Tag: Carolina Panthers vs Las Vegas Raiders

Injury update: Raiders DT Christian Wilkins, DE Maxx Crosby expected to play vs Panthers

The Raiders will have they interior and edge pass rushing duo together vs Panthers

When your team’s two best players both show up on the injury report, it can be a bit concerning. When they are officially Questionable for the game, it’s even more concerning. That was the case with Maxx Crosby (ankle) and Christian Wilkins (knee) this week.

Head coach Antonio Pierce said on Friday that Crosby would be playing in the game. So, barring any setbacks, Maxx was playing. Not a big surprise considering his history with playing through injuries.

“He hasn’t missed any practice,” Pierce said of Crosby. “So, regardless of what I want to do, I’ve got to fight 98 and everything that he does. But the ultimate warrior. I mean, you see it with the stats this year, he hasn’t missed a snap, and I don’t expect him missing Sunday, either. I don’t expect him missing Sunday.”

That just left the question of whether Wilkins’s knee would be healthy enough for him to go. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, he too will play Sunday.

https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1837677379377860613

The Raiders have one of the league’s best defenses. That defense runs on its pass rush. Over the first two games, the two of them often set each other up for sacks and pressures.

“Just good chemistry,” Pierce said of Wilkins and Crosby. “And I think it’s an unselfish play by Christian, because there’s no sacks there, right? There’s not a lot of stats. We’re talking about Maxx Crosby, AFC [Defensive] Player of the Week. A lot of that’s coming because of what’s happening with Christian. Christian’s demanding too, right? He’s taking that guard and tackle, whatever it may be, and that’s freeing up Maxx winning these one-on-one opportunities. And Maxx is making the most out of it.”

Raiders activate CB Sam Webb from the practice squad to face Panthers

With depth still a concern at cornerback, Sam Webb gets called up from the practice squad for the third straight week.

Depth is still an issue for the Raiders. With Brandon Facyson on injured reserve and DeCamerion Richardson not expected to play again this week, the Raiders have once again elevated Sam Webb from the practice squad.

This makes all three games this season that Webb has been activated. In the first two games, he saw just one combined snap on defense and 19 snaps on special teams.

He is activated primarily in case there is an injury to one of the starters. And thus far, the trio of Nate Hobbs, Jack Jones, and Jakorian Bennett have not missed any snaps.

The only other cornerback on the roster is Darnay Holmes, and he has seen even few snaps than Webb. He has not played a snap on defense with just 11 on special teams.

This is Webb’s third season with the Raiders. he originally signed with them as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri Western State. He appeared in all 17 games as a rookie in 2022, making three starts. He has appeared in just three games since then.

Behind Enemy Lines: Previewing Raiders Week 3 matchup with Panthers Wire

We preview the Raiders next game with someone who knows their next opponent best.

The Panthers are coming to Las Vegas this Sunday to face the Raiders. In preparation of that, I spoke with Anthony Rizzuti from USA Today’s Panthers Wire to get the scoop on the team the Raiders are about to face.

Q: I  don’t know if you saw this thing recently where unnamed agents were asked to rate how well each NFL team was run and more agents said the Panthers were the most unstable franchise in the NFL than any other team (Raiders had the next most votes). Do you agree? And why?

Anthony Rizzuti: Well, it certainly looks that way. Not only has owner David Tepper garnered quite the reputation for being a bit . . . um . . . meddlesome, but he’s also failed to establish almost any type of stability during his seven-year reign.

Since Tepper purchased the franchise in 2018, the Panthers have had three different general managers, four different head coaches (six if you count interims) and 10 different starting quarterbacks. And since the team changed hands, they’ve gone 31-70—good (or bad) enough for a league-worst .307 winning percentage over that span.

Q: Was drafting Bryce Young a mistake? Or was benching him a mistake?

AR: The answer may be neither. The real mistake, rather, could be that he was thrown into an absolute dumpster fire as a rookie.

Built with visions of attaching their No. 1 overall pick to an “all-star” braintrust, Carolina’s 2023 offensive coaching staff ultimately proved to be a jumbled bag of differing philosophies that never meshed. Young, in turn, was drowned by the myriad of voices in his ear as well as the lack of playmakers and protection throughout the season.

Could Young have been a miss atop last year’s draft? Possibly, as he has yet to prove otherwise and, in the most concerning development, regressed here in 2024.

But sitting him—whether it’s for the betterment of the offense, a reset for Young or both—was a decision that should have been made. First-year head coach Dave Canales is trying to build his own culture in Carolina, and he wasn’t going to win over many players if he continued to start a completely overwhelmed quarterback.

Q: How much faith is three that Andy Dalton can be the answer for what’s wrong with the Panthers offense?

AR: Dalton may not be the answer to the Panthers’ offensive woes, but he’s certainly a better one than Young is right now.

