Tag: Chandler Jones

Raiders DE Chandler Jones must prove breakout performance not one-game wonder

Can Chandler Jones build upon his breakout performance last Sunday? Or will it just be a one-game wonder?

It may seem strange to some that the term “one-game wonder” could be used to describe a player as established as Chandler Jones. But that’s where we are with Jones.

The 11-year pro had double digit sacks in each of his last seven full seasons. But he’s 32 years old now and isn’t the player he once was.

He hasn’t performed at an All Pro level in a couple seasons in fact.

An injury ended his 2020 season after five games. At the time he was place on injured reserve, he had just one sack on the season and had just one QB hit in the previous three games combined.

Last season, he stormed out the gate with five sacks in the season opener. Then just managed to reach that one-game total the rest of the season combined.

This season, he had just a half sack over the first 11 games before breaking out with three sacks Sunday against the Chargers.

That dry spell included Jones having gone the previous five weeks without so much as a QB hit.

What we don’t know is if this is a start of something or a passing threat, much like that five-sack season-opening performance was last season where he didn’t get his next sack until week nine.

Sacks aren’t the be-all, end-all of edge rusher stats. But they are not irrelevant either. Edge rushers can affect the opposing offense without getting sacks, but they do need to get home periodically. And it can’t simply be only when they have a good matchup.

In this case, Jones was going against rookie sixth-round pick Jamaree Salyer who was started only because Pro Bowl left tackle Rashawn Slater was lost to injury.

The Rams have had a revolving door at left tackle all season. Last week the starter was 37-year-old journeyman Ty Nsekhe. The week before it was seventh-round rookie AJ Acuri. Both replacing Alaric Jackson who had started the first nine games of the season before being lost for the season with blood clots.

So, Jones has another favorable matchup. Add that the Rams are starting a third-string quarterback in John Wolford who has been sacked seven times in two starts and there is no excuse for Jones not to be able to keep it going Thursday night.

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Raiders DE Chandler Jones wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Raiders DE Chandler Jones wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Chandler Jones had one of the biggest games of his career in Week 13 against the Chargers. After having a pretty quiet season to date, Jones was completely dominant against Los Angeles in a big AFC West battle.

Jones recorded three sacks, all of which occurred in the first half. He also recorded two tackles for a loss and one pass deflection that nearly led to an interception. For that performance, he was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

This is the seventh time that Jones has been named the Defensive Player of the Week, but it’s his first time doing it with the Raiders. The last time he won the award was in Week 11 of 2021 as he recorded two sacks and three QB hits against the Seahawks.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 13 vs Chargers

Plenty of Ballers for Raiders in their solid all-around win over the Chargers

Easily the Raiders most impressive win of the season. And not just despite their two turnovers in the first quarter, but in part because of how they responded to them.

They kept believing in themselves and fought their way back into it to tie it up in the second quarter. Then got a takeaway of their own along with two big scores and stole the momentum to pull out the 27-20 victory.

Ballers

DE Chandler Jones

It was Jones’s coming out party. He had a half-sack coming in and exploded with three sacks. But he did a lot more than just put up sacks.

Jones looked to have ended the first Chargers possession with a three-and-out when he made the tackle in Justin Herbert’s scramble to stop it short of the first down. The Chargers ran a successful fake punt to give themselves a few more plays, but couldn’t pick up another first down and punted anyway.

The next Chargers drive didn’t yield a first down. They went for it on fourth and two and Jones again made the stop on the Herbert scramble to stop it short of the sticks.

His first sack ended the Chargers’ next possession, forcing them to settle for a field goal. And he would have two more sacks before the end of the first half while getting the pressure around the edge that led to a fourth sack. He later had a batted ball on third and 12 to force the Chargers to go for it on 4th and 12.

WR Davante Adams

The Raiders’ first scoring drive began with Adams making a catch on a zero route in the left flat and running for 12 yards. It moved into LA territory when Adams got open for a 19-yard catch to the 44-yard line.

Off the takeaway in the third quarter, Carr threw the ball for Adams on the first play. The ball was inside and low with Asante Samuel in his face and Adams still made the catch for the 31-yard touchdown.

The next time the Raiders got the ball, Adams got open on the flea-flicker. The safety opted to cover Mack Hollins deep so Carr launched it for Adams and the result was a 45-yard touchdown.

The final Raiders scoring drive had Adams make a three-yard catch on third and two, and a 16-yard catch. Carr threw for him for the touchdown, but the ball was knocked down and the Raiders settled for a field goal to take a 27-13 lead.

