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Raiders 2021 midseason Ballers & Busters
We are seven games in and the Raiders are coming off their bye week, so it’s a good time to check in to see who is making some noise for the team over the first part. Both in a positive and a negative way.
Currently, the Raiders sit at 5-2, leading the AFC West. A great place to be. The all-important second half awaits. But they have set themselves up in a good place record-wise in order to try and make a run at the playoffs.
It wasn’t all good, but let’s start there.
Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 7 vs Eagles
For the second week in a row, the Raiders dominated their opponent and looked better than they have at just about any point over the past four years. This dominating performance had them outscore the Eagles 30-0 over two quarters. There are a lot of heroes in such a performance, so let’s get to it.
He went 31 of 34 (91.2%) for 323 yards and two touchdowns. The second-highest completion percentage on over 30 attempts in the modern era. Not much more needs to be said than that, honestly. He had a pick on the first drive, shook it off and lit up the Eagles with just two incompletions the rest of the way. Just a nice, easy game of pitch and catch for Carr and his receivers. Or at least that’s how he made it look.
Moreau stepped up big time in the absence of Darren Waller. Playing every snap, Moreau made huge contributions everywhere he played. He caught six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown — a new career-high. His fourth catch of the day was the Raiders’ first touchdown in which he made an incredible grab, reaching around the defender’s helmet to secure it.
He also was outstanding as a blocker including laying a big block on Josh Jacobs’s 20-yard screen play to set up their second touchdown near the end of the first half. He then began the third quarter with a 21-yard catch before making a key block on an 11-yard Kenyan Drake run to put the Raiders in first and goal. They scored on the next play to go up 24-7.
Moreau added a ten-yard catch on the next drive which also went for a touchdown and had key blocks on consecutive seven-yard runs on their final scoring drive to put the Raiders up by three scores midway through the fourth quarter.
If that score didn’t ice the game, Moreau recovering the onside kick with under four minutes remaining did. From there it was clock draining time.
It was Yan’s turn to terrorize the opposing quarter. His cohort Maxx Crosby has had two multi-sack games, so Ngakoue was due for his second multi-sack day. And he didn’t just have a couple of sacks and that was it. He did a lot more.
Yannick ended the Eagles’ second drive with a QB hit that nearly led to a pick followed by rushing at Jalen Hurts and batting down his pass attempt. Yan ended the next drive with his first sack. He got his second sack on the second to last play of the game for the Eagles. He had two sacks, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, and two pass breakups. I’m sensing a pattern here.
A few weeks ago, I never would’ve imagined this group all being named Ballers together. Especially not James and Leatherwood. But here we are. This dominating performance on the ground was undeniable and they earn heavy praise for it.
Leatherwood laid a key block on a 23-yard run by Drake on the Raiders’ first scoring drive. On the next play, James and Ingold helped open up a hole for Drake to run for another nine yards to put the Raiders in scoring range. Three plays later, they were in the end zone.
James had two big blocks on the Raiders’ second scoring drive, one on an eight-yard Josh Jacobs run and the other on Jacobs’s 20-yard screen play. Next play Jacobs scored the TD.
Ingold started the second half by recovering an onside kick attempt that started the Raiders’ possession at the Philadelphia 42-yard-line. A few plays later, Drake broke off 11 yards behind a group of blockers that featured James, Simpson, and Ingold. Then Drake finished it off with a four-yard touchdown run behind a wicked Leatherwood block along with Simpson and James leading the way into the end zone.
On the Raiders’ final scoring drive, the interior trio of Simpson, James, and Leatherwood opened up holes on consecutive seven-yard runs by Drake that put the Raiders in field goal range. Capping off unquestionably the best game for the Raiders interior offensive line this season. Not to mention Ingold on clean-up and Drake taking advantage of their efforts to run for 69 yards and a TD on 14 carries.
Olson has cracked the code for this offense. He and Derek Carr work together better than Jon Gruden ever did. In fact, it’s looking like it was Gruden’s playcalling that was holding them back.
You see evidence of Olson playing to the defense’s assumptions about this offense in several key instances. First of all, a second week with a perfectly times and executed screen play. The second time was how they got their final score of the game.
The fourth quarter began with the Eagles getting their second touchdown to pull to within two scores. So, it was up to the Raiders to score one more time to put the game out of reach. This is also when you would have seen Gruden start trying to bleed the clock, even though it was too early for that.
Olson leaned into that assumption by the Eagles’ defense and gouged them. Carr handed it off to Drake on first down and it was clear the Eagles were ready for it, stopping him for a short gain.
On second down, the Raiders lined up as if it was another run up the middle. Ingold made like he was the lead blocker, Carr faked it to Drake, then Ingold kept running where he was wide open. Carr lofted a balloon right into his waiting arms for a 29-yard pickup. Then with the Eagles realizing the Raiders were not going conservative, and thus they would have to protect against the pass, the Raiders put it back on the ground to pick up a couple of chunk plays and put the game away. Masterful.
Facyson led the team in tackles (8) and pass breakups. He even had a special teams tackle. Not sure what else he would need to do. And Nate Hobbs simply didn’t give up a catch. Ballers.
Didn’t draw a flag. Didn’t give up a sack. Didn’t give up a hit. Didn’t give up a sniff on Derek Carr’s blindside. 91.2% completions. Any questions?
Perryman tied for the team lead in tackles (8). He upended the Eagles’ second drive with a badass tackle for loss on a screen play. The next possession took the Eagles to have to go for it on fourth down with Perryman making the first tackle for a one-yard gain and the tackle short of the sticks on third down.
