Ballers & Busters – Syndication Server

Raiders 2024 season Ballers & Busters

Rounding up the best and worst aka the Ballers & Busters from the 2024 season.

We’re now a week since the final Ballers & Busters of the Raiders 2024 season. So, let’s round ’em up and put a bow on it with my season Ballers & Busters.

Ballers

Top Baller: TE Brock Bowers

No show here. The Raiders bread and butter on offense set all kinds of rookie, NFL, and franchise receiving records. And along the way was a Baller eight times and Top Baller twice.

DE Maxx Crosby

Even missing five games this season and being hobbled by his ankle injury ins several others, he was still named a Baller six times and a Top Baller twice.

DT Adam Butler

Butler stepped up big time in the absence of Christian Wilkins and proved himself quite valuable both against the pass and the run. Thus, he was named a Baller seven times and was never once a Buster.

WR Jakobi Meyers

He had his first ever 100-yard game, his second ever 100-yard game, and his first ever 1000-yard game this season. All while still doing his dirty work. Thus he was named a Baller six times and thrice a Top Baller. He had fans not missing Davante Adams all that much.

S Tre’von Moehrig

His best season was also his contract year. The Raiders played him up closer to the line of scrimmage a lot and sent him on a fair amount of blitzes. It turned out to suit him very well. He was named a Baller four times, three of those times he was Top Baller.

RB Ameer Abdullah

Injuries knocked out Zamir White and Alexander Mattison and it turned out to not be so bad for the Raiders. Abdullah carried the load and had a nose for the end zone. As a result, he was a Baller in five of his last six games of the. season. Strong finish for him as he makes the case for year 11,

Continue to the Busters…

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 18 loss to Chargers

Breaking down the best and worst individual performances in the Raiders season-ending loss to the Chargers.

The 2024 NFL season came to a close for the Raiders on Sunday. Not for the Chargers, however, they had already punched their ticket for the playoffs. But they were playing for better seeding and the game played out very much like these two teams had very different fates.

Ballers

WR Jakobi Meyers

This game saw Meyers have his second career 100-yard game and, in turn, his first career 1000-yard season.

The Raiders had three scoring drives in the game. The first gave them a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. That drive saw Meyers catch three passes for 35 yards.

The second scoring drive he had a 22-yard catch and then the touchdown from 26 yards out. He had a 24-yard catch in the fourth quarter that put him over 1000 yards on the season and put the Raiders in field goal range, but they needed a touchdown and the drive ended with a turnover on downs.

DT Jonah Laulu, DT Zach Carter

The Chargers’ first drive ended in a three-and-out with Laulu making the run stuff for no gain on third and one. A couple drives later, Laulu got pressure up the middle to force an incompletion and the Chargers settled for a field goal to tie it up at 3-3.

Late in the second quarter, Carter got in the passing lane to bat a pass down on a drive that went for a field goal. He would then end the first drive of the third quarter with consecutive run stuffs for no gain from the one yard line. Laulu had a couple run stuffs early in the drive, including a tackle for loss.

Each of them would have run stops in goal to go on the Chargers’ final scoring drive, though the Chargers would eventually get in on third and goal from the two to put the game away.

LT Kolton Miller

The one sack that came from his man was not his fault. Aidan O’Connell was attempting to escape pressure up the middle and ran into the sack. Miller had a flawless game in protection.

Continue to the Busters…

Busters for Raiders Week 18 loss to Chargers

The duds for the Raiders season finale loss to the Chargers.

Not surprisingly, the Raiders didn’t finish the season on a high note. They were facing a playoff-bound Chargers team they had lost to in the season finale and the Raiders were in even worse shape for this one than they were for the season opener.

Busters

S Isaiah Pola-Mao

The Raiders were actually leading a couple times in the first half. The first time they went up 3-0 in the first quarter. Then on the second play of the Chargers next drive, Pola-Mao gave up a 47-yard catch that put them in scoring range and they tied it up 3-3.

The Raiders would respond with a touchdown drive to take a 10-3 lead. Then the first play of the ensuing drive, Pola-Mao gave up a 22-yard catch to put the Chargers instantly in plus territory. The Chargers would ultimately get another field goal out of it.

The lead would narrow even more on the next drive and it was Pola-Mao who gave up the longest catch of the drive for 17 yards to put them in field goal range.