With the Chargers having pulled it to a one-score game at 27-20, Adams made a 15-yard grab to give the Raiders a fresh set of downs to burn more clock. That was his final catch to give him 177 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches.

RB Josh Jacobs

Jacobs averaged 5.5 yards per carry in this game. And it wasn’t because he broke one while getting stopped for short yardage on most of the others. He was simply earning every yard all game long.

It didn’t start great or Jacobs. He fumbled a catch in the first quarter which he and the Raiders were lucky didn’t end up yielding any points for the Chargers.

Things got going for Jacobs in the second quarter. With the Raiders at the LA 29-yard-line, Jacobs broke a tackle in the backfield and took a run for nine yards. He got the ball again on the next play and it looked very much like the one he broke last week to beat the Seahawks in overtime. The only difference was he had just 20 yards to the end zone this time.

The Raiders’ third touchdown off the flea-flicker was set up by Jacobs having made a savvy run for 13 yards on the previous play. With the defense now preparing for him, Josh McDaniels called for the okeydoke and it worked like a charm just as it had last week. Paydirt.

On the next drive, Jacobs had runs of six, nine, 15, and nine to put the Raiders in scoring position and they took a 27-13 lead. Jacobs would finish with 144 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.

CB Nate Hobbs, S Duron Harmon

Hobbs’s return was noticeable. He is the Raiders’ top cornerback every time he steps foot on the field. And he brings energy on every play.

He began coming up big for the Raiders at the end of the second quarter when he had tight coverage to force an incompletion on third down.

On the second play of the third quarter, Austin Ekeler took a screen pass and picked up good yards. But at the end of that run, Harmon punched the ball out. And after exchanging hands a few times — mostly Raiders defenders — it was Hobbs who finally fell on it to give the Raiders possession at the LA 31. The Adams touchdown pass followed.

After the game, Hobbs was asked about the fumble recovery and he was told it was Harmon. “Of course,” he responded.

With 2:48 left in the game, the Chargers lined up in 4th and nine needing a touchdown to tie it. Herbert went deep for DeAndre Carter, but Nate Hobbs was right there in tight coverage and Carter couldn’t make the catch, essentially ending the Chargers’ chances of tying the game up.

LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Andre James, RG Alex Bars, RT Jermaine Eluemunor

The entire Raiders offensive line deserves credit for their work in this game. They gave up no sacks and no run stops for negative yards.

Several times, Derek Carr had all day in the pocket to find his receiver. And it was a big reason he had four passes over 30 yards and a 19-yard completion.

DE Maxx Crosby, DT Jerry Tillery

Crosby and Chandler Jones were both getting good pressure around the edges. Helping those pressures lead to sacks was Tillery. The former Chargers’ top pick was clearly energized to face his old team.

The first play of the game saw Crosby get the right edge to hit Herbert’s arm as he threw to force a fumble. It was recovered by the Chargers.

Two plays later, on the first third down of the game for the Chargers, Tillery flushed Justin Herbert from the pocket and Jones made the tackle on the scramble short of the first down.

After the successful fake field punt, Tillery and Crosby made short work of their new set of downs. They both got pressure to force an incompletion on first down and then did it again on third down, with Tillery getting a good hit on Herbert as well.

In the third quarter, Matthew Butler and Clelin Ferrell shared a sack. That sack was made possible because Tillery kept Herbert from escaping the pocket.

As often happens, Crosby only got better as the game went along. Come the fourth quarter, on three consecutive plays, he had a QB hit for an incompletion, a tackle on a run which he chased down way out in the right flat. and a pressure on a short catch.

WR Mack Hollins

Early in the second quarter, the Raiders were driving and found themselves in third and nine from the Chargers’ 43-yard-line. Then Carr found Hollins for 14 yards. Two plays later Josh Jacobs took the handoff on the right side of the line and, behind blocks from Hollins and Jakob Johnson, went 20 yards for the touchdown.

Come the third quarter, the Raiders went up 24-13 and got the ball back after a missed field goal. On the first play, Jacobs went for 13 yards behind another Hollins downfield block.

The next play was the flea-flicker. It was the same set up as last week when Hollins was wide open for the score. Only this time Hollins drew the safety on his go route which left Adams in single coverage. The result was the same. Touchdown.

Had Carr seen Hollins wide open in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Raiders would have taken a 31-13 lead. But he threw for Adams and the ball was knocked away so they settled for a field goal.