A three-and-out to start the third quarter started with Perryman’s man grabbing his facemask to try and keep him from making the tackle. Then Perryman made the stop on the next play.
It was a game of you set ’em up, I knock ’em down with these three. Just after the Raiders scored near the end of the second quarter to go up 14-7, the Eagles’ possession lasted one play. Quinton Jefferson hit the running back on his way up the middle, knocking the ball out and Abram pounced on it to give the Raiders the ball right back and leading to another score before the half.
The Raiders would make it a three-for by driving for a second-half opening touchdown. The ensuing possession for the Eagles ended with Thomas laying a hit on Jalen Hurts as he threw and Abram nailing the receiver to break up up the pass and force a punt. The Raiders would then drive for another touchdown to take a commanding 30-7 lead.
These guys weren’t done, though. Thomas had a run stuff for no gain and Jefferson had a QB hit on third and ten on the next drive. On the final two drives of the game for the Eagles, Jefferson had two QB hits and Thomas had one as well. the second Jefferson QB hit came on fourth down to end the Eagles’ day officially.
Bryan Edwards — Three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Hunter Renfrow — Seven catches for 58 yards.
Baller & Busters for Raiders Week 6 vs Broncos
It was a statement game for the Raiders in Denver. With Gruden out and Rich Bisaccia in place as interim head coach, no one really knew how the Raiders would respond. They could collapse monumentally or they could come together and play inspired football. It was very much the latter.
The team had their first opening-drive score since week 11 of last season. It was a touchdown too. Then they kept it going to stop their trend of slow starts this season. They scored 17 in the first half and 17 in the second half, while the defense ensured the Broncos couldn’t close the gap.
They finished by scoring their most points of the season (34) and had the game iced midway through the fourth quarter.
Plenty of credit to go around for this dominant performance.
Five sacks. That’s how many the Raiders had. And Crosby was in on all of them. He shared a sack with Quinton Jefferson on the first drive and added a QB hit that forced a bad pass. His second sack was all his and led to a stalled drive. Then he and Jefferson teamed up again to end the first half with the Raiders taking a 17-7 lead into the locker room.
The first play of the second half was Crosby being held on a play he would have stuffed in the backfield otherwise. The next drive he teamed up with Cory Littleton for his third sack. That drive stalled for a field goal. The next drive ended with Crosby pressuring Bridgewater who tried to scramble and fumbled it away.
On the first drive of the fourth quarter, he batted a pass down at the line to set up third and 20. But the Broncos would end up converting on fourth down and finish with a touchdown to pull within two scores. The Raiders brought it back to a three-score game with eight minutes left. on the second play of the Broncos’ attempt to respond, Crosby stuffed a run for a loss. Two plays later, on third and 11, Bridgewater was picked off to put this one on ice.
Crosby finished with six tackles, 3.0 sacks, one tackle for loss, and one pass breakup. The five sacks he was in on were reminiscent of a former Raiders great on a trip to Denver.
Carr had to execute this offense without Gruden. And Olson had to step into play-calling duties for the first time in five years. And they killed it. The offense opened up and worked like a well-oiled machine from start to finish for the first time this season.
The first drive was capped by a 48-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Ruggs on a deep post. The next drive ended in a score as well, highlighted by a 25-yard hookup with Hunter Renfrow and ended with a 50-yard field goal. And the final drive of the first half saw Carr throw a majestic perfect strike to Kenyan Drake for a 31-yard touchdown.
Carr and Olson kept it going on the first possession of the third quarter. On the second play, Olson made the perfect call for a screen — something we didn’t much of under Gruden. The Broncos brought the house just as the Raiders wanted, Carr dropped it over them to Josh Jacobs and he had an entourage of blockers for a 29-yard screen play. Two plays later the Raiders scored.
At the end of the third quarter, the Raiders capitalized on a turnover. Carr dropped back on third and 12 under pressure and launched a rainbow. It wasn’t a great pass, but at worst it gets picked, which would have been the equivalent of a punt. But it wasn’t picked. Ruggs tracked it down, and even tripped over the defender, and still managed to catch it for a 40-yard completion. Two plays later, they punched it in for another touchdown to take a 31-10 lead.
31 points were already more than the Raiders had scored in regulation all season. And it was still the third quarter.
With the Broncos scoring again, the Raiders needed just one score to put the game away. On third and six, Carr threw a perfect pass to Bryan Edwards along the left sideline and he streaked up the sideline for 51 yards. That put the team inside the 20 and a few plays later a short field goal put the Raiders back at a three-score lead while setting a new high for points scored on the season. And that includes the OT games.
Carr finished with 341 yards passing on 18 completions, which is an incredible 18.9 yards per completion. Ruggs had three catches for 97 yards, two of which were huge completions leading to two touchdowns.
Jefferson teamed up with Crosby on two sacks. He led the interior Dline with four tackles and had two QB hits. Square shared a sack with Crosby as well and had three QB hits and two tackles. Thomas had three QB hits and forced a fumble.
Jefferson’s second shared sack ended the first half. One of Thomas’s QB hits ended their first possession of the third quarter and nearly led to an interception. His forced fumble was recovered by the Raiders and they started their drive at the Denver 42 and took advantage with a touchdown.
Quite an efficient day for Drake. He played just 12 snaps and touched the ball six times. Those touches were a six-yard run, a nine-yard run, an 8-yard catch, a 31-yard TD catch, an 18-yard TD run, and a one-yard run after the game was in hand. That’s 73 yards and two touchdowns. Have yourself a day, Kenyan.