Of their 17 games in 2023, Carolina pieced together just two 300-yard passing performances. One of the two, ironically enough, came in Week 3—when Dalton replaced an injured Young.

In what would be his only start of the season, the then-35-year-old vet tossed for 361 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He also attempted seven passes of at least 20 yards downfield, a dimension the offense has been deprived of under Young.

Now 36 years old, Dalton’s experience and willingness to let the ball fly could ignite the offense a bit moving forward.

Q: Give me an under-the-radar player to watch on both sides of the ball for the Panthers.

AR: On offense, keep your eyes rookie wideout Xavier Legette. The first-rounder, who recorded a grand total of zero targets this past week, may be unleashed with the added element of Dalton’s deep ball.
For the defense, we’ll go with cornerback Mike Jackson. Acquired in a late-summer swap for 2024 seventh-rounder Michael Barrett, Jackson has impressed in his role as the No. 2 cornerback across from Jaycee Horn.

Q: Before the Raiders stunner in Baltimore, they were viewed right there with the Panthers as one of the worst in the NFL. What strengths do the Panthers have that should concern the Raiders?

AR: Surprisingly enough, the Panthers may have built themselves a formidable offensive line. The group of hog mollies is currently being led by their interior of left guard Damien Lewis, right guard Robert Hunt and center Austin Corbett—who is in his very first year at the position.

That trio could start to pave the way for a stubborn ground approach headed by running back Chuba Hubbard. The fourth-year rusher dashed the solid Los Angeles Chargers defense for 64 yards on only 10 carries in Week 2.

Panthers QB Andy Dalton has had great success vs Raiders in his career

Andy Dalton has never lost to the Raiders in his career. And has played some of his best football in those games.

For the first nine years of Andy Dalton’s career, he was known as the starting QB of the Bengals. But for the past five years, he’s been more of a journeyman. Though, it hasn’t seemed to matter what uniform he’s wearing, he’s kinda owned the Raiders.

Dalton has faced the Raiders as a starter three times in his career — twice with the Bengals and once with the Saints. And he’s won all three games. The last one was just two seasons ago.

And for those “wins aren’t a QB stat” folks, I gotchu covered.

Dalton’s thrown for 708 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions in those games. Giving him one of the best career passer ratings against the Raiders (114.2) of any QB ever. Even ahead of the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes.

“Andy Dalton’s played a lot in this league,” said Antonio Pierce on Friday. “He’s seen everything. It seems like wherever he goes, he finds a way and gets that team going at some point. So, you’ve got a veteran savvy leader there.”

Jumpstarting their offense is exactly what the Panthers are hoping Dalton can do while giving former number one overall pick Bryce Young a chance to step back and figure things out.

There was a time when Dalton was a respected starter in this league. He twice threw for over 4200 yards and made three Pro Bowls. Granted, he’s nearly 37 years old now, so those days are long past. But he’s got it in him, so the Raiders must be prepared for that.

 

Raiders, Panthers final Week 3 injury report: Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins both Questionable

Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins are both officially Questionable for Week 3 vs the Panthers

A couple of Raiders star defenders showed up on the injury report this week. The team’s biggest stars as it happens.

Both Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins were limited in practice all week. Crosby is dealing with an ankle injury while Wilkins has a knee injury. Both players are officially questionable for the game.

https://twitter.com/LeviDamien/status/1837237609212563524

Antonio Pierce seemed very confident that Maxx Crosby will play in the game.

“He hasn’t missed any practice,” Pierce said of Crosby. “So, regardless of what I want to do, I’ve got to fight 98 and everything that he does. But the ultimate warrior. I mean, you see it with the stats this year, he hasn’t missed a snap, and I don’t expect him missing Sunday, either. I don’t expect him missing Sunday.”

Crosby’s play doesn’t usually suffer much from nagging injuries, though it’s certainly worth watching Sunday.

Tyree Wilson is also expected to play after missing last week with a sprained knee.

The status of Wilkins’s knee injury is less certain. He and Crosby have worked very well together on the line through two games, so it would be a big loss to not have Wilkins. Especially considering the lack of depth on the interior defensive line.

For sure not playing in this game is starting linebacker Divine Deablo. Luke Masterson will start in his place alongside Robert Spillane.

Raiders injury news: DE Tyree Wilson to return Week 3 vs Panthers

Raiders will get back former first round pick DE Tyree Wilson for their home opener Week 3 vs Panthers

Six snaps into the season opener, the Raiders lost Tyree Wilson to a sprained knee. After the game, he was sporting a brace on his right knee that limited mobility on the knee and at the time it was not known how much time he would miss.

It turns out that timeline was one full game.

