Tag: Alex Bars

Raiders, Steelers Wednesday Week 16 injury report: Raiders 2 starting guards return to practice

Raiders 2 starting guards return to practice

Last Sunday, the Raiders found themselves in a precarious position. Before half time, the two guards on the field for them were players who had been on the practice squad a week ago. And the offensive line struggled a bit, likely as a result.

No offense to Hroniss Grasu and Jordan Meredith, but both being thrust into full time duties is not ideal, especially considering the line works as a unit, and two new guards means no one had a familiar face next to them.

Today — their second practice of the week — the Raiders got some good news. Both of their starting guards who missed all or most of last week’s game returned to practice.

Though they were still limited, both LG Dylan Parham and RG Alex Bars were on the practice field Wednesday, offering some hope the Raiders line could field its full starting five when they face the Steelers on Christmas Eve.

Still not practicing was starting cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.

Missing with injury for the Steelers were WR Diontae Johnson, RB Najee Harris, and S Terrell Edmunds.

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Raiders, Patriots Thursday Week 15 injury report: G Alex Bars, CB Rock Ya-Sin still missing

G Alex Bars and CB Rock Ya-Sin have missed the first two practices this week for Raiders.

The status of a couple Raiders starters is in doubt this week as the Raiders prepare to face the Patriots on Sunday. Both guard Alex Bars and cornerback Rock Ya-Sin missed the first two practices this week, both knee injuries.

Ya-Sin missed last week’s game against the Rams and appears as if he could miss another game this week.

Bars left early in the Rams game and didn’t return. The Raiders have made a number of moves at the guard position this week looking to find a suitable replacement should he be unable to go, including signing Netane Muti off the Broncos practice squad.

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Raiders offensive line had statement game Sunday vs Chargers

With no sacks or negative runs allowed Raiders Oline made big statement vs Chargers

In many ways, the Raiders completely flipped the script on the Chargers in their second meeting of the season. It turned a one-score loss in the opener into a one-score win on Sunday.

The most notable difference came along the offensive line. Where they were unsettled and struggling to find a foothold in the first meeting, 12 weeks later, it was the opposite story.

That first meeting, Derek Carr was sacked five times and Josh Jacobs had his fewest carries and second fewest yards of the season. Sunday, Carr wasn’t sacked once and the Raiders didn’t have a single negative play in the run game.

For the most part, the offensive line had serious issues in the opener. The two possible exceptions were guard Dylan Parham and center Andre James.

The two of them have been steady presences on the line this season, though the rookie Parham moved around a lot while the team looked for the best combination at guard and right tackle.

Over the team’s three-game win streak, the Raiders have fielded the same starting five playing every single snap — LT Kolton Miller, LG Parham, C James, RG Alex Bars, and RT Jermaine Eluemunor. This group had been playing very well as a whole, and Sunday they had their best game of the season.

“Confident. Obviously just progressing,” Parham told me after the game. “You want to be able to play the best ball in November and beyond. And so for us, obviously just getting better, understanding the scheme a little bit better and just having our feet up underneath us. Week one is going to look a little different for everybody and it’s going to be new, especially with the way we were rotating the first couple weeks. And so now we have that chemistry a little bit more and we’ve built that and it feels a little bit different than just like new and you have a little bit of everything going on.”

The lack of pressure allowed Carr to connect on four passes over 30 yards, including two deep touchdowns to Davante Adams. And Carr noted after the game the best thing about that kind of game is with the short week “The main thing is I didn’t get hit in the ribs again, so I’m happy about that.”

And then there’s the ground game, which was dominant again with Josh Jacobs going for 144 yards and a touchdown.

It was Jacobs’s third straight game with over 100 yards on the ground and it comes on the heels of a career game for Jacobs in which he had 229 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Jacobs has been on this journey with this offensive line. The teamwork and chemistry between the offensive linemen is often discussed, but there’s also a chemistry and feel that occurs between the line and the back. You are seeing it with how Jacobs is seeing his openings.