Tied for the team lead with 11 tackles. He started a three-and-out by the Broncos in the second quarter with an open-field tackle to stop a catch for one yard. And he teamed up with Crosby for a sack that stalled a Broncos drive in the third quarter. On the Broncos’ final scoring drive, Littleton did his part. He made the stop on third and 20, but they converted on fourth down. On the next play, he batted down in the end zone on the next play.
Less than two weeks since joining the team, and on his fourth defensive snap, Facyson had an interception. It was the first of his career and just the second interception by the Raiders this season.
That turnover was made possible because Teamer made the stop short on the sticks on third down the play before. At the end of the second quarter, Teamer made the tackle on a catch well short of the first down on third and 16 to force a punt. The Raiders got the ball back with just over a minute and drove for a touchdown before the half.
In the third quarter, Teamer had tight coverage to force an incompletion in the back of the end zone and force the Broncos to settle for a field goal. And after the Raiders went up 34-17, Facyson knocked down a pass to set up third and 11. Bridgewater was picked by Tre’von Moehrig on his ensuing desperation throw.
S Tre’von Moehrig — Had the first interception of his career. Nearly had two, but the first was knocked out of his hands. Also didn’t give up any catches and had three tackles.
CB Casy Hayward — Continued to prove he’s the best cornerback on this team. He had a pass breakup on a deep pass and gave up just two catches for 24 yards. Also forced a couple of penalties on a push-off and a blindside block.
Robertson got the start again with Trayvon Mullen and Damon Arnette both injured. He lasted nine snaps before he was pulled in favor of Brandon Facyson.
Yes, nine snaps. That’s because in those nine snaps, he gave up a seven-yard catch, a 14-yard catch on third and 12, a 23-yard touchdown catch, and missed a tackle on a ten-yard run.
Those nine snaps weren’t the end of his day. He played four more snaps over the remainder of the game. And on one of those four snaps, he missed another tackle to give up a 30-yard run that set up the Broncos’ second score. Being almost wholly responsible for two scores — the only two scores the Broncos had over the first three quarters — is a brutal 13 snaps.
The interception was cool and all. Though it was a desperation heave with the game already out of reach, so it was just window dressing. What was not nice was the five catches for 63 yards he gave up. Those included a 14-yard catch on the Broncos’ second scoring drive and a 26-yard catch on their third scoring drive.
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[lawrence-newsletter]
Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 5 vs Bears
On Sunday, the Raiders were six days removed from being the last remaining undefeated team in the AFC. Based on that. they seemed like they had no business losing this game. Then they went out and lost this game by two scores, going down 20-9 to the visiting Bears.
Perryman led the Raiders in tackles by a wide margin. Leading the team in tackles is not new for Perryman, he’s been doing it much of the season. This time most of those tackles came at or near the line of scrimmage and on a couple of occasions had a play get by him.
He made a run stuff on the second play of the game to help lead to a three-and-out by the Bears. The Bears would go on a touchdown drive late in the first, but Perryman did his part to try and stop it with two run stuffs for no gain, both in goal-to-go situations.
In the second quarter the Bears went on another TD drive, and again Perryman did his part to try and keep it from happening with three tackles and a pressure resulting in an incompletion. One of his tackles was for no gain in first and goal from the four-yard line.
The Raiders’ defense stopped the Bears on their first three drives of the second half and Perryman had a run stuff at or near the line on each of them. Their next drive in the fourth quarter ended with Perryman flying out into the left flat to fight through several blocks and blow up Justin Fields’s scramble attempt for minimal gain.
After the Raiders turned the ball over on downs, setting the Bears up in scoring range, Perryman made the last two tackles to hold them at one total yard and force them to win on a 46-yard field goal.
Abram caused Justin Fields a great deal of pain in this game. The hard-hitting safety made the play on third down to stop the Bears on each of their first two possessions. The first was a hit on Fields on the blitz to force an incompletion and the second way coming up to lay a big hit on Fields to stop him short of the first down on a scramble attempt.
The third drive went for a TD, but not until after Abram made a run stuff for no gain on first and goal from the two. He added two more QB hits in the game to finish with three and his six combined tackles tied for third on the team.
Averaging just 3.2 yards per carry isn’t a great day at face value. But Jacobs was doing a lot of heavy lifting to get to that number. On the Raiders’ first scoring drive, he had four touches for 28 yards and looked for a moment to have the touchdown if it weren’t for the line having to hold in order to get it. They would get a field goal out of it though.
Later, Jacobs would score the team’s only TD on a one-yard dive.
Hayward gave up just one catch in this game. Unfortunately, it went for eight yards on third and seven on the Bears’ second scoring drive, but still. Overall great game for the Raiders’ top cornerback. He also had one pass breakup and three tackles.
[lawrence-newsletter]
Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 4 matchup with Chargers
It was a fourth straight slow start to a game for the Raiders on the season. Only this time, the start was too slow. They were down 21-0 at the half with just one first down to their names.
They looked like they might make a game of it early in the third with consecutive TD drives to pull it to 21-14. But they were unable to score again and the Chargers added a late TD to seal it.
Let’s look at the best and worst performances in the Raiders’ first loss of the season.
Just like last week, everyone is talking about Hunter Renfrow. Last week it was for a filthy triple move he made on All-Pro Xavien Howard to catch a TD on him. This week, it’s Renfrow’s crazy play on special teams that has everyone buzzing.
Late in the first quarter, Renfrow was sitting back to field a punt from the Chargers. But just as it was to be punted away, Renfrow sensed something was up. He was right, it was a fake. And the moment he saw the punter square up to throw, he took off and got to the receiver the moment the ball arrived and blew him up, knocking the ball out of his arms.
Renfrow was the only one who could’ve stopped that play from turning into a touchdown. And he did that and a whole lot more. Check out how far he had to run to make that play.
