DJ Glaze – Syndication Server

Busters for Raiders week 15 loss to Falcons

Where things went wrong for the Raiders in their loss to the Falcons.

The Ballers were made up mostly of defensive players. It was the offense and special teams that doomed the Raiders in this one. So, the makeup the Busters may not surprise you.

Busters

QB Desmond Ridder

This offense was severely hampered by the limitations of Ridder. He had several opportunities in this game, provided by the Raiders defense, on which he couldn’t capitalize.

Only once in the first three quarters did the Raiders get past the 50-yard-line. And even the one that did move into Atlanta territory ended with two bad throws by Ridder. Both were for Brock Bowers, the first was too low and the other was an overthrow and the Raiders settled for a long field goal.

Just before the half, he finally connected for a decent gain to Bowers. Then followed it up with another bad overthrow to Bowers and then took a sack to send the two teams to the locker room with a 9-3 Falcons lead.

The third quarter saw the Raiders offense convert one first down. One. The first possession, Ridder was sacked twice, neither were the fault of his Oline. Then after the only first down — on an Alexander Mattison run — he overthrew Tre Tucker, nearly threw an interception, and rolled out right and threw the ball away. He had one more three-and-out in the quarter.

To lead out the fourth quarter, the Raiders possession ended with two incompletions — one on an overthrown screen pass — and Ridder getting sacked. Again, it was not the fault of his Oline. Next series lasted two plays with Ridder throwing an interception, giving the Falcons the ball already in scoring range. It was just luck that they missed the field goal.

Most of Ridder’s completed passes came on the final two drives. But being flagged for a delay of game on fourth and three certainly didn’t help matters. It meant it would take an amazing play by Ameer Abdullah to keep hope alive.

STC Tom McMahon, S Chris Smith II

When’s the last time you saw three blocked kicks by one team in one game? I can’t recall ever seeing it before. But that’s what happened in this game.

Two of the blocked were on punts. Chris Smith was the personal protector and was blocking no one while a free runner got to AJ Cole. One of the blocks was a deflection that caused a punt to travel just 30 yards. The other was a full on block. Both gave the Falcons great field position.

The other block was on the extra point after the late touchdown. In this case, Michael Mayer was left to try and block two players on his own and that didn’t work out well.

Smith also missed the tackle on a 38-yard return to the 45-yard-line.

OC Scott Turner

Four times the Raiders offense started a drive inside their own ten-yard-line. And despite being backed up against their own end zone, Ridder lined up in the shotgun each time, often times handing the ball off. That’s a dangerous play as it mean the runner basically has three yards they have to run with the ball before they even reach the line of scrimmage.

The first time they did this was on a drive that started at their own three-yard-line. It led to consecutive tackles for loss and a safety to give the Falcons a 9-3 lead.

They did it again from their own three in the third quarter. Similar result. This time it was a run for no gain to start things off followed by two short catches and a punt.

The final time, they led out with another run for a loss. And the next play Ridder threw an interception to give the Falcons the ball in scoring range.

CB Jack Jones

The Falcons’ only touchdown was from some easy film study. Last week Jones bit on a sluggo off a pump fake for a long completion. So, with the Falcons at the Vegas 30-yard-line, they said ‘hey, let’s do that too’. And, so they did. And Jones bit, leaving Drake London wide open for the long touchdown.

On their second scoring drive, he gave up an eight-yard first down run and on their third scoring drive, he gave up a five-yard catch on third-and-four that put them in field goal range.

WR Jakobi Meyers

The first drive of the game, Meyers was given the ball on an end around and set up to pass the ball. But his target was double covered, so he instead took the sack for a ten-yard loss.

The next time they looked to Meyer, was to lead out the third quarter. He made the catch but pushed off and was called for offensive pass interference.

Next pass for him, he couldn’t get to it and it was knocked away. His first catch didn’t come until there was just over five minutes left in the game. To his credit, he had three catches on the drive for 26 yards and the Raiders would score the TD on the drive.

The final drive, he had a couple more catches. But also had one in his hands get knocked out on the way down. And on the hail mary on the final play, he let Jesse Bates high point him to make the interception.