The former seventh overall pick returned to practice this week for the Raiders. Though he was limited the first two practices. And Friday, head coach Antonio Pierce said Wilson will play in Sunday’s home opener against the Panthers.

With starting defensive end Malcolm Koonce on injured reserve for at least a couple more weeks, Wilson could see significant snaps, though he may not start. Even though he was healthy to open the season, it was Charles Snowden who got the start at defensive end opposite Maxx Crosby.

Snowden got the start last week in Baltimore as well, though Janarius Robinson would see more snaps. With Crosby typically playing every snap, it figures to be a three-man rotation between Wilson, Snowden, and Robinson at the other end spot.

Breaking: Raiders rookie G Jackson Powers-Johnson to make debut vs Panthers

Jackson Powers-Johnson will make debut vs Panthers

Sunday when the Panthers come to town, the Raiders will finally get to see their rookie guard Jackson Powers-Johnson take the field. Head coach Antonio Pierce said Powers-Johnson will play this week in the home opener when the Raiders face the Panthers.

Powers-Johnson was supposed to be the team’s starting left guard from day one. But an undisclosed injury had him out much of the offseason and all of training camp. Then an illness caused him to miss the first two games of the season.

“He had a really good week of practice last week,” Pierce said of his rookie guard. “If you watched the game, he was one of the biggest guys getting everybody pumped up on the sideline. Just that energy, that fountain of youth and obviously that aggressiveness that he has. I’m looking forward to seeing it and like all of us when he gets in the game, eyes will be right to him.”

In his absence, the Raiders haven’t exactly had solid play at the position. Cody Whitehair started the opener. They swapped him out for Andrus Peat last week before benching Peat and bringing Whitehair back in for the second half.

TV broadcast map for Raiders vs Panthers Week 3

Will the Raiders appear on local television in your area?

The Raiders (1-1) are set to face the winless Panthers at home Week three. The game is a prime opportunity for Las Vegas to earn a winning record and improve further under new coach Antonio Pierce.

But who can watch the Raiders on their local broadcast station on Sunday? Thanks to 506sports.com, you can know ahead of time and prepare accordingly. Their weekly broadcast map shows that the Raiders vs. Panthers game (the orange section of the map) will be aired in the Las Vegas and Charlotte areas along with some AFC West territory surrounding Denver. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. Pacific time.

This game looks like an easy matchup on paper. The Panthers have been awful through two games thus far. They were so awful, in fact, that they benched quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

That adds some intrigue to the game and also adds a degree of difficulty for the Raiders coaching staff. They had prepared for Young but will see veteran Andy Dalton instead.

Regardless, the Raiders will be fired up for their home opener. After their upset win over the Ravens, they know that any result is possible in the NFL, so they should be focussed as well. Pierce should be especially dialed in; he knows that a winning start to the season will go a long way toward building the culture he’s trying to solidify in Las Vegas.

Antonio Pierce lays out plan for Raiders to start 2024 season fast

Antonio Pierce wants his team to start the season fast. Here’s how he plans to make that happen.

A rough start to the Raiders season could be hard to pull out of. Antonio Pierce has said several positions, including that of quarterback, will be dependent upon getting off to a good start to the season.

But what does that mean? And how do the Raiders plan to try and make that happen? Pierce discussed this prior to the team’s first practice for the season opener. And to that he had two primary ways they can make it possible.

1. Don’t beat yourself

This one is a multi-part thing. And it’s especially crucial because the Raiders play their first two games of this season on the road in Los Angeles and Baltimore.

“We’ve got to handle adversity,” said Pierce. “We talked about adjustments, that’s going to come up as well. Got to play penalty free there as well, can’t turn the ball over and good third-down and red-zone defense. All the things that we talked about and we worked on in this offseason and what we started with.”

2. Keep it simple

“Less is more,” he added. “Sometimes when you’re calling the game as a coordinator or as a head coach, you want to throw everything out there in Week One. And let’s be realistic, you’re still like in that training camp, preseason mode now, right? Because not a lot of reps are there. So, allow your players to play fast, don’t sit there and make it a thinking game. These gentlemen are physically the one percent of the one percent of the world. Don’t allow it to slow down mentally for them, because you’ve got all these great schemes and ideas. So, a lot of players to play fast, that’s going to be the key for us.”

The defense can probably handle a more complicated scheme than the offense at this point because they’re entering the third year in the same system under DC Patrick Graham.

The offense, on the other hand, has a new OC in Luke Getsy and a new QB in Gardner Minshew who through most of the offseason was running with the twos before swapping first team reps with Aidan O’Connell throughout camp and preseason.

A limited playbook early on isn’t a terrible thing. Getsy has called a lot of games in the past few years, but he has all new weapons to work with, making his approach somewhat hard to predict. And after a few games, when opposing teams can get some tape on it, he can throw in some new wrinkles.