HC Josh McDaniels, DC Patrick Graham

They catch plenty of grief (including from myself) for their performances, so it’s only fitting they be recognized when things go right.

McDaniels made some pretty great play calls on offense and a week after the defense saw some serious lapses in coverage, to give up 34 points, they came out in this one and had their best performance of the season.

Honorable Mention

S Isaiah Pola-Mao — Came on the blitz several times, resulting in a sack, two QB hits, and a tackle for loss. He had six tackles in just 13 snaps. That’s efficient.

FB Jakob Johnson — Was doing his usual dirty work clearing potential tacklers from Josh Jacobs’s path. That includes the 20-yard touchdown run and a 15-yard run to set up the Raiders’ final score.

Busters

None

There simply wasn’t a performance that sunk to the level of a Buster. A respectable performance all around for the Raiders in this game.

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Raiders get ‘juice’ in all phases for pivotal win over Chargers

The key for Raiders in their pivotal win over the Chargers? “Just the confidence, the juice, the unwavering belief in ourselves that we can play.” according to Davante Adams.

Sunday saw the Raiders and Chargers face off for a second time this season. A total of eight quarters. The first five of those quarters saw the Raiders turn the ball over six times. The last three looked like a polar opposite of the first five.

Down 10-0 early, the Raiders came alive. While the Raiders offense starting clicking, the defense was getting to Justin Herbert and created a turnover of their own and by the third quarter, they took the first lead and never looked back.

It’s one thing to win from wire-to-wire. But you can make an argument that not allowing early turnovers shake you and come back to win it is an even more impressive accomplishment.

“I think the character was on full display today,” said Derek Carr. “And watching our guys bounce back – I mean, we turned it over again, twice. Why, or the reason, it doesn’t matter; it’s what we did. We just make it hard on ourselves and then seeing everybody bounce back and keep believing, keep playing. Defense was playing great for us, keeping them off the scoreboard and all that. It’s good seeing both sides of the ball helping each other and playing that way, and the energy on the sideline was unbelievable.”

Those two turnovers only cost the Raiders one score and it was on a pick six, so the rest of the team had plenty of reason to believe in them and they had every reason to believe in themselves.

That defense didn’t give up a touchdown in the first half. Helped considerably by Chandler Jones who had three sacks and was responsible for setting up a fourth.

The offense hung around to pull back to a 10-10 tie in the second quarter and then blew up in the third quarter.

The two sides came together in the opening minutes of the third quarter. The first three plays saw Herbert throw incomplete, Duron Harmon force a fumble, Nate Hobbs recover it, and on the first play of the Raiders possession, Derek Carr throw deep for Davante Adams for a touchdown.

Once the Raiders got the ball back off a missed Chargers’ field goal, it took two plays for them to get back in the end zone.

On first down, Josh Jacobs broke a couple tackles to pick up 13 yards to the LA 45-yard line. Then the Raiders got tricky. Carr handed it off to Jacobs and it was a flea-flicker. Just like last week, it led to a deep touchdown. This time it was Adams who was wide open for his second deep touchdown in three Raiders offensive plays.

The Raiders were running away with it. Seizing on an energy they had throughout the game.

“Just the confidence, the juice, the unwavering belief in ourselves that we can play,” said Adams. “We show it every week, we just show it in bunches. For us it’s just about being as consistent as possible and just putting the same result on tape every time. If our defense goes out there and plays like that it keeps our mind in it too. Makes it a little easier. We don’t have to scramble when we have a slow start like that.”

What it comes down to is believing in themselves. The Raiders had won their last two games with last week’s win in Seattle even more impressive than the previous one. So, when they found themselves down, they knew it wasn’t a death sentence.

The defense had its best outing and the offense rode that to storm back and fly past the Chargers to take a 27-13 lead into the fourth quarter.

It would take two fourth-down conversions for the Chargers to drive for a touchdown late. But they would need to convert a third fourth down to have a shot to tie it up and that time the Raiders made the stop to take over on downs.

The way the Raiders won this game, you saw a team that seemed like they could beat any team on any given week.

They got pressure on defense, getting home for five sacks, forced a turnover and then converted that takeaway into points.

They got the ground game going and used it to hurt the Chargers when they sold out to stop it.

And they converted on long field goals and pinned the Chargers deep on punts. All the boxes checked to pull out a win over a team in the playoff hunt. That accomplishment can’t be overstated.

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Chargers vs. Raiders first-half highlights

Get caught up with all the action from the matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders.