After Aidan O’Connell threw an interception with a minute left in the second quarter, the Chargers quickly moved into first and goal on a 19-yard catch Pola-Mao allowed. After a spike, they would score the touchdown. They went for two, and it was Pola-Mao who lost track of Ladd McConkey for the score to make it a 17-10 Chargers lead at the half.

CB DeCamerion Richardson

On those last two Chargers possessions of the second quarter, Richardson gave up a 12-yard catch and a five-yard catch.

Still, it was a one-score game late in the third quarter. But it wouldn’t last. The final drive, saw Richardson give up a 14-yard catch on third and five. With the drive still alive, they would go for a touchdown to make it a two-score game to begin the fourth quarter.

The final drive would put the game away. It was led out by Richardson giving up a 39-yard catch, followed by an eight-yard catch that put the Chargers in scoring range to put the game away.

Quentin Johnston brutalized Richardson all game long. To the tune of career highs in catches (13) and yards (186). For perspective on this, in two full seasons, Johnston had never had more than five catches in a game. And this is just the second time he’s ever even surpassed 100 yards in a game.

LB Robert Spillane

The final two drives were brutal for Spillane. First he couldn’t make the tackle on Justin Herbert who ran past him 41 yards to put them in first and goal. They were in the end zone two plays later.

The final drive, Spillane gave up a 12-yard run, followed by a five-yard run, and then a first down on third and three to put them in first and goal. He would get blocked on the two-yard touchdown run as well.

QB Aidan O’Connell

The Raiders started the game with two straight three-and-outs, including a pass for no gain and an overthrow of Brock Bowers. The third drive also ended with O’Connell missing Bowers on an overthrow.

In the second quarter, with the Raiders up 10-9 and in the two-minute drill, O’Connell threw off target for Alexander Mattison short over the middle and was intercepted. It gave the Chargers the ball at the Vegas 30 with a minute remaining. They would get a touchdown out of it to take a 17-10 lead at the half.

Down two scores in the fourth. O’Connell was hurt momentarily and when he came back in, he found himself in third and ten. He threw incompletions on third and fourth down. nearly getting picked by Derwin James on a pass for Brock Bowers in the end zone to turn the ball over on downs.

The Chargers got the ball and drove for the game-clinching score.

See the Ballers.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 17 win over Saints

Who stood out among the individual performances in the Raiders win in New Orleans?

It’s too little, way too late, but the Raiders had their best overall game of the season on Sunday in New Orleans.

After falling behind 7-3 early in the second quarter, they came back to take a 13-10 lead before the half and never looked back. The offense added 12 points in the second half while holding the Saints scoreless for the 25-10 win.

Ballers

QB Aidan O’Connell

O’Connell passes were the catalyst for both the Raiders’ touchdown drives. The first pass was a gorgeous, perfect throw to Jacobi Meyers, who made an over-the-shoulder grab for 29 yards to put the Raiders in scoring range. He connected with Brock Bowers for 17 yards on the next play. Then after a run to mix it up, the found Meyers again for the touchdown from three yards out.

The other touchdown drive, O’Connell found Bowers again on third down for 13 yards. A few plays later, on third and six, he bought some time, and while falling away, launched a pass, finding Tre Tucker in the back corner of the end zone for the clincher.

He also had a deep completion to Terrace Marshall on the Raiders’ second scoring drive, and a tight window completion to Meyers on the first scoring drive of the second half.

LB Robert Spillane

Spillane terrorized the Saints in the third quarter. The first possession he had a run stuff and a pressure on third down to force an incompletion. Next drive he ended by nearly intercepting a pass that may have been a house call. He was frustrated he didn’t get the pick, so he took it out on Spencer Rattler by breaking up another pass and then sacking Rattler to end the next possession.

He led the team with eight tackles (four solo), with two for a loss, a sack, and two pass breakups.

RB Ameer Abdullah

Abdullah had his first career 100-yard rushing game. He finished with 115 yards on the ground and added three catches for 32 yards for a total of 147 yards from scrimmage.

He was the main factor in the first drive, rushing seven times for 41 yards and catching a 12-yard pass that looked for a moment like it might be a touchdown, but was ruled just short of the end zone. Unfortunately the Raiders couldn’t get that extra few inches and settled for a field goal. But the run was established.