“They believe in me like I believe in them,” Jacobs said of his line. “I encourage those guys all the time. I’m their biggest advocate. Even when they do bad, I tell them I believe in them. You can tell that they lay it out on the line for me and that’s a great feeling to have.”

That is a two-way street as well. With the way Jacobs has been running, it inspires the line.

“It definitely makes you want to block more because a lot of times when you see it, you’ll be like ‘how did he get through that?’ Parham said of Jacobs. “It’s just like, if he can get through that, then imagine if you just hold up a little bit longer. A little bit extra. He can do a lot of things with the ball. He’s literally a magician back there. . . watching him perform on Sundays it makes you want to go harder. And then seeing him battle through tackles, those extra yards after contact, he’s a dog, man.”

Jacobs has always been known for his yards after contact. But much of that had to do with how often he was hit in the backfield or at the line. And he will still often make something out of nothing. In games like this, the line was clearly doing their part.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 11 vs Broncos

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 11 vs Broncos

It was a nail-biter for these two teams trying to fight their way out of the ranks of the worst teams in the NFL. It was also a field goal festival as neither team does well in putting the ball in the end zone.

The game went back and forth all game with regulation ending with a 16-16 tie. Then the Raiders got the ball first and ended it in three plays.

Ballers

ED Maxx Crosby

It was the offense that won the game in overtime. But it was Crosby who got this game to OT in the first place. As the game went on, it was clear Russell Wilson was downright terrified of Crosby every time he got near him. And you can’t blame him, honestly.

With the Broncos up 10-7 approaching halftime, they lined up in third and one from inside the five-yard-line. Melvin Gordon took the handoff and looked like he would pick it up, but Crosby punched the ball out. The Broncos recovered, thinking they could at least get a field goal out of it. Crosby had other plans. He blocked the field goal try and in two plays turned a long Broncos drive into zero points.

He then ended three consecutive Broncos drives in the third quarter with two sacks and a pressure to force an incompletion. He would end another Broncos drive in the fourth quarter and they settled for a field goal to take a 16-13 lead. Holding them to three turned out to be the answer as the Raiders tied it up at the end and won it in OT.

WR Davante Adams

It was Adams’s savvy route running that sealed the Broncos’ fate. He had noted the way Patrick Surtain was covering him and made it look like he was running an over route only to run a corner route. Surtain sold out for the over, leaving Adams wide open for an *easy* 35-yard walk-off touchdown.

Adams scored both the Raiders’ touchdowns in the game. The first one came in the second quarter from 31 yards out. This after making a 23-yard catch to start out the drive. In total, he had seven catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

One of his more heads-up plays wasn’t a catch at all. Early in the fourth quarter with the Raiders down 13-10, Carr stared him down, causing the pass to be batted at the line and Adams turned defender to slap the ball down to keep it from being intercepted. That allowed for Daniel Carlson to come out and hit a 57-yard field goal to tie it.

LB Denzel Perryman

Perryman was definitely back. His presence is noticeable on this defense and he was feeling good too.

The defense started to pick things up in the second half. It started with Perryman shooting into the backfield to make a tackle for loss, helping lead to a three-and-out. He also led out the fourth quarter with a tackle for loss which led to another three-and-out.

Perryman finished tied for the team lead with five solo tackles, two for a loss and two QB hits.

RB Josh Jacobs

Jacobs was just churning out first downs in this game. He had three in the drive late in the first quarter to put them in scoring range, including a 14-yard run. He had two more on their touchdown drive in the second quarter.

Jacobs started out their second scoring drive with a 15-yard run. Then he had three consecutive runs for a total of 18 yards to set up their third score. And he made a 43-yard catch to set up their game-tying field goal at the end of regulation.

Jacobs finished with 109 yards on the ground and 160 yards from scrimmage.

G Dylan Parham

Somebody had to block for all those Jacobs runs. And often times that man was Parham. The rookie left guard was a rare bright spot on this shoddy Raiders offensive line. And he did his work without his lefthand man, Kolton Miller in the lineup.

Parham cleared the way on two good runs by Jacobs on their first drive into scoring range and the second went for a first down. And his block on a five-yard Jacobs run in the fourth quarter set up the long field goal to tie it at 13-13.