Hunter Renfrow’s hit/pass breakup on the fake punt is even more amazing when you realize how much ground he had to cover after realizing what was happening. Everything about this is awesome. #Raiders pic.twitter.com/QXWh3qh8Yv
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) October 6, 2021
That play was so awesome, no one is talking about the fact that Renfrow pulled that triple move again. And it was for a touchdown again. The Raiders’ first TD of the day from 13 yards out. The DB simply doesn’t know what to do with that move.
Renfrow finished with the team lead in receptions (6) for 45 yards and the TD. He also saved a TD and had a 17-yard punt return with a horsecollar tackle that tacked on 15 yards that put the Raiders in scoring position in the first half, but they opted to go for it on fourth down instead and didn’t pick it up.
Hayward had some things for his former team to make them regret letting him go. On the opening drive alone, Hayward made a tackle on a short catch, a tackle for loss on an end-around and cut off the outside on a run that resulted in a tackle for loss. They didn’t test him much the rest of the day. And the few times they did, led to incompletions.
Most of Crosby’s work didn’t show up in the stat column. But his presence was felt.
The first Chargers’ possession of the second quarter ended with a three-and-out. On third down, Crosby put on a bull rush that drove RT Storm Norton into Justin Herbert’s lap and caused him to overthrow a wide-open Mike Williams on a deep route that would have been an easy touchdown.
On three consecutive drives starting in the late second quarter and going through the third quarter, Crosby had a QB hit to force an incompletion, a batted pass at the line to put the Chargers in third and long and was held on a third-down rush (it was declined). He also added a run stuff in there.
It was apparently Philon’s turn to put up multiple sacks in a game. Certainly, it was no coincidence it was against his former team. The first came late in the first quarter. The Chargers got things moving on a 21-yard end-around that put them at the Las Vegas 39-yard-line. Then Philon came flying into the backfield to sack Herbert for a five-yard loss. That would ultimately lead to the fake punt that Renfrow blew up.
After the Raiders scored to open the third quarter, the Chargers were trying to answer. They converted on a fourth and two, but three plays later found themselves in third and ten. Philon blew past his man into the backfield again to sack Herbert for the second time. The Raiders got the ball back and drove for their second score to pull it to a one-score game.
While the rest of the Raiders’ offensive line is a gaping wound, Miller is the lone bright spot. He didn’t give up even a pressure in this game that I saw. Certainly no sacks of QB hits. In fact, he hasn’t given up a sack this season. Miller had one bad play and it was a run stop. He’s allowed one bad block on. run. Especially considering how he’s been lights out in pass protection.
Littleton tied for the team lead with 12 tackles (eight solo) in this game. He even added a couple of special teams tackles. His first tackle was for a loss on the opening drive. The next possession, he came flying in on the blitz to force an incompletion to start a three-and-out. He ended the next possession with a tackle on a four-yard catch on third-and-15 to force another punt.
Littleton’s worst drive was the Chargers’ final drive of the first half. He gave up a nine-yard catch and missed a tackle on a 13-yard catch and run that put the Chargers at the 25-yard-line. They scored two plays later.
He would recover in the third quarter to make a run stuff for no gain on third-and-two. He would give up one more first down catch in the game, and none on the ground. Two first downs allowed is a solid performance.
As seems all too often, Cole was doing his part to make the Chargers earn their scoring drives. He had a 54-yard punt stopped at the 24, a 45-yard punt go out of bounds at the 40, a 49-yard punt fair caught at the ten, a 56-yard punt stopped at the 20, and a 52-yard punt fair caught at the 31. All in the first half to give him a 51.2-yard average and a 47.2-yard net. Only two punts were even returnable with the longest return going 11 yards.
[lawrence-newsletter]
Ballers & Busters for Raiders in Week 3 vs Dolphins
One thing you can say about the 2021 Raiders is they sure aren’t boring. For all three games this season they have started slow, had to come from behind and took it down to the wire. And for the second time this season, they had to win it in overtime.
After starting the game down 14-0, the Raiders went on a 25-0 run. But the Dolphins were able to tie it up at the end and send it to OT. This game even used the entire first overtime period with three more lead changes before the Raiders could put it away.
The 70 minutes of playing time led to a lot of heroes and a few goats. Making for a pretty long list of Ballers & Busters this week. So, let’s get started.
The Raiders may have begun this game down 14-0, but it was no fault of the defense. The first TD was a pick-six and the second one came on a drive that started at the Las Vegas 34-yard-line after a turnover on downs. So, don’t let that early deficit fool you, the Raiders defensive line doing work in this game.
The first Dolphins’ possession ended with a Maxx Crosby QB hit followed by Darius Philon stopping Jacoby Brissett for two yards on a scramble to force a punt.
Once those two early gift-wrapped touchdowns, the defense stiffened up for two quarters. The first drive of the second quarter ended with Yannick Ngakoue getting pressure on Brissett to blow up a screen play on third and nine.
The other drive featured a shared sack between Solomon Thomas and Carl Nassib and ended with another Ngakoue pressure and a tackle short of the sticks to force a 48-yard field goal attempt that was no good off the upright.
The first possession of the third quarter ended with a three-and-out, starting with a Nassib run stuff and ending with Solomon Thomas making a forced fumble on third down. The Dolphins recovered and punted it away.
The next drive ended with a Hankins run stuff followed by a pass breakup on third down. But even if the pass had been complete, Thomas was held, so it would have come back anyway. The Raiders declined the penalty.
