets threw the game vs Raiders

Prevailing conspiracy theory among NFL minds that Jets threw the game vs Raiders

“With seven seconds left, I couldn’t believe they all-out blitzed us. But as soon as I saw it, I was thankful.”

That was Derek Carr after the Raiders managed an improbable win in the final seconds against the Jets. And he’s not alone.

It seems the general consensus among NFL folks is that the Jets threw this game against the Raiders.

More on that in a minute, but let’s first go back a bit and set the scene.

With the Raiders down 28-24, in need of a touchdown, they set up in 4th and three at the 9-yard-line with 1:49 remaining. Derek Carr dropped back and quickly threw off his back foot toward the end zone and his pass fell short of Nelson Agholor to turn the ball over on downs.

The Jets got the ball with 1:37 and all they needed was a first down to ice it. Three straight runs garnered five yards, and they punted after taking a little over a minute off the clock and forcing the Raiders to use both of their timeouts.

The Raiders got the ball at their own 39-yard-line with 35 seconds. A 15-yard pass to Darren Waller got some of that, but it was over the middle, so Carr had to run up and spike it.

With 19 seconds left, Nelson Agholor went on a go route right up the middle and got open for the score, but Carr overthrew it. That set up third and ten from the 46 with 13 seconds left.

Protecting the end zone was the one and only priority for the Jets. And that’s exactly what they did not do. Henry Ruggs III beat his man up the left sideline and was wide open for the score. And this time Carr found his open receiver for the score and the win.

To Carr’s stunned surprise, the Jets blitzed, leaving no one deep, like they were daring the Raiders to throw for the end zone and beat them. Hard to think it was anything but that.

Henry Ruggs III also said he was surprised the Jets left no help over the top.

“We were kind of surprised that they brought the house like that and not to drop everybody back,” said Ruggs. “But you kind of know that defenders are going to play soft and keep it in front of them, so once I made the inside move to make him think it was an inside route, he flipped his hips and from there I just had to use my speed to make a play.”

Jets safety Marcus Maye was not holding back in the postgame, either, calling out the play call that removed him from deep responsibilities so he couldn’t try and keep the score from happening.

If you’re wondering if this call by Gregg Williams is in any way common, it’s not. And for good reason.

The prevailing conspiracy theory, if you will, is that the call came down from up high to throw this game as the Jets are in full on Tank for Trevor (Lawrence) mode.

Whether you subscribe to this conspiracy theory or not, it’s weird to think of these Raiders ever being in a position in which they had no business winning a game against an 0-11 team. But that’s where we are, and it’s not a good place to be. Especially a week after getting pummeled 43-6 by the 3-7 Falcons.

Had the Raiders lost to the Jets, it would be considerably more devastating. But you have to wonder that if the Jets had actually played the end of this game like they wanted to win, the Raiders would have given the Jets their first win of the season and the Raiders their third straight loss to fall to a .500 record. Even in a win, this shouldn’t sit well with the Raiders as they continue an attempt to make a playoff run.

[lawrence-newsletter]

Raiders TE Darren Waller just the fourth tight end ever to reach 200 yards in a single game

Sunday couldn’t have gone better for Darren Waller.

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Sunday couldn’t have gone better for Darren Waller. Not only did his team win, but he had a career day. Waller caught an incredible 13 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Not only was it a big game for him, but it was also a historic one from the tight end position.

According to Pro Football Reference, Waller is now just the fourth tight end ever to reach 200 receiving yards in a single game, with Shannon Sharpe, George Kittle and Rich Caster doing it before him. It was also just the 23rd instance in NFL history where a tight end caught at least 13 passes in a single game.

Waller did his damage all over the field against the Jets as they had no answer for him. As you can see from his receiving chart in Week 13, he lined up all over the formation and had success on just about every level of the defense. Take a look at what he did this week via the NFL’s Next Gen Stats:

Waller hasn’t been quite as consistent this season as he was in 2019, but he still has the big performances every now and then. Whenever the Raiders needed a big play, Waller was the target. He drew multiple flags and made play after play after the catch.

Waller should be a lock to make the first Pro Bowl of his career as he now has 742 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. With four games left in the season, it’s not impossible that he reaches 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns.

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Raiders win back-and-forth game in Week 13, beat Jets 31-28

Raiders win back-and-forth game in Week 13, beat Jets 31-28

After back-to-back losses, the Raiders needed a win in Week 13 to stay alive in the AFC Wild Card hunt. They got that win in dramatic fashion with only a few seconds left in the game.

Early on in the game, the Raiders had some trouble stopping the Jets on offense. New York scored touchdowns on two of their first three drives, but the defense stepped it for the rest of the half.

But later in the game, they allowed back-to-back touchdown drives as the Jets took the lead with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter. The Raiders had a chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, but an incomplete pass to Nelson Agholor on 4th and 3 essentially ended the game.

However, the Raiders did get the ball back one more time with 0:35 seconds left on the clock at the Jets’ 39-yard line. And it was Henry Ruggs III who saved the day with a long-ball touchdown. That was huge for him after fumbling the ball earlier in the fourth quarter. He also had a drop in the first quarter that led to a Derek Carr interception. However, the big play certainly made up for it as it was essentially a walk-off touchdown for the rookie.

The Raiders now sit at 7-5 with four games remaining in the season. Their next game will come at home against the Indianapolis Colts in a game they need to win. Earning a tiebreaker over the Colts would be massive for the Raiders’ playoff chances.

[lawrence-newsletter]

Watch: Raiders with three consecutive takeaways in second quarter vs Jets

We’re at the half in New Jersey with the Raiders up 17-13 and they’ve gotten there the hard way. They haven’t been able to stop the Jets offense the old-fashioned way – by forcing punts – so instead they have been taking the ball away from them. In …

We’re at the half in New Jersey with the Raiders up 17-13 and they’ve gotten there the hard way. They haven’t been able to stop the Jets offense the old-fashioned way — by forcing punts — so instead they have been taking the ball away from them.

In particular, three straight drives in the second quarter the Raiders have forced a Jets turnover.

The Jets began the second quarter by going on a 69-yard touchdown drive to take a 13-7 lead. And since then their offense has looked like it would drive right down for a score again, only to have it all end with a turnover instead.

The first turnover was also Clelin Ferrell’s first sack of the season. He got around the left edge to get Sam Darnold’s arm as he tried to throw and the Raiders recovered.

The Raiders couldn’t mount a drive off the short field and settled for a field goal to make it a 13-10 game.

In response, the Jets’ offense got moving again, going 32 yards down the field. Then Trayvon Mullen made an elite play to step in front of a Darnold pass and pick it off with one hand.

This time, the Raiders capitalized, driving 66 yards for the touchdown to take a 17-13 lead.

With 1:12 left in the second quarter, the Jets needed to get moving. They got moving all right. They went 40 yards on five plays. Then Clelin Ferrell happened again.

Darnold held onto the ball too long and Ferrell was relentless, breaking through the Mekhi Becton block attempt to nail Darnold in the back, forcing another fumble.

A couple of sacks on Derek Carr kept the Raiders from getting a score off this turnover, but the takeaways are the reason the Raiders led 17-13 at the half.

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