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The Chargers lead the Raiders at the half, 13-10.

Here are all of Los Angeles’ notable highlights from the first two quarters.

After the Chargers’ former first-round pick Jerry Tillery forced Los Angeles to punt on its opening drive, Kenneth Murray forced a fumble to give the Bolts the ball back at the Raiders’ 25-yard line.

Los Angeles was unable to get points out of it, as Brandon Staley went for it on 4th-and-2 from Las Vegas’ 17 but was unsuccessful.

On the following drive, the Chargers got on the scoreboard.

With Derek Carr scanning the field on 3rd-and-5, he targeted Mack Hollins at the line to gain. Asante Samuel Jr. broke on the ball and tipped the ball up right into the hands of Bryce Callahan. Callahan did the rest, taking it 26 yards into the end zone.

Since that point, Los Angeles settled for two field goals.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 12 vs Seahawks

Digging into the tape to give out some recognition for another hard-fought OT Raiders win in week 12

For the second game in as many weeks the Raiders won a walk-off game in overtime. This one had much more scoring in the game itself, leading to the 34-34 tie at the end of regulation. It wasn’t always pretty, but there were some wow moments along the way and the Raiders once again came out victorious.

Ballers

RB Josh Jacobs

Now the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Jacobs had a monster game by any measure. But especially in terms of stats, where he finished with a career-high 229 yards rushing with two touchdowns along with 74 yards through the air to give him 303 yards from scrimmage and two scores.

The first TD came on a toss from 30 yards out to give the Raiders their biggest lead of the day at 21-13.

The Seahawks answered with a touchdown drive of their own to bring it back to a one-point game. With just over five minutes left in the first half, the Raiders looked to Jacobs to sustain a long drive. After a couple five-yard runs early in the drive, the Raiders found themselves in 4th and two. Jacobs got the ball on a toss and picked up seven yards to put the Raiders in field goal range, allowing them to score to take a 24-20 lead at the half.

Down 34-27 with just over five minutes left in the game, the Raiders would need to once again drive for a score. This time a field goal wouldn’t cut it. The third play of the drive, Jacobs caught a pass for 14 yards to put them at the Seahawks’ 33-yard-line. A few plays later, he put the Raiders in first and goal at the ten and they went on to score the game-tying touchdown.

Jacobs did his part to put the Raiders in scoring position to start overtime, with three runs for 24 yards, but it stalled at the 38-yard-line, and Daniel Carlson missed the 56-yard field goal attempt.

The defense held to give Jacobs another shot and he took that opportunity and ran with it…86 yards to the house on the first play of the drive to end the game.

His big game helped him become the league’s top rusher at 1159 yards. Already a career-high with five games still left.

WR Mack Hollins, WR Davante Adams

The first long pass play of the game went to Hollins on third-and-four on the Raiders second possession. It went for 20 yards to put the Raiders in business at the Seattle 23-yard-line. Three plays later they tied the game at 7-7.

The first big play for Jacobs had involved Hollins and Adams. Down 13-7 in the second quarter, with Derek Carr already throwing two interceptions, the Raiders offense needed a spark.

A couple nice Adams catches gave them two first downs to put them at the Seattle 36-yard-line. Then Jacobs got the handoff up the middle, the Seahawks sold out to stop him. With the defense committed, Jacob pitched it back to Carr on the flea flicker, barely getting it back to him as defenders swarmed him.

Adams and Hollins played it perfectly, with Hollins acting like he was blocking, and Adams slowing up as if he was a decoy. The moment the pitch back happened, Adams picked up speed, drawing a double team from the the only remaining Seahawks left in the secondary. So when Hollins peeled off his blocked he was completely uncovered with plenty of open field in front him for an easy 36-yard catch and run for the score and a 14-13 lead. That play was a clinic in how to execute a successful flea flicker.

Down 34-27 late in the game, the Raiders needed a TD drive. That drive started with an incredible one-handed grab by Adams up the right sideline. The defender was holding Adams’s left hand down, so he simply reached up and snagged the pass with his right hand and pinned it to his chest for a 28-yard grab. A few plays later he caught a pass in the right flat, broke a tackle and picked up a first down at the 22.

Still tied at 34-34 in overtime, Jacobs broke through for his 86-yard touchdown run. And he hit the next gear and ran away thanks to a downfield block from Hollins.

FB Jakob Johnson, RT Jermaine Eluemunor, C Andre James

Hollins wasn’t the only one to help open things up for Jacobs on that game-winning run. The initial hole to get him to the second level was opened by Eluemunor and Johnson. They gave him the daylight, and Jacobs took it from there.