Abdullah added an 11-yard run on the next scoring drive that put the Raiders in field goal range. Then his 13-yard run set up the Raiders with first and goal at the three and they retook the lead before the half.

He would get over the 100-yard hump late in the third quarter on an eight-yard run that led out a field goal drive that gave their their first two-score lead.

TE Brock Bowers

Not only did he lead the Raiders in receiving with seven catches for 77 yards, he set three huge records along the way.

Late in the second quarter, he made a 13-yard catch that broke Mike Ditka’s rookie tight end receiving yards record that had stood for 63 years. He added a 17-yard catch a few plays later and the Raiders went on to get their first touchdown of the day to take a 13-7 lead.

Late in the third quarter, he caught two passes for 26 yards and broke the rookie receptions record which was set last year by Puka Nacua. Of course, Nacua set it in 17 games and Bowers just broke it in 16. But who’s counting. The Raiders went on to add another field goal to take a two-score lead at 19-10.

On the next drive, Bowers would catch a 13-yard pass on third and five and break the Raiders franchise single-season receptions record. Three plays later, the Raiders scored the touchdown to put the game out of reach.

CB Jack Jones

Jones led the team with three pass breakups. He also had a diving interception off a deflection and the Raiders scored the game-clinching touchdown on the ensuing drive.. Then he nearly had a second interception to end any chance the Saints might try and come back.

WR Jakobi Meyers

The first touchdown drive saw Meyers get behind his defender and Aidan O’Connell drop on in his bread basket for a 29-yard completion. Meyers tracked the ball over his shoulder to make a nice grab. Three plays later, he went on a quick out from three yards out and caught the touchdown.

Meyers also had a tight window 19-yard grab on the Raiders scoring drive to lead out the third quarter.

DT Adam Butler. DE Tyree Wilson

Butler’s run stuff for no gain ended the Saints first possession. And he made the stop to end their first drive of the second quarter.

At the end of the second quarter, the Saints drive into scoring range. It stalled with Wilson getting a QB hit and then a pressure to force an incompletion.

Late in the fourth quarter, on the Saints last gasp, Butler led a three-and-out with a tackle on a short catch and Wilson teamed up for the sack to clinch the win.

LT Kolton Miller

Not only did he give O’Connell plenty of time to throw, but he was also several times opening holes and getting the second level to help Abdullah have his career day on the ground. Best game of the season for Miller.

K Daniel Carlson

Carlson scored 13 of the Raiders 25 points in the game. He was four for four on field goals including a 54-yarder in the third quarter that put the Raiders up 16-10.

Busters

None

While there were mistakes made, none were glaring and no one had a particularly bad day. Any Busters from this one would be reaching.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 16 win vs Jaguars

Rounding up the individual performances after taking a detailed look at the tape from the Raiders week 16 win over the Jaugars.

It’s been a while since this piece was put together without the focus being more on the Busters than the Ballers because it was coming out of yet another loss. To be exact, it had been nearly three months!

As has been the case a lot this season, the defense carries the day for the Raiders. Only this time, it was enough to get the win.

Ballers

S Isaiah Pola-Mao, S Tre’von Moehrig

Moehrig’s pass breakup helped lead to the Jaguars’ second punt of the game. Then after the Raiders tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter, he made the tackle on third down to force another punt.

The Raiders had two takeaways in the game. Both were Pola-Mao forced fumbles. The first came early in the second quarter and Moehrig was there to pounce on it for the recovery at the Jacksonville 45-yard line. They would get a field goal out of it to take a 13-7 lead.

The second turnover came late in the second quarter and it stopped what would have been a scoring drive by the Jaguars, sending the two teams to the locker room with the Raiders maintaining their six-point lead.

On the final Jaguars drive, Moehrig came flying in on the blitz to force Mac Jones to throw the ball into the turf to avoid the sack. Then on fourth down, Moehrig made the tackle short of the sticks to give the Raiders the win.

DE Charles Snowden. DE K’Lavon Chaisson

A week ago Snowden was inactive because of his DUI arrest. He returned to his regularly scheduled breakout season on Sunday, wreaking havoc on Mac Jones and the Jaguars offense.