C Jackson Powers-Johnson

JPJ gave up run stuffs for a loss on each of the first two possessions. The second leading to a three-and-out. Even on the field goal drive, he found himself blocking no one while the run was stuffed at the line.

The Raiders running backs averaged 2.17 yards per carry in the game on 17 carries. And while that certainly doesn’t fall on him alone, there weren’t any instances in which he was the key block on a run

T DJ Glaze

Overall, he seemed to have a decent game. But his holding penalty on the final drive was a killer. He was completely beaten on the play and his hold was about as obvious as you’ll see. It would take the Raiders four plays to make up for it, taking 44 vital seconds off the clock. Which ultimately meant the game hinged on Hail Mary passes, which is never a great bet.

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Busters for Raiders Week 13 heartbreaker vs Chiefs

How it started out poorly and then went wrong in the end for the Raiders in their week 13 matchup with the Chiefs.

A valiant effort by the Raiders, but alas they were unable to come away from Arrowhead with a W. This is where I am looking for why that may be.

Busters

S Isaiah Pola-Mao, CB DeCamerion Richardson, CB Jack Jones

Let’s talk about how the Raiders found themselves in a 16-3 hole in the first place.

The second play of the game, Richardson gave up a 14-yard catch. Later Jones was flagged for pass interference to put the Chiefs in field goal range.

The next drive me gave up a catch and missed the tackle for a ten-yard gain. And. few plays later, Pola-Mao gave up the longest catch to that point of 24 yards to put the Chiefs in field goal range.

The first Chiefs’ touchdown, Pola-Mao was out of position to give up a wide open 27-yard catch to the tight end — a new long for the game. That catch put them in scoring range in one play. But it was Jones who would give up the touchdown catch from six yards out.

And on the next drive, Jones it on the double move and Pola-Mao was late getting over to give up *another* 24-yard catch to midfield.

The first drive of the third quarter, Richardson gave up an 11-yard catch to make for an easier field goal to make it a 13-3 Chiefs lead. And then on the next drive, in third and ten, he allowed a 30-yard catch to put them in field goal range again. And there you have that 16-3 lead.

After the Raiders scored two quick touchdowns to take the lead, the Chiefs drove right down to take a back. They did so in part because Jones gave up a a 15-yard catch on second and 20 and on third and five Pola-Mao was late helping again to give up a 19-yard catch to put the Chiefs in first and goal.

LT Kolton Miller, RT DJ Glaze

There were several opportunities for the Raiders to close that 16-3 well before they actually did it. In the second quarter a drive began with a two runs for 28 yards. But it ended three plays later with Glaze giving up a sack.

The first drive of the third quarter began with a 12-yard run and a 25-yard catch and run to put the Raiders in field goal range. But when they went for it on 4th and one, Miller gave up the run stuff for no gain for the turnover on downs.

The next drive, the Raiders got as far as the KC 22-yard line off a crazy Brock Bowers one-handed grab. Then Miller gave up the sack for a 15-yard loss and Daniel Carlson missed the 55-yard field goal attempt wide left.

Miller was called for holding on the next Raiders drive which threatened to spoil a 69-yard return. But this time a long TD pass from O’Connell to Bowers dug them out of it.

After the Chiefs re-took the lead in the fourth quarter, the Raiders picked up a first down, but got no further when Glaze gave up pressure on third and nine, leading to an incompletion and a punt.

HC Antonio Pierce

Aidan O’Connell took the blame for the errant snap on the final play. And, yeah, it was his fault. He was clapping to hurry things up and right guard Dylan Parham took that to mean he wanted the ball snapped, so he tapped Jackson Powers-Johnson’s leg to get him to snap it. But here’s my bigger issue — they never should’ve been in that situation in the first place.

There was too much to lose and not enough to gain from calling that play. He shouldn’t have been in shotgun. He probably shouldn’t have been running a play at all. They were in field goal range with 11 seconds left. That should be the game winner. And instead the team was a panicky, discombobulated mess.