That was Jacobs’s second TD of the game. His first TD came on a toss in the second quarter. Once again Johnson was there to clear a path for him as was James.

James also laid key blocks on a couple big runs by Zamir White to set up a game-tying field goal in the third quarter. While Eluemunor blocked for Jacobs on another couple nice runs, one of which was on the first drive of overtime.

DT Andrew Billings, DE Maxx Crosby, DE Chandler Jones

Carr’s two interceptions in the first quarter, put the defense in a tough spot to try and stop the Seahawks from scoring. But in between, they did some good work. In particular, Billings shot up the middle to get a run stuff for a loss and share of a sack. Jones and Crosby helped with the sack by getting around the outside, forcing Geno Smith to step into a quickly closing pocket.

It was a new game at 27-27 in the third quarter, and the three-and-out that came afterward was completed in part because Jones did a nice job disguising. He made it look as if he was coming on the rush and after one step. turned to follow the tight end, thus closing off the outside for the screen, stopping it in its tracks and forcing a punt.

Jones’s final act falling on a fumbled handoff to stop what would have been a scoring drive for the Seahawks, and giving the Raiders the ball back.

The Raiders offense couldn’t capitalize on the turnover this time. When the Seahawks took over on downs, Billings and Crosby teamed up to sack Smith.

After the Raiders tied it up at 34-34, the defense still needed a stop. The Seahawks had 1:54 left to score. They got one first down and then found themselves in third-and-10. Cue Maxx Crosby who shot in to get another sack and send the game to overtime. Second straight week he did that.

As is often the case, Crosby clearly got stronger as the game went longer. In OT, the Seahawks got the ball with a chance to win it, but instead went three-and-out. On third and five, Crosby flew around the edge, using his wingspan to grab Smith’s throwing arm with the QB barely getting the pass off. All he that did was save a few yards as the pass went into the turf and the Seahawks punted it back. You know what happened next.

LB Denzel Perryman

The man who deals with the coverage criticism probably a lot more than he should, made the Raiders’ biggest play on defense in coverage. As middle linebackers are asked to do from time to time, he dropped back to patrol the middle zone and watch the quarterback’s eyes. That put him in the right position to pick off Geno Smith’s pass and return it 25 yards to the Seattle 30. And the Raiders converted the takeaway to the touchdown in one play to take a 21-13 lead.

Come the third quarter, the score was tied up at 27-27 and Perryman shot into the backfield to make a tackle for loss, leading to a three-and-out. It was still tied up heading into the fourth quarter and Perryman chased down Kenneth Walker trying to find round outside to stop him for a 13-yard loss.

Perryman finished with a team-leading nine tackles, two for a loss, along with his interception.

LT Kolton Miller

Kept the left edge clean and free from blindside pressure to give Carr plenty of time. That’s most of his job and he did it perfectly.

Honorable Mention

QB Derek Carr — He spotted the Seahawks with two scores early with two interceptions in the first quarter. But kudos to Carr for shaking it off and throwing three touchdowns to help send the Raiders to overtime. The first and third TD’s to Abdullah and Moreau were absolute dimes for throws too.

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Raiders have one of NFL’s worst payroll vs record ratios

Raiders have among the highest payrolls in the league with the fewest wins to show for it.

You get what you pay for. That’s the saying. Even though usually when someone says that, what it really means is you decidedly did NOT get what you paid for.

Sometimes, however, sometimes you pay a lot for something and get little return on your investment.

Such is the case with the Raiders this season.

Few teams have a higher payroll than the Raiders this season and no one has gotten fewer wins as a result.

To see what that looks like as a chart, OverTheCap laid it out.

The bottom right is where you don’t want to be. There are nine teams that fall squarely in that area. Five of which have higher salaries than the Raiders ($240M) and none of which have fewer wins (2) to show for it.

Part of the Raiders’ big investments this offseason were locking up some key contributors like DE Maxx Crosby, WR Hunter Renfrow, and TE Darren Waller. Another portion went to high priced acquisitions like WR Davante Adams, and DE Chandler Jones.

They have gotten two wins this season for their investment. Namely from Renfrow and Waller who have been injured much of the season and Jones who has been an utter disappointment. Though, having $45 million in dead money on the books doesn’t help.

For instance, the Raiders are paying out $15.8 million between Chandler Jones’s salary ($7.8M) and dead money to Yannick Ngakoue ($8M) and they have a half sack to show for it.