Snowden made the stop on a catch in the right flat on third down to force the first punt of the game.

Two drives later, Chaisson made an almost identical play to the one he made last week against the Falcons, when he perfectly played a screen pass. That time, he batted the pass to himself for the interception. This time, he looked to have the interception outright, but couldn’t quite hang onto it. Still a well-played ball by Chaisson.

In the second quarter, Chaisson got pressure on the edge on third down, forcing Mac Jones to step up and throw where Snowden was there to bat the pass down at the line.

The first drive of the third quarter was stopped when on consecutive plays, Chaisson set up a tackle for loss and then made the sack for an 11-yard loss.

Snowden led out the first Jaguars’ possession of the fourth quarter with a tackle for loss that led to a three-and-out. Then on fourth-and-one with the game in the balance, he drew a holding penalty to make it fourth-and-11 instead. They couldn’t make it up and turned it over on downs.

RB Ameer Abdullah

Abdullah made the play of the game. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Jaguars having just taken a 14-13 lead, Aidan O’Connell was under pressure, and threw up a prayer ball Abdullah’s way and he came back to make the catch for the first down at the Jacksonville 35.

The next play, Abdullah made an 11-yard catch to put them in easy scoring range. Two play later, he took the ball up the gut from seven yards out for the touchdown to give the Raiders the lead. That 19-14 lead would hold the rest of the way.

He also had three runs for 24 yards to put the Raiders in field goal range for a 13-7 lead just before the half.

TE Brock Bowers

He made the first catch of the day for the Raiders. He was open on the right side and shot up the sideline for 32 yards. As it happens, he was exactly 32 yards from 1000 on the season and that play landed him right on the milestone.

On the game-winning drive, Bowers had three catches for 29 yards, including the 17-yard catch that put them in first and goal. His final two catches helped the Raiders eat up clock to preserve the win and give him 11 catches for 99 yards in the game.

DT Adam Butler, DT John Jenkins

The first tackle of the day was a run stop for no gain and it was set up because Butler shot through the gap to force the run elsewhere. Jenkins helped to end the drive with a punt with a run stuff on first down followed by a batted ball at the line.

Jenkins led out the second Jaguars possession with another run stuff. And he added another on the next drive.

Butler drew a holding penalty in the second quarter that led to a three-and-out. Then he drew another holding penalty in the third quarter that also stopped a drive. On the play prior to that second drawn holding, Jenkins got pressure up the middle to force and incompletion.

Butler is a perfect example of why the game is played outside the stats. He had no stats in the game. But affected the game greatly just the same.

RT DJ Glaze

Didn’t give up any QB hits, sacks, or run stops in the game. That’s just flat out doing his job.

Honorable Mention

QB Aidan O’Connell — The offense wasn’t great. But he led them on two TD drives and made some gritty plays along the way.

Continue to the Busters…

Busters for Raiders Week 16 win vs Jaguars

When you have to come from behind to just barely beat the worst team in football, there were mistakes made.

Beating the Jaguars is a W just like any other. But the Jags may just be the worst team in football. And Mac Jones is not a starting QB. Hell, he may not be an NFL QB. And yet the Raiders still just managed a come-from-behind win while failing to hit 20 points.

Busters

LT Kolton Miller

The second Raiders possession lasted just four plays. On third-and-14 Miller didn’t switch on the stunt to give up the sack.

In the second quarter, the Raiders moved into scoring range at the 24, at which point Miller gave up a tackle for loss. Two plays later, they settled for a field goal. The next drive, they were in third-and-six and Miller was flagged for a false start. They would end up punting.

A holding penalty on Miller would kill a drive in the third quarter.

RG Dylan Parham

The Raiders got a big play on their first play of the day with the 32-yard catch and run by Brock Bowers. But the drive would back up from there. First with Parham flagged for holding. Then with him giving up a six-yard sack on the next play. They didn’t even try to pick up the third-and-26, choosing to run for a few yards and then punt.

Early in the second quarter, the Raiders got their first touchdown. Alexander Mattison ran it in from one yard out. But it was harder than it had to be because Parham was slow on the pull block and ended up just getting in Mattison’s way. First with him running into Parham’s back, and then trying not to trip over him rolling on the turf in front of him.

In the third quarter, he gave up a batted ball at the line on third down to force a punt.