K Daniel Carlson

Rather unexpected that Carlson is named a Baller in the game that had his first missed field goal in over a year. But after missing from 46 yards out, Carlson went on to make from 52 yards out, a career-high 57-yarder, and the game-tying field goal from 25 yards away at the end of regulation.

He may have had a 56-yard field goal as well, but for some reason, Josh McDaniels opted to punt it instead. It was a strange decision to say the least, especially considering Carlson nailed the 57-yarder in the thin Denver air.

Honorable Mention

S Roderick Teamer — Looked better than Johnathan Abram did on his best day. Had some nice coverage and solid tackles and filled in well for Duron Harmon when he left with cramps.

LT Jermaine Eluemunor — Filled in admirably for the injured Kolton Miller. He wasn’t stellar, but wasn’t a glaring liability either, which is saying a lot considering the difficulty of the position.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 10 vs Colts

As Week 11 approaches, we look back at the Ballers & Busters for the Week 10 debacle vs the Colts

Many of you have probably already moved on from the Raiders loss to the Colts last Sunday. Normally Ballers & Busters comes out early in the week, but coming down with a vicious cold on Monday put a kink in that for me, so here we are the day before their next game.

Better late than never, right? For posterity?

The way the Raiders got their two wins this season were by putting together a full four quarters. In most of their six losses, they were shut down for a full half of football. Whether that was a slow start or a late collapse. This one was a bit of both.

In the end they were still shut down for a half of football. It was simply split up between the first and fourth quarters. Hence, the slow start AND a late collapse. They were decent in between, but that won’t get it done.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

As is often the case, Crosby was the best player on the field in Silver & Black. He had a run stop for no gain on the Colts’ final drive of the first quarter to hold it to a field goal.

Then he ended the Colts’ first drive of the third quarter by sacking Matt Ryan on third and one. The 14-yard loss resulted in a 48-yard field goal attempt that missed off the right upright. The play energized the offense and they drove for a touchdown and their first lead of the game at 14-13.

The Colts’ first drive of the fourth quarter was a three-and-out with Crosby making the run stop on third and nine. Once again, the offense responded with a go-ahead score. Even though in both instances, their lead didn’t last long.

P AJ Cole

Cole was launching rocket shots all game long. His punts traveled 50, 67, 61, 54, and 62 yards for an average of 58.8 yards per punt. Only one of his punts was returned past the 20-yard-line.

TE Foster Moreau

The first touchdown of the day for the Raiders was Moreau making a diving grab with a defender draped all over him. But it was also Moreau who got the Raiders in scoring range in the first place. He made the longest catch of the game for the Raiders at that point, taking a short pass for 21 yards. Then with the Raiders at the Indianapolis 36, he laid the key block to spring Josh Jacobs on a 22-yard run.

In the third quarter, the Raiders went on their second TD drive with Moreau perhaps making the key play on the drive. On second and 20, Moreau caught an 18-yard pass. They converted the third and two and scored the TD two plays later.

It’s a shame his day ended with a ball hitting both his hands in the end zone on what would’ve been the game-winning touchdown. But the moment the ball got there, it was swatted out by LB Bobby Okereke.

RB Ameer Abullah

Abdullah would’ve had an even bigger day than his four catches for 33 yards had Derek Carr not missed him wide-open over the middle late in the first quarter leading to a three-and-out.

As it stood, Abdullah had several third-down catches, converting on two, and putting them in 4th and one on the other which they converted.

He also returned a kickoff to the 38-yard-line.

WR Davante Adams

Finished with nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. Much of his yards came on his touchdown from 48 yards out.

Probably his most impressive catch came on the Raiders’ final drive. On third and eight, he took the pass in the right flat, broke a tackle, and dragged defenders for several yards to pick up the first down. Later in the drive, he made a catch, broke a tackle, and took it for 16 yards to the 19-yard-line.