The next drive would go for a field goal but ended with Crosby getting pressure leading to a Quinton Jefferson sack. The next drive ended with a turnover on downs. The final three plays were a Ngakoue run stop, Hankins and Nassib teaming up for a run stuff for no gain on third and one, and Philon and Hankins teaming up for another run stuff for no gain on fourth and one.
The final drive of regulation had the Dolphins in first and goal at the one thanks to a Trayvon Mullen pass interference in the end zone. And had this not been for the game, the Dolphins would have been shut out of the end zone. Three straight plays were stopped in part by this Dline including Hankins, Philon, and Crosby all making key plays. But on fourth and goal, the Dolphins would finally breakthrough. Then they took to the air to pick up the two-point conversion to tie it.
The only Dolphins drive of the overtime period ended with Crosby and Thomas teaming up to make the stop on a toss play and the Dolphins tied it back up with a field goal, allowing the Raiders to drive for the game-winning score.
The first big completion of the day went for 24 yards to Hunter Renfrow. A few plays later on the same drive Edwards made a short catch and weaved through traffic to pick up 23 yards. Unfortunately, that drive ended with Carr making one of his biggest mistakes of the season. Foster Moreau stopped his route in the zone and Carr threw it ahead of him and right into the waiting arms of linebacker Elandon Roberts who returned it for the touchdown.
Renfrow would make another big grab on the next drive. Carr was under pressure and threw what looked like a dangerous high-arching pass, but somehow Renfrow had gotten his man turned around and ran under the pass, sliding on his knees to make the catch. That drive stalled due to an errant snap leading to an intentional grounding penalty.
With the start of the second quarter, the Raiders’ offense seemed to shake off the early struggles and finally get going. On third and 6, Ruggs got open along the left sideline and Carr threw his way and Ruggs made a brilliant leaping grab, tapping his toes inbounds for an 18-yard gain. It would lead to a field goal which was the first points on offense in the game.
The next Raiders drive featured Ruggs going up high over the top of All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard to make another incredible grab, this time for 23 yards. That put them in Miami territory. A few plays later, in third and three Carr found Ruggs on a cross and he took the pass and streaked up the left sideline for 21 yards to put the Raiders in first and goal. They punched it in for the touchdown two plays later.
To begin the third quarter, the Raiders were on the move again. To finish it off Renfrow put his man on a spin cycle with a wicked triple move to make the catch and finish it off for the score from 12 yards out.
The next drive, Carr threw a perfect pass to Darren Waller between defenders for a 23-yard gain to put the Raiders in the red zone. A connection with Kenyan Drake on third down for 16 yards would put the Raiders in first and goal at the one. They punched it in two plays later with Carr throwing for Alec Ingold on a Spider 2 Y Banana.
Perhaps Ruggs’s best catch — which is saying a lot — came in overtime when he made another catch along the sideline, this time with a defender nailing him as he made the catch. And yet he still managed to haul it in and tap his feet inbounds to make the grab for an 18-yard gain. Two plays later, Carr found Bryan Edwards for a 32-yard connection which set up a field goal.
The game-winning drive started with Carr finding Edwards with a dime of a pass and Edwards making a gorgeous over-the-shoulder grab for 34 yards. Edwards, Ruggs, and Renfrow had 89, 78, and 77 yards receiving respectively to lead the Raiders. Carr finished with 386 yards and two touchdowns to one interception.
The journeyman running back would put on his cape late in this game to help the Raiders seal the win. He started off a drive late in the third quarter with a 19-yard run. Two plays later he took a dump pass for 23 yards. He finished off that drive with a diving touchdown over the pile from one yard out.
His running was crucial in the overtime period. After the Dolphins tied things back up at 28-28, Barber broke off a 27-yard run to put the Raiders in field goal range at the 19-yard-line. On the next play, he ran for eight yards. And Daniel Carlson finally put the game away with a chip shot field goal.
Barber finished with a career-high 111 yards and a TD on 23 carries (4.8 ypc) and added three catches for 31 yards.
Barber wasn’t going at it alone. He had one of the best fullbacks in the business assisting in the effort. Ingold’s biggest play showcased his heads-up abilities and it may have saved the game for the Raiders.
The Raiders set up in first and goal from the four-yard-line, still looking for their first touchdown. Barber took the ball up the gut on second and goal from the one. The ball popped out of his arms on the tackle and Ingold caught in in the air and even picked up three yards on the play. The next play, he was rewarded with Spider 2 Y Banana. He caught the pass at the line and scored the touchdown.
On the final drive of the game, Ingold laid a key block on an eight-yard run all but cementing the win.
His first punt traveled 54 yards with just a six-yard return. His second punt was a moonshot that was downed at the two-yard line. A penalty put it at the one-yard line and on the first play, the Dolphins attempted a pass into the left flat at it was stopped for a safety to give the Raiders their first points of the game.
Cole launched a 67-yard punt late in the fourth quarter that would start the Dolphins’ drive at their own 18-yard-line after a 12-yard return. It gave him a 54-yard average with a 47.3-yard net on four punts, with two being downed inside the 20.
LB Denzel Perryman — Led the team with 14 tackles (10 solo)
CB Casey Hayward — Gave the Raiders their first points of the game on a safety.
WR Zay Jones — Made two nice plays on punts, one a tackle on a short return and downing a punt at the two. Also had a 15-yard catch.
[lawrence-newsletter]
Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 1 game vs Ravens
Welcome to the 2021 regular season. And the first Ballers & Busters for the games that count. This week’s game was a wild one. It started with the Ravens looking like they might run away with it, going up 14-0 while the Raiders offense sputtered and Derek Carr seeming to try and force the ball to Darren Waller while ignoring the rest of his receivers.