Even if there hadn’t been a botched snap, there would’ve been an illegal shift penalty that wiped out whatever they did and backed them up because they weren’t set when the ball was snapped. They simply have to be more poised in crucial moments like that. Or they shouldn’t be put in that position in a hostile environment like that.

We should be talking about *another* huge come-from-behind, improbable victory in KC. But instead we’re talking about a massive missed opportunity.

See the Ballers.

Busters for Raiders Week 12 loss to Broncos

Those whose performances were most responsible for the Raiders failing to pull out the win over the Broncos.

We move on to the performances that most led to the Raiders losing to the Broncos on Sunday.

Busters

CB DeCamerion Richardson

It seemed whenever the Broncos needed a big play, they looked to whoever Richardson was guarding. Their second score of the game was set up when Richardson gave up a 24-yard catch. Their third score was thanks for Richardson not playing the ball and being called for a pass interference.

The fourth quarter was led out by another Broncos field goal that was made possible when Richardson gave up an 18-yard catch on third and ten. The next drive, Richardson gave up the touchdown catch to make it a 26-16 game. The Raiders couldn’t catch up after that.

QB Gardner Minshew

Minshew had some nice throws in this game. But in the end, the bad plays far outweighed the good.

He fumbled the first snap of the game, with was not a good sign. That first drive would end with him throwing off target for Brock Bowers on third and three. That was followed by a three-and-out on their second possession.

Three straight scoring drives in the second quarter made things very interesting. And had it continued, Minshew would surely have been a Baller for this one. But as often happens, come the third, the good feeling disipated.

Four possessions in the third for the Raiders went like this — three-and-out with a batted pass at the line on third down, Minshew running into a sack and then getting picked off leading to a Broncos TD, a five-play possession ending with Minshew throwing incomplete for a well covered Brock Bowers, and a three-and-out ending on a low pass into the turf.

It was a six-point Bronocs lead by the time the Raiders got the ball in the fourth quarter. They would score two more times, but couldn’t get more than a field goal, which wasn’t enough. Then Minshew was tackled on a roll out, breaking his collarbone and was lost for the season. Just to be clear, I am not blaming him for breaking his collarbone. Just detailing that it happened.

LT Kolton Miller, RT DJ Glaze

A holding penalty on Glaze stalled the Raiders second scoring drive after driving to the 11-yard line.

The Raiders still carried a 13-9 lead into the third quarter. But on their second possession, both Miller and Glaze gave up pressure from each side that caused Minshew’s pass to sail and get intercepted. The Broncos got the ball at the Vegas 18-yard line and scored the TD two plays later to take a 16-13 lead.

Late in the game, with it still a one-score game at 26-19, the Raiders got the ball. Minshew was knocked out of the game and two plays after Desmond Ridder came in, Miller gave up a strip sack, the Broncos recovered, and added a field goal to put the game away.

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Busters for Raiders Week 11 loss to Dolphins

Those Raiders who had the worst day against the Dolphins in week 11.

Enough with the little positives. Let’s look at the glaring negatives. And when you fail to stop a team to force a single punt or turnover, naturally there are going to be plenty of those.

Busters

LB Divine Deablo

The first play of the game, he was in the wrong gap to give up a five-yard run. Two plays later, on the first third down play of the game, Deablo ran into a receiver to give up a 17-yard catch then gave up a seven-yard catch on the next play to put the Dolphins in scoring range. they would go on to score an opening drive touchdown.

He was blocked on a ten-yard run to lead off the Dolphins second scoring drive.

In the third quarter, the Dolphins could go on another touchdown drive. Along with way, Deablo had missed tackles on consecutive plays. Then on first and goal from the four-yard-line, he was called for a facemask that offset a holding penalty on the Dolphins so they just replayed the down.

And finally, the game clinching touchdown, Deablo was supposed to be covering Jonnu Smith, but instead just let him go by him, where he was completely wide open for a 57-yard touchdown.

S Isaiah Pola-Mao

Pola-Mao gave up the first touchdown of the game when he was late getting over in coverage on fourth and goal from the two.

Their second touchdown was set up by a 30-yard run on which Pola-Mao missed the tackle to put them in first and goal at the four.