Honorable Mention

CB Sam Webb – Kept most catches in front of him. Finished with a team-leading two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 8 vs Saints

Plenty of blame to go around for the Raiders terrible performance in New Orleans Sunday

If you’re reading this, I admire your perseverance. It isn’t easy to relive games like this if you’re a fan. But it can be cathartic. And sometimes you just go searching for answers. I hope I can provide some for you from this completely lopsided 24-0 game.

Ballers

None

This should come as no surprise in a game such as this that there were no standout exceptions to all the terribleness. I came out of the live viewing expecting this and the more in-depth look confirmed that. Pretty much just bad top to bottom.

And, no, there aren’t even any Honorable Mentions.

Busters

HC Josh McDaniels, DC Patrick Graham

The offense went nowhere and the defense couldn’t seem to stop anything. It was 24-0 and really it wasn’t even that close. The Saints missed a chipshot field goal and spent most of the second half just running the clock.

The Raiders were down 7-0 heading into the second quarter. The first play of the quarter was third and one. And instead of going to Josh Jacobs, McDaniels tried to get cute and gave it to Davante Adams on a sweep. It was blown up for a loss.

Now fourth and two at their own 28, the Raiders lined up in punt formation. And McDaniels tried to get even cuter with a fake. The direct snap to reserve safety Matthias Farley was stopped for a loss and the Saints took over already in scoring range. They added a field goal to make those two bad calls by McDaniels worth three points and a 10-0 deficit.

After a Carr interception gave the Saints the ball in Raiders territory again, Graham’s defense quickly made it 17-0 when Alvin Kamara was left wide open over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown catch and run.

That was Kamara’s second TD of the game, but not his last. In fact, his third TD, he was also wide open over the middle, this time going 36 yards for the score. Graham’s defense wasn’t accounting for Kamara just as it was completely failing to contain Taysom Hill who got good yards time and time again on designed runs.

This team never got off the plane. How they could be this unprepared is mind-boggling. An earlier start due to the Eastern Time Zone doesn’t explain this level of ineptitude. Not sure anything does.

QB Derek Carr

Not one snap in New Orleans territory. Not one. His fewest yards ever thrown in a game (101) with at least ten completions or 15 attempts. His third-worst passer rating (50.3) of his career. His third fewest yards per attempt (3.88) of his career. His fourth-fewest completions (15) in a game in which he threw more than 25 passes (26).

The first drive ended with him throwing too high for a wide-open Mack Hollins. Second drive with him throwing short of Davante Adams. Fourth with him getting picked off.

The first drive of the third quarter ended with him getting sacked twice — the second time because he held onto the ball too long — and then giving up with a dump on third and 23. His next — and final — drive ended with him throwing a three-yard bubble screen to Davante Adams on second and 27. Then, of course, another give-up dump to call it a night.

CB Rock Ya-Sin, CB Anthony Averett

When Taysom Hill wasn’t running wild, Andy Dalton was picking apart the secondary. Andy. Dalton. And Ya-Sin and Averett were making it look easy.

The first TD drive featured Averett giving up a 30-yard catch. It was Averett again who gave up an eight-yard catch that put them at the 11-yard line and they scored on the next play.

Late in the first half, the Saints drove into scoring range with Ya-Sin giving up a 14-yard catch on third-and-nine and Averett giving up a 10-yard catch on third-and-four. They escaped it being a scoring drive because of a missed chip shot field goal.

They wouldn’t escape it to start the third quarter with Ya-Sin being called for pass interference on third-and-nine and the Saints going on to score their third touchdown.

The two of them would give up third-down conversion catches on the final Saints drive to allow them to bleed the clock down.

T Kolton Miller, G Alex Bars, TE Foster Moreau

Blocking was a real problem for the Raiders. No one was great. These three were especially bad.

It wasn’t a happy homecoming for LSU alum Moreau. He was getting pushed all over the place trying to block. The first play had him blocked into the gap to cause a run stuff. The second play he gave up a pressure that led to a tackle for loss and ultimately a three-and-out to begin the game.

The second drive saw Bars miss his block to give up a run stuff for a three-yard loss. The drive ended with Miller giving up a pressure that forced Carr to step up and throw on the run and the pass fell short and incomplete. Miller would end the next drive when he did a face plant on his block that got Davante Adams nailed for a loss on the sweep.