Yikes indeed.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 8 vs Saints

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

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

Ballers

None

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

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

Busters

HC Josh McDaniels, DC Patrick Graham

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

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

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

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

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

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

QB Derek Carr

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

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

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

CB Rock Ya-Sin, CB Anthony Averett

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

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

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

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

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

T Kolton Miller, G Alex Bars, TE Foster Moreau

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

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

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

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

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

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

LB Denzel Perryman, LB Divine Deablo

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

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

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

DE Chandler Jones, DT Bilal Nichols, DT Andrew Billings

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

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

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

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

WR Davante Adams

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

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 5 vs Chiefs

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

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

Ballers

RB Josh Jacobs

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

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

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

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

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

DE Maxx Crosby

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

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

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

DE Chandler Jones

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

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

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

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

T Kolton Miller

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

FB Jakob Johnson

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

WR Davante Adams

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

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

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

LB Divine Deablo

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

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Raiders checked a lot of boxes to get first win vs Broncos, now they must keep it going

The Raiders nailed their keys to beating the Broncos. Now they must keep it going.

Prior to the Raiders crucial win over the Broncos, we detailed the five keys to making it a winnable game. These are those five keys and how the Raiders did in covering them.

1. Play a full game – CHECK

The most common theme in the first three games was the Raiders playing well for exactly half the game. Sometimes it was the first half and sometimes it was the second. Against the Broncos they started strong and kept it going to the end.

The scored first to go up 3-0 on the opening drive. They went back up to start the second quarter with their first touchdown to lead 10-7. And they added a field goal in the final seconds of the second quarter to head into the half up 19-16.

They didn’t relinquish the lead after that, extending their lead to 25-16 before ultimately putting the game out of reach at 32-23.

2. Get the ball to Davante Adams — CHECK

Though Carr didn’t connect with Adams on any deep shots, he got the ball in his hands ten times, including nine catches for 101 yards — his biggest output since the opener.

Adams had catches on five of the Raiders’ seven scoring drives and four of the team’s ten longest plays from scrimmage (20, 17, 16, 13).

3. Chandler Jones needs to show up — SORTA

Jones was once again held without a sack. Though Garrett Bolles was twice flagged for holding on him. So, that’s something, right?

Maxx Crosby was certainly doing work on the other side, putting up two sacks, two QB hits, and four tackles for loss. So, Russell Wilson was under pressure from at least one side.

4. Force turnovers — CHECK

Not only did the Raiders force a turnover, Amik Robertson took the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. You can’t overstate the importance of that play when you consider how hard it typically is to score against that Broncos defense.

5. Run the ball — CHECK

The Raiders ran it 38 times with 30 of those runs going to the backs. Most importantly, they didn’t abandon it in the second half. Actually, they ran it more in the second half (21) than they did in the first half (17).

Running the ball well was how they beat the Broncos last season. And just like that win late last season, Josh Jacobs carried the team to a win. He tied a career-high (129 yards) with his performance last season, and set a new career-high (144 yards) this time. It’s a good formula.

How do they keep it going?

That’s the question for sure. Because next up is the Chiefs, making these keys that much more difficult to reach.

While they can’t always use the same formula for every opponent, several of these keys are something they must strive to reach every game.

They very much must play a full game on both sides of the ball against the Chiefs. There is no question about that. Any let up will either lead to a big hole they can’t dig out of or a collapse late. They did both in the first three games.

They also must get the ball into the hands of Davante Adams. He is their best player. I would add that Carr must connect with him deep. Though the two connected nine times against the Broncos, those were all back shoulder and comeback routes. That won’t cut it against the Chiefs. Gotta break things open and that means when Adams gets behind the defender — and he will — to get the ball to him.

Can this team hold off the Chiefs offense without contributions from Chandler Jones? Maxx Crosby is good, but if Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs simply key on stopping him, that could lead to a lot of extended plays. That’s how Mahomes will gut you.

Turnover differential is always key. The defensive TD against the Broncos was the biggest swing in momentum last week. Mahomes has only lost once to the Raiders in his career. He’s thrown three career interceptions vs the Raiders and one of them came in that game.

No team is better against the run than the Chiefs. They are much more vulnerable against the pass. So, that just means putting greater emphasis on the Raiders getting the ball to their weapons in the passing game. It starts with Adams, but it also means getting back on the same page with Darren Waller, and getting Hunter Renfrow involved when he returns from injury.

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