The Ravens scored their second TD in the second quarter and at that time Marcus Mariota led the Raiders in yards on one play. He came in the game and ran for 31 yards. Derek Carr still had just 29 yards passing.
Things started to pick up for the offense midway through the second and with the Raiders defense holding strong, the two teams would be tied 17-17 midway through the fourth. From there we saw the teams go back and forth and ultimately head to overtime tied up at 27-27.
Overtime was even crazier, with two turnovers and the Raiders finally ending it with a touchdown from Derek Carr to Zay Jones to win 33-27.
Crosby has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week, so his Top Baller status should come as no surprise. This article could get rather long if I were to mention every pressure he had because he seemed to live in the Ravens’ backfield in this game. So, let’s stick with the highlights.
Crosby ended the Ravens’ first drive when on third and 13, he got in the backfield to sack Lamar Jackson.
Early in the second quarter, he got in the backfield again to disrupt a read option and cause Lamar Jackson to fumble the ball. Jackson was lucky to fall on it but lost four yards on the play, so it was as good as a sack. He later disrupted another read-option keeper to stop Jackson for minimal gain.
In the final play of the third quarter, the Ravens lined up in 3rd and 7. And Crosby sacks Jackson again to end the threat.
The Ravens got one shot in the overtime period. On the first play, Crosby showed off his speed, chasing down Jackson on a roll out right to force a throwaway. Two plays later he stuffed a run for a short gain. Two plays later, on 3rd and 7, Jackson was strip-sacked to give the Raiders the ball back.
Crosby appeared to have three sacks in the game but was credited for just two of them. He added two tackles for loss and five QB hits. He was a man possessed.
Early in this game, it was looking like the roughest game I can recall Waller having. He started 1 for 7 on targets. Carr was throwing Walle the ball even when he wasn’t getting open. But when things did get going, it was Waller that got it going.
Late in the second quarter, the Raiders finally started moving the ball. Waller picked up nine yards on a screen pass and two plays later, on third and one, Carr finally had a big hookup with Waller for a 24-yard gain. Two plays later he caught an eight-yard pass. They scored the TD a couple of plays later.
In the third quarter, he had a 22-yard catch and run called back by a highly questionable offensive pass interference penalty.
The fourth quarter saw the Raiders tie the game up, go down again, and tie it up again three times. The second was set up by a 10-yard catch by Waller on first and goal from the 20 and then Waller made the catch on second down, at the three, spun out of a tackle and dove for the score.
Waller finished with 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Crosby wasn’t the only Raiders edge rusher who was spending a lot of time in the Ravens’ backfield. Ngakoue was flying off the edge as well and Nassib added pressure off the bench.
Ngakoue helped end three consecutive Ravens drives at a crucial point in this game. With the Ravens up 14-7 midway through the second quarter, Ngakoue made the stop short of the sticks on third and three. They went for it on fourth down and couldn’t convert.
Then to start the third quarter, with the Raiders still down 17-10, Ngakoue pressured and hit Jackson as he threw and the pass fell incomplete. On the next drive, he stormed into the backfield to hit the back who was stopped for a loss. They didn’t convert on third and five.
Ngakoue would leave shortly after that and Nassib came in. And played hero. The big moment came in overtime when Nassib sacked Lamar Jackson and forced the fumble to give the Raiders the ball back and allow them the chance to win the game. But that wasn’t the first bit of hero work Nassib did in this one. If not for the first time he put on his cape, the second wouldn’t have been possible.
With less than a minute remaining in the regulation, the Ravens lined up in third and four in scoring range. A first down and they could run out the clock and kick the game-winning field goal.
Nassib made the tackle on Lamar Jackson to stop him short of the first down. They kicked the field goal to go ahead 27-24 but left 37 seconds left on the clock with which to work. That proved to be all the Raiders needed.
We pick things up with 37 seconds left in regulation and the Raiders down 27-24. Before that series, Bryan Edwards didn’t have a catch, Jones had just one catch for 15 yards, Carlson had made just one chip shot field goal, and Carr looked more likely to land among the Busters.
The Raiders got the ball at their own 25-yard-line. Carr found Edwards for his first catch of the game for 20 yards, then raced up and spiked the ball. That put them at their own 45 with 22 seconds remaining
. Then Carr found Edwards again for 18 yards and again raced up to the line to spike the ball. This left seven seconds on the clock and out came Daniel Carlson to attempt a 55-yard field goal. Carlson nailed it and sent the game to overtime.
On the first play of overtime, Carr went right back to Edwards for an 11-yard connection. Two plays later, Renfrow caught a pass out left, escaped a tackle and tip-toed his way up the left sideline for 27 yards.
A few plays later, the Raiders lined up in third and four at the 33. Carr dropped back and saw pressure in his face. He threw off his back foot — which is rarely a good idea — but Edwards had his man turned around. Edwards came back for the ball, made the catch and dove for the goal line, getting stopped at the one-yard line.
Three plays later, the Raiders still hadn’t gotten in. Carr dropped back and threw for Willie Snead who was open short over the middle. Carr put too much on the ball and Snead didn’t get his hands up in time. It went through Snead’s hands, bounced off a defender and was intercepted.
That gave the Ravens a chance to drive for a score, but Nassib’s forced fumble gave the Raiders another chance. Two plays later, Carr came to the line, ready with the perfect play in case the Ravens sent an all-out blitz. Zay Jones knew it too.
At the snap, Zay went on a quick slant from left to right, Derek Carr dropped back with pressure coming, and launched a rainbow for Jones to go and get. He made the catch wide open and trotted in for the game-winning touchdown.
