The Raiders got a much-needed win in Week 15 that essentially saved the season. Sitting at 7-7, the Raiders have a real chance of earning a Wild Card spot if they can win their final three games.
If they are going to do that, they will need their offensive line to continue to improve and step up. Luckily, we saw flashes of that against the Browns on Monday afternoon.
One player that played well was first-round pick Alex Leatherwood. According to Pro Football Focus, this was the first game all season in which Leatherwood did not allow a single pressure. Here is a snippet of their thoughts on his performance in Week 15:
“Leatherwood had his first game this season in which he did not surrender any pressure. Across 44 pass-blocking snaps against a depleted Browns team, he kept a zero on the stat sheet for pressure and wasn’t flagged for any penalties.
His run blocking was still average at best, and so his overall PFF grade (61.0) wasn’t the highest he has achieved this season, but it was certainly an encouraging game for a rookie who has been a liability more often than not. For the season, Leatherwood has now surrendered 55 total pressures and 13 penalties.”
Leatherwood still has a long way to go before justifying his first-round status, but games like this are encouraging. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for the former Alabama star.
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