Moreau would give up another run stuff on the next possession, then Carr was picked off on third-and-two.

After falling down 24-0, Bars gave up a sack on Carr and he was sacked again on the next play while trying to make up the yards lost on the first one.

Carr’s final drive began with Miller being flagged for a false start. Then after Moreau made a first down catch, he gave up another hit on Carr that led to another tackle for loss. And Miller gave up a hit on Carr on the next play to set up third and 13. So much for all that settling in they were doing.

LB Denzel Perryman, LB Divine Deablo

It’s times like this that you realize just looking at tackle numbers doesn’t tell the whole story. If it did, it would look as if Deablo had a great game. After all, he did put up 14 tackles. But many of those tackles were downfield after the damage had been done. The same goes for Perryman and his eight tackles.

For proof of this, you need only look at the game Alvin Kamara had. Seven of his nine catches came with either Deablo or Perryman in coverage. Against Deablo he had four catches on four targets for 38 yards and a TD. Against Perryman he had three catches on three targets for 47 yards and a TD.

I don’t think much more needs to be said.

DE Chandler Jones, DT Bilal Nichols, DT Andrew Billings

Nearly the entire defensive line. Maxx Crosby did enough to stay off the list. The others did not.

Jones was routinely losing containment on the edge and watching Taysom Hill run by him for first downs and chunk plays. He let Hill get by him for good yards on each of the Saints’ three touchdown drives. And after an early pressure on Andy Dalton, he didn’t breathe on him the rest of the game.

Neither Jones nor Nichols nor Billings had a single tackle until after the Saints had taken their 24-0 lead in the third quarter. And none had a single stat other than that. Just utterly ineffective.

Just so you know they were actually on the field, the first TD of the game was set up by Nichols giving up a five-yard keeper on first and goal from the eight. And then Kamara scored from three yards out right through Billings’s position,

WR Davante Adams

I don’t blame him for much of what he’s going through. But he did have a drop, couldn’t seem to get open consistently, even when lined up against a rookie corner, and at one point was even flagged for an illegal shift. He was targeted five times with one catch on a bubble screen. In total, he touched the ball twice for a net of two yards.

Raiders offensive line starting to ‘settle in’ now with very positive results in win over Texans

Raiders Oline felt like they were starting to ‘settle in’ after win over Texans

It’s safe to say the Raiders offensive line is coming off their best game of the season. They not only played a big role in Josh Jacobs having arguably the best game of his career, but kept Derek Carr clean as well.

Jacobs ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Texans. Most of those yards (98) and all of the touchdowns occurred in the second half as the Raiders offensive line wore down the defense.

It is probably no coincidence that they had such a game with the same starting five for consecutive weeks for the first time this season.

Granted, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor went out on the first drive and was replaced by Thayer Munford, the other starting four were the same and at the same positions where they had started prior to the bye week. And Munford has played enough snaps at right tackle, having him come in didn’t disrupt anything.

Right tackle has seen a great deal of change going back to training camp, preseason, and the regular season. But so too has the guard positions and even the center position.

While Andre James is the returning starter at the center position, both guard positions have new faces. And they haven’t always been the same new faces. 

The new face the coaching staff has been trying to find a home for is rookie Dylan Parham. The top pick (third round) seems to have found his home at left guard. And his chemistry with left tackle Kolton Miller is showing up on the field.

“It’s just everybody moving around and now we’re getting comfortable with one another and we’re starting to settle in a little bit more,” Parham said following the Raiders win over the Texans Sunday. “Once you know how another player plays, you can play off of them. It helps the whole offensive line. But that’s the thing, we’re all one as a unit. There’s five of us, but we’re all one. So, once we start getting on one course it helps us play a lot better, so I feel like that’s why we’re playing well as we go along.”

Being the only steady presence on the offensive line, left tackle Kolton Miller agreed wholeheartedly with Parham’s assessment.