Cole was a surgical rocket launcher in this game. His first punt was downed at the eight-yard line. His second punt traveled 63 yards, his third 67 yards with a 52-yard net, his fourth went 50 yards and was muffed, his fifth 64 yards, but was returned 30 yards, and his sixth was fair caught at the 19.
The Raiders defense hasn’t attacked like this in a very long time. And Bradley’s fingerprints are all over it. So many times in this game when a key play was made it was one of the guys he brought in from previous stops. Yannick Ngakoue was already mentioned.
Denzel Perryman tied for the team lead in tackles (10) and recovered the first Jackson fumble in the fourth quarter, Casey Hayward was barely tested in the game and came through when he was, Darius Philon recovered the fumble in overtime, and KJ Wright made a huge run stop on fourth and one late in the second quarter.
RB Josh Jacobs – Played very hurt and still scored two touchdowns. One from 15 yards out to give us the first tie of the game in the fourth quarter.
[lawrence-newsletter]
Ballers & Busters for Raiders preseason Week 3 vs. 49ers
Sunday was the final dress rehearsal for the Raiders. And for many players, it was their last chance to make a strong impression in their push to earn a spot on the roster.
There wasn’t much in the way of great impressions in this one. The Raiders were handled from start to finish by the 49ers and lost 34-10. It must be noted that the 49ers had their actual starters in the game early on and kept potential starting QB Trey Lance in the game into the third quarter. But if the Raiders want to prove they have depth, they need to be able to hang with those guys and they simply didn’t.
That being said, there were some diamonds in the rough, so we’ll start there as per usual.
The former top pick by the Raiders returns after a year away in Cleveland. He is in line to be the next man up at either safety spot and could be shooting to prove to his coaches that he deserves a chance to start at some point. His performance in this game should help those efforts greatly.
On the first drive, the 49er’s first-team offense cut through the Raiders fringe roster lineup like a hot knife through butter. There were only two plays on the drive that were stopped for less than four yards and one of them was Joseph making the tackle on first and goal from the five to stop a run at two yards.
It was a similar story on the second drive, with Joseph making two more run stops including one for two yards. And again, on the 49er’s third scoring drive, they were in first and goal at the five and Joseph made a tackle for a loss on a broken play.
That drive ended in a field goal. So too did the 49er’s final drive of the first half, thanks to Joseph knocking down a pass for the end zone with a few seconds left on the clock. And just to round things off, Joseph also had a tackle on special teams too. Welcome back, Karl.
Remember how I said on the first two drives, there were only a couple of plays that were stopped for a short gain or no gain? Well, the other two stops were Arnette defending passes. That’s a strong day considering he only played 26 snaps, which was the first three drives and he was taken out by midway through the second quarter.
Twice on the 49er’s second drive, Robertson made a play that put them in third down. The first time he ran his receiver’s route for him on a deep and cut him off so it fell incomplete. The second time was a play in which Robertson chased down a run out right to stop it for two yards.
He was part of two more stops on the 49er’s final drive of the first half to help hold them to a field goal. Robertson also had an outstanding gunner tackle on a punt return to stop them at the 16-yard-line. A facemask on the 49ers would start their drive at the 8-yard-line. He led the team with two special teams tackles.
The Raiders scored twice in this game. Both drives featured long catches by Stoner. He had a 27-yard catch on their field goal drive early in the second quarter and a 32-yard catch on third and 15 on their touchdown drive in the third quarter. He would lead all receivers in the game with three catches for 69 yards.
[lawrence-newsletter]
Ballers & Busters for Raiders preseason Week 2 vs Rams
Preseason is now through its second week and the next wave up cuts are upcoming. But before that happens, we take a look at the players who stepped up and those whose performances may have them stepping down.
Hobbs was balling from start to finish in this game. So much so that he earned a game ball from Jon Gruden despite Gruden saying he doesn’t usually do that for preseason games.
In the third play of the game, the Raiders had the Rams in third-and-11. They went for a screen out right and Hobbs sniffed it out all the way, flying into tackle the receiver for a loss just as he caught the ball. This forced a punt out of the back of the Rams’ endzone and gave the Raiders great field position at the LA 32-yard-line. They would drive for a touchdown from there.
Two possession later, the Rams were again lined up in third down and Hobbs came flying in again, this time on the blitz. The QB was able to escape, but on his run out right, he would be pressured again and end up throwing incomplete.
Early in the third quarter, the Rams got the ball back up 10-7. On the first play of the possession, the Rams went for a big play deep up the middle of the field. Hobbs read the QB, chased down the pass, and leapt in the air to pick it off. The Raiders would take over and drive for a game-tying field goal.
The final drive Hobbs added a big hit tackle and a pass breakup giving him 4 combined tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, and two passes defended. Have yourself a day, rook.
White got the start at linebacker again. And he came roaring out the gates. He made the tackle in the first play of the game for the Rams offense, Helping stop a run at one yard.
The second drive, the Rams lined up in second-and-18 and White very nearly picked the ball off. He had perfect position and had the ball hit both his hands, but couldn’t reel it in. The Rams would punt after the next play.
The next possession he ran down a pass deep up the left side and got his hands up to knock it down.
With questions surrounding starter Nicholas Morrow’s foot, along with White showing off his coverage abilities seemed like it could open the door for him to make the regular-season roster. Those hopes came crashing down in the third quarter when White went down with a serious knee injury and was carted off the field. It looks like the Oakland native and UNLV star’s dreams of making the Raiders roster will have to wait another year.
The rookie starter played the first quarter (16 snaps). But in those snaps, he was perfect. Gave up no pressures and even was the leader blocker on a couple of nice runs on the Raiders’ first scoring drive.