He gets credit for laying the key block on the Raiders’ second TD run, but on the two-point conversion attempt, he gave up the pressure causing Aidan O’Connell to have to throw the ball away.

He would give up a tackle for loss on a drive in the fourth quarter to lead out the final series with a punt.

CB Jack Jones

Twice in this game, the Jaguars had the lead. Both times it was on a catch given up by Jones. The first touchdown drive, Jones gave up 16-yard catch on third and nine to keep the drive alive and set them up at the 12-yard-line. They would get the touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.

Late in the third quarter, with the Raiders clinging to a 13-7 lead, Jaguars rookie phenom receiver Brian Thomas got wide open on the left side. He got so wide open because Jack Jones blew the coverage, staying with the short receiver despite Tre’von Moehrig already there. Thomas went 62 yards and literally walked in for the score to give the Jags as 14-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

He also gave up a 20-yard catch on the Jaguars final drive which was their final first down of the game.

See the Ballers

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 15 loss to Falcons

Calling out the best and worst individual performances for the Raiders in their week 15 game against the Falcons.

While the defense seemed to do a fairly good job of keeping the Falcons from running away with the game, the offense once again couldn’t seem to do anything with those efforts. For the first three quarters, the Raiders offense had crossed the 50 just once. And found themselves down 15-3. A late push ended up too little too late and thus they lost their tenth straight.

Ballers

DT Jonah Laulu

The first stop of the game was courtesy of Laulu coming up the gut on a stunt to sack Kirk Cousins for a ten-yard loss. It took a score off the board too because the Falcons had driven within range of a 45-yard field goal. But after the sack, they instead punted it away.

The Falcons would get a touchdown at the end of the first quarter. And Laulu would help ensure that would be their only TD of the game. The next drive, they would be knocking on the door, making it inside the Vegas 40-yard-line. But they would get no further as Laulu made the tackle on a scramble for two yards to bring up third and long. An errant pass would force another punt.

Later he would make the final play for the defense, dropping into coverage and just getting a hand on a pass that would have been for a first down to end the game. Instead it gave the Raiders the ball back with 1:50 left and a shot at winning the game.

DT Adam Butler

Just before the half, the Falcons drove into Raiders territory again, reaching the Vegas 43. Then in third-and-nine, Butler would fight his way into the backfield to make the sack and force another punt.

LB Robert Spillane

Then the first play of the third quarter, Butler got a hand on a pass at the line, and Robert Spillane picked it off for the first takeaway of the game for the Raiders.

The following drive would end with Spillane making a tackle for loss to bring up third and nine. He would make the stop on the next drive as well, making the tackle short of the first down on third-and-11.

Spillane got flagged for an absolutely terrible roughing the passer penalty. He was flagged for hitting the QB on the helmet and that simply didn’t happen. He actually made a great play, coming on the blitz and batting the ball on what should have been a stop, but was instead an automatic first down on the bogus penalty.

He would help the Raiders defense rally back from that and stop the Falcons anyway three plays later.

RB Ameer Abdullah

For the Raiders to have any chance in this game, they needed to drive for a touchdown late. They got that touchdown thanks to Abdullah. First, he made a 23-yard catch up the right sideline to put them in first and goal at the five. Then on the next play, he took a short pass, broke a tackle and streaked for the end zone, diving over the end line for the score.

Abdullah then put them in position to have a shot at the end as well. On fourth-and-eight, he caught a pass in the right flat, spun out of what looked like a sure tackle and ran for the first down, even getting out of bounds to stop the clock.

Honorable Mention

LB Divine Deablo — Tied for third on the team in tackles (six) including one for a loss.

DE Tyree Wilson — Had a sack and two tackles for loss.

S Isaiah Pola-Mao — Led the team in tackles (nine)

Continue to the Busters…

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 14 loss to Buccaneers

Going over the individual performances for the Raiders in their week 14 games against the Buccaneers.

The Raiders game in Tampa was like a pendulum. The problem was it swung hard the Buccaneers’ way in the first quarter, only slightly the Raiders direction for two quarters, and then hard the Bucs was again for the fourth quarter.

Ballers

S Tre’von Moehrig

After running through the Raiders defense for touchdowns on each of their first two drives, Moehrig started things out for the defense and made big plays on five of their six straight stops in the second and third quarters.