“We’re learning more from each other and we hope to keep it up,” Miller said of he and Parham working next to each other. “He’ll probably be there for a while. He’s growing a lot as a young player, as a first year player. He’ll talk and that’s the biggest thing is communication with all these stunts. He’s been coming in with a veteran mentality as a rookie, so that’s been huge.”

Getting the run game going the way they have in recent weeks has helped the offense considerably. Mostly it takes pressure off Derek Carr and the receivers. It also keeps the defense honest, leading to open receivers when they do go to the air.

It was clear that balance was off over the first few games and some of that was because the offensive line was not performing well. There was clearly a lot more blame to go around, but the offensive line is crucial to the success of an offense and it wasn’t what it needed to be. 

From the looks of it, that is changing. It has led to two wins over the past three games, and the other game was a close loss to the Chiefs. And that’s with right tackle still being a bit of an issue. Get that one figured out and we will see more runaway wins like we saw last Sunday.

Raiders Ballers & Busters at the Bye

With it being the Raiders bye week, we take a look at their Ballers & Busters so far.

Sitting at 1-4 is not ideal. And though five games leaves a lot of season still to go, it is the bye week so let’s check in on the Ballers & Busters thus far and see how the Raiders got here.

Ballers

RB Josh Jacobs

Four time since this season Jacobs has been a Baller and twice a Top Baller. He has set new career highs in each of the past two games, first running for 144 yards and then for 154 yards. He has averaged nearly 100 yards per game so far, putting him on pace for over 1600 yards this season.

DE Maxx Crosby

Few things have become more consistent than Crosby’s dominant presence on the right side of the Raiders defensive line. He was tied for the league lead in sacks after five games and is also the league’s top run stopped among edge players. So, it’s no surprise he’s been a Baller four times already and once a Top Baller.

WR Mack Hollins

No question Hollins has been the most pleasant surprise among Raiders new additions. He has been named a Baller three times this season and a Top Baller once. Some of his notoriety has come for his work as a receiver, but also as a blocker and gunner on special teams. Having an X receiver who also takes pride in doing the dirty work is a valuable commodity. The Raiders are very lucky to have him.

WR Davante Adams

Also thrice a Baller, Adams has been as advertised as a top target. His work so far has been all the more impressive considering the Raiders have barely tapped his potential. He often gets open and either doesn’t get the ball or the ball is underthrown.

The week five game against the Chiefs saw easily the best pass to Adams all season. If that can continue, there’s no reason Adams can’t take over some games over the stretch run.

Honorable Mention

CB Amik Robertson — Filled in for the injured Anthony Averett and has held his own, including a solid performance in the Raiders win over the Broncos in which he returned a fumble for a touchdown.

T Thayer Munford — The rookie seventh round pick stepped in at right tackle and has been serviceable which is a damn sight better than anyone else has been of late.

FB Jakob Johnson — While Josh Jacobs has been known to create things on his own, much of the time he finds a gap behind his trusty fullback. Especially his 154-yard game last week.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 5 vs Chiefs

Raiders made a game of it with the Chiefs. But fell short in the end again. So let’s look at the game’s Ballers & Busters

Monday Night was a much closer game in the end than most thought it would be. The Raiders jumped to a 17-0 lead and twice were within one point late. But in the end, that one point deficit was where it would stay and the Raiders would fall to 1-4 on the season.

Ballers

RB Josh Jacobs

Once again, Jacobs was running with a mission against a Chiefs Run D that was best in the league coming into the game. Jacobs made mincemeat of that top ranked run D.

His mission was never more evident than early in the second quarter when he followed up a 13-yard run with a 21-yard run that ended with him plowing through the safety. Jacobs had already scored the Raiders’ previous TD from one yards out and those two runs set up the Raiders’ third score to go up 17-0.

Late in the third quarter, Jacobs followed up another 13-yard run — he created himself with a broken tackle — with a 37-yard run. The Raiders had long since lost the lead and the field goal off that run brought them back within one at 24-23.

Jacobs’s second TD of the game brought the Raiders back to being down one late at 30-29 before the failed two-point conversion. That’s where it remained on their final drive which started with a couple Jacobs eight-yard runs; the second of which gave him a new career-high for a single game, breaking his previous mark (144) he set last week vs the Broncos.