Ateman made up for a rough preseason opener with two outstanding catches in this game. The first came late in the first quarter with Nate Peterman throwing a ball just barely out of reach of the defender. Ateman shows great concentration to catch the ball around the defender for 16 yards.
The second catch was the biggest play of the game for either team. Midway through the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 10-10, the Raiders lined up at the 29-yard-line. Gruden called double eight’s number. He made a double move, Peterman sold it with a pump fake, the defender bit hard and Ateman was wide open up the left side for the touchdown.
Ellis quietly led the Raiders in catches in the game (4). Showing why he is on this roster and why he could earn a job. It might be on another team, or on the Raiders’ practice squad, but a job.
His first catch came in the two-minute drill late in the first half. It went for 15 yards. But the Raiders weren’t able to capitalize on it. Peterman threw for him a couple more times on the drive, but the first pass was knocked down and the second was stopped for two yards.
In the third quarter, Peterman found Ellis again for big yards. On third and four from their own 33-yard line, Ellis broke open for a 21-yard catch and run. But once again, the Raiders couldn’t capitalize on it.
Ellis’s final catch went for three yards on third and four. It set up fourth and one and the Raiders went for it and converted to move into field goal range and tie the game at 10-10.
The undrafted rookie had a workmanlike performance that deserves mentioning. He had a 16-yard catch, a 23-yard punt return, made a block on an 8-yard run, and even made a tackle. Yes, a tackle. It came after an interception with Turner stopping the return at nine yards and keeping the Rams from getting good field position out of it.
[lawrence-newsletter]
Ballers & Busters for Raiders Preseason Week 1 vs. Seahawks
Our first preseason action in two years was quite an event for the Raiders as it was the first game at Allegiant Stadium with fans in attendance. They put on a good show, beating the visiting Seahawks 20-7 with a few standout performances along the way.
It was a bit of a coming-out party for Jones, who head coach Jon Gruden had been touting for his work ethic for the past couple of years. He got things started with a six-yard catch on the first drive. Two plays later on third and 8, he made a spectacular 28-yard catch on the left sideline. Then it was a 21-yard catch on the right sideline to set the Raiders up in first and goal from the four-yard line. Three catches on three targets for 57 yards is a solid game, let alone the first drive.
With Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake not playing in the game, Ragas put his stamp on this game right away. He picked up eight yards on his first run. Then after BJ Emmons and Nate Peterman couldn’t punch it in, Ragas finished it off with a touchdown on fourth and one.
On the next scoring drive, he had an eight-yard run on third and one to keep the drive alive and put the Raiders in field goal range. The next drive, he had two nine-yard runs and a six-yard run on third and one. He should’ve had a catch as well, but Nate Peterman missed him in the right flat and instead threw into coverage and was picked off.
He did have a couple of catches on the first drive of the third quarter to finish with 16 touches for 82 yards and a TD.
The defense held the Seahawks scoreless in the first half and Philon was a big part of that. The big play was a hard sack from the blindside on Geno Smith. The sack was cornerback Nate Hobbs on a corner blitz, but Smith was too busy dealing with Philon bursting up the middle into his face to notice Hobbs. The result was Smith getting rocked and nearly fumbling the ball.
In the second quarter, he teamed up with Solomon Thomas on a run stuff for a loss. He helped end the next drive when he got pressure on third and eight and Clelin Ferrell cleaned it up to stop the QB for one yard on the scramble.
Solid game overall for Peterman. The two throws for Jones the first drive was impressive. He also had a sustained second drive that ended in a short field goal.
On his interception, he looked off Ragas open in the flat trying for more and ended up paying the price, as he got hit while he threw and was intercepted. But he recovered to lead the Raiders on another drive for a field goal to end the first half.
Peterman played all but one snap in the game, finishing 29 of 39 for 246 yards and the one interception.
After the “starters” left, it was the Turner & Doss show the rest of the way. Doss had six catches on six targets while Turner had seven catches on eight targets. No one else had more than three catches in the game.
On the second and third scoring drives, it was a steady dose of Turner & Doss. That goes especially for Doss who, with 31 seconds left in the half, had a huge 17-yard catch along the left sideline to the 11-yard-line, getting out of bounds to stop the clock. He added a 13-yard catch on third-and-eight on the first drive of the second half.
While he wasn’t the workhorse in the game that Ragas was, Emmons had several big runs in the game. On the second drive of the game, the Raiders were in third and four from the Seattle 31-yard-line. Emmons went left, broke a tackle and broke off a 22-yard run to put the Raiders in first and goal from the nine-yard line.
The final scoring drive, with the Raiders in second and 11 from the 13-yard line, Emmons ran for 11 yards to set up first and goal from the two-yard line. On the next play, he went over the top to dive in for the touchdown. Safe to say his day ended happily.
A solid overall game for Nixon. He never got burnt or committed a penalty in coverage. He also ended each of the last three Seahawks drives.
Early in the fourth quarter, on third and 14, Nixon made a fantastic open-field tackle on DeeJay Dallas to stop him at two yards. The Raiders got the ball back with great field position and drove for their final TD.
On the ensuing Seahawks possession, they went three-and-out. On third-and-nine, they tried to go for the long ball up the left sideline and Nixon stuck on his man and made a textbook pass breakup deep downfield.
The Seahawks would get the ball one more time in the game with 1:44 remaining. After driving into Raiders territory, they set up in second-and-ten from the 45, and Nixon stopped the play at six yards to end the game. Nixon finished second on the team in tackles (3). He keeps proving why the Raiders have kept the former undrafted free agent around.
[lawrence-newsletter]