He teamed up for a tackle for loss on the first stop, had a pass breakup and recovered a forced fumble in the next one, had a pass breakup on the third, He added a shared sack on third down in the third quarter and led out the fourth quarter with coverage on third down to force another punt.

He added a run stuff for minimal gain on the final drive of the game to finish with a team-leading eight tackles, a half sack, three pass breakups, and a fumble recovery.

DE K’Lavon Chaisson

Chaisson teamed up with Moehrig on that tackle for loss to start the defense’s run. Then he ended that drive when he stopped his rush to get in the passing lane on a screen, batted the pass to himself for the interception.

In the third quarter he teamed up with Moehrig on a sack and added two more tackles.

RB Sincere McCormick

He continues to show himself to be the Raiders’ best kept secret this season. His 29-yard run was a thing of beauty. He broke two tackles along the way, including a wicked spin move to put the Raiders in position for their second score.

To begin the third quarter, the Raiders were able to go on a 16-play drive that took over ten minutes, largely on his back. He had three first downs, including on third and one and fourth and one. Unfortunately it ended with an interception.

He finished with 78 yards on 15 carries (5.2 yards per carry).

DI Adam Butler

His sack on a drive in the second quarter helped put the Bucs in third and 23 which led to great field position on the Raiders ensuing possession. And he started out the next drive with a run stuff. And his pressure in the fourth quarter led to a bad throw on third down to give the Raiders one last shot to get back in the game.

They couldn’t take advantage, but he still crashed the backfield to start the next drive leading to a run stuff. He finished with four tackles, a sack, and two QB hits.

TE Michael Mayer

Mayer led the Raiders seven catches for 68 yards. It was a career high for catches for Mayer and his second most yards in a game.

His 19-yard catch put the Raiders in first and goal on their first touchdown drive. On the long drive in the third quarter, he laid the key block to convert on fourth and one and on the next play caught a seven-yard pass to put the Raiders at the ten.

Continue to the Busters…

Busters for Raiders week 14 loss to the Buccaneers

Upon further review, the poor performances that most led to the Raiders loss in Tampa.

When you lose your ninth straight, there’s gonna be a few fingers pointed. Here are a few.

Busters

S Isaiah Pola-Mao

The Bucs scored four touchdowns in the game. And he was a part of

On the first touchdown, Jack Jones bit on a pump fake and Pola-Mao was supposed to give him help over the top. But he didn’t get over in time and Jalen McMillan scored the 15-yard touchdown.

Pola-Mao gave up a 20-yard catch that put the Bucs in scoring range on their second touchdown drive.

The Bucs had two big plays on their third TD drive. And Pola-Mao missed tackles on both of them. The first, he lowered his head and dove, leading to Mike Evans hurdling him to go for 32 yards. The next one he laid out and whiffed again on a 34-yard run that put them in first and goal.

The final touchdown drive featured a Pola-Mao giving up a catch and missing the tackle on a 45-yard play. Three plays later, they put the game away.

QB Aidan O’Connell

To lead out the second quarter, the Raiders got a rare takeaway. And on then O’Connell fumbled the snap on the first play of their possession to give it right back.

The defense would get it back again on their first fumble recovery of the season and this time AOC made something out of it. If not for Brock Bowers drawing a pass interference on third down, the Raiders would have likely only gotten a field goal out of it. That gave the Raiders first and goal and led to AOC getting the first rushing yards of his career on a TD sneak. Making it seem for a moment like the Raiders would make a game of it.

But even with a 29-yard run on the next drive, the Raiders couldn’t get a touchdown out of it.

To begin the third quarter, they had a long drive. And that QB sneak TD seemed to make AOC feel mobile for a moment. He tried to run it and got four yards, but hurt himself when he was tackled. He stayed in the game and the offense moved inside the ten. Then AOC tried forcing a pass to Brock Bowers and was picked off to get no points out of the 16-play drive.

The next drive, he tried rolling right and was pushed after the pass, hurting his leg bad enough they put it in an air cast and carted him off the field. Yeah, mobility is still not his thing.

C Jackson Powers-Johnson

Even if you don’t blame him for the fumbled snap, he had plenty of issues in the game.

After giving up a touchdown to open the game, the Raiders needed a response. They instead had a three-and-out. On third and ten, JPJ didn’t pick up the blitz and AOC was sacked for a ten-yard loss.

He was flagged for a blindside block on the next Raiders drive that called back a nice screen to Sincere McCormick. Though to be honest it was a pretty questionable call.

On the play in which AOC got hurt on the rollout, one of the defenders who was chasing him down got by JPJ.

Then there was another fumbled snap exchange between him and Desmond Ridder.

LB Robert Spillane

On the second TD drive for the Bucs, Spillane gave up a 13-yard run, then a 12-yard run, and then was standing in the middle of the field a few yards away watching Rachaad White catch the touchdown. That was three consecutive plays.

The next TD drive, he gave up the edge on a 34-yard run and then didn’t fill the gap on the three-yard touchdown run on the next play.

CB DeCamerion Richardson

The rookie has been a mainstay among the Busters since he took over for Jakorian Bennett after the injury. He was out of position on a 15-yard catch and run on the first TD drive.

In the third quarter he was posterized on a wicked stiff arm to give up a 12-yard run. The next drive, he gave up a 14-yard catch on third and eight. And the next drive he gave up a 32-yard catch, which was the big catch that seemed to get the Bucs offense back on track and they scored a two touchdowns down the stretch to end it.

WR Tre Tucker

The Raiders deep threat had two catches for seven yards. They went to him early and he couldn’t get open up the middle. A couple drives later, O’Connell threw for him up the left sideline and he couldn’t keep his feet inbounds.

P AJ Cole

He had four punts. None were stopped inside the 20 and one bounded into the end zone for a touchback to average a net 38.5 yards per punt.

See the Ballers

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 13 heartbreaker vs Chiefs

A hard-fought game in Kansas City yielded some very conflicted results in this weeks tally of the best and worst performances.

This team put up a hell of a fight in Kansas City. They nearly pulled off a repeat performance to their Christmas Day upset last season. And very well should have done it if not for a botched snap on the final play.

Both teams started slowly, with the score just 10-3 at the half. Then the Chiefs pulled away, adding a couple field goals to make it a 16-3 game. But just when you thought the game was out of reach, the Raiders went on two touchdown drives to take the lead.

In the end they had the chance to win it on a field goal, but watched it slip through their fingers.

Ballers

TE Brock Bowers

Bowers just keeps upping his game. He put up double digit catches again, this time for a career-high 140 yards and a touchdown. He even had a ridiculous one-handed grab in the game. And on the final drive into field goal range, he made a 25-yard catch to midfield.

DE Maxx Crosby, DE K’Lavon Chaisson

Last week it was Tyree Wilson sharing the spotlight with Crosby. This week it’s Chaisson who routinely got into the backfield. Chaisson got to Patrick Mahomes three times, for 1.5 sacks and a pressure that led to Crosby’s sack. In total, Crosby had four QB hits and two tackles for loss. While Chaisson had a tackle for loss and three QB hits.

WR Jakobi Meyers

Meyers had two huge catches of 43 yards and 24 yards to lead out the Raiders first scoring drive. He added a ten-yard catch on the final drive that put the Raiders at the KC 40-yard-line. He finished with six catches for 97 yards.

RB Ameer Abdullah

His 69-yard kick return in the third quarter came just in time. The Raiders were down 16-3 at the time and it put the team in business at the KC 26-yard line. They would score their first TD two plays later to make it a one-score game. He would add two catches for 14 yards on the final drive, including the seven-yard catch to put the team in field goal range for what would have been the game winner.

QB Aidan O’Connell

If the Raiders could have closed the deal, O’Connell may have been Top Baller for this game. He threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, led the Raiders from down 16-3 to the lead early in the fourth quarter, and then down the field for what would have been the game-winner. But his clapping confused the line on the final play, causing the ball to be snapped early and costing them the win. He was superb other than that. Hence him getting credit for it despite his big mistake at the end.

Honorable Mention

DT Adam Butler — Second on the team in tackles (6) and had a half sack and a tackle for loss.

WR Tre Tucker — got open deep up the left sideline for the go ahead touchdown to open the fourth quarter.

RB Sincere McCormick — Had 12 carries for 64 yards (5.3 yards per carry)