His last run went for five yards on third-and-one, setting his new career-high at 154 yards. Unfortunately, the Raiders went away from him on their next third-and-one and fourth-and-one and the game was over on consecutive incompletions.

DE Maxx Crosby

Every play Crosby made was a big one. It started with a wicked inside spin move to get the sack to end the Chiefs’ first drive. The next drive he made a run stop for no gain and it ended with a missed field goal.

The second quarter featured Crosby’s second sack of the game. That one moved him into a tie for the league lead in sacks (6). Though it wasn’t enough to keep the Chiefs from scoring their first touchdown of the game.

After the Chiefs had completed the comeback to go up 24-23, the Chiefs were back on offense looking to extend their lead. That drive started with Crosby making a run stop for a loss. The Chiefs would still get the touchdown, but on the two-point conversion attempt, the Condor would get pressure on Mahomes and get his long arms up to bat down his pass attempt.

DE Chandler Jones

For the first time this season, Crosby had some help from the other side. Jones didn’t manage to get his first sack as a Raider, but he put plenty of pressure on Mahomes from his side of the line and made some run stops as well.

Jones helped set up Crosby’s first sack with a run stop on first down and pressure resulting in an incompletion on second down. He then broke up a screen pass on the next drive and two plays later the Chiefs would miss a field goal attempt.

The third possession went three-and-out and it was all Jones. Starting with a run stop at the line and ending with a hit on Mahomes to force an incompletion.

Those efforts helped the Raiders build their 17-0 lead to start the game.

T Kolton Miller

Miller didn’t give up any sacks or hits on Derek Carr and as far as I can tell, he didn’t give up any run stuffs either. In addition, he had blocks on several Josh Jacobs runs including his first touchdown run and a 21-yard run in the second quarter that set up the Raiders’ third score.

FB Jakob Johnson

Doing a fine bit of lead blocking for Jacobs was his fullback, including leading the way for Jacobs’s 37-yard run in the third quarter.

WR Davante Adams

Derek Carr went bombs away to Adams several times in this game. The first one went for a 58-yard touchdown. The next two were underthrown and Adams came back for them, forcing a pass interference. The second of them happened in the end zone, setting up their second touchdown.

The next long ball was easily the best pass and catch between Carr and Adams since they became Raiders teammates. Adams got behind two Chiefs defenders and Carr placed it perfectly in his hands in-stride for a 48-yard touchdown.

It was the last two passes to Adams that ended the game. The first would likely have set up the potential game-winning field goal, but Adams didn’t finish the catch before stepping out of bounds. The final pass, Adams and Hunter Renfrow ran into each other. The pass was way long, but it wouldn’t have mattered considering Adams and Renfrow were on the ground. It was a terrible way to end an otherwise great day for Adams who had three catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

LB Divine Deablo

Deablo finished with a team leading ten tackles. On the last two Chiefs drives alone, Deablo had three run stuffs, one for a loss. His last tackle helped lead to the Raiders stopping the Chiefs on their final drive and keeping them from just running clock to give the Raiders offense one more shot.

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Raiders re-sign G Alex Bars, WR Keelan Cole to practice squad

G Alex Bars, WR Keelan Cole brought back to Raiders practice squad

The list of players who the Raiders released or waived in the final cuts who aren’t now back with the team is getting smaller by the day. Today they brought back two more players who were among their cuts — guard Alex Bars and wide receiver Keelan Cole — signing both to their practice squad.

With the practice squad at 16 players already, they made two corresponding moves. They released DE Zach VanValkenburg and placed recently added OL Vitaliy Gurman on practice squad injured reserve.

Bars and Cole were both veteran free agent signings this offseason. They might have been re-signed before this, but first had to see if another team might be interested in adding them to the active roster.

Both have starting experience in the NFL. Bars started 11 games the past two seasons in Chicago while Cole has started 34 games in five NFL seasons.

Their experience, plus having spent the offseason in the Raiders’ offense, makes them valuable as potential call ups during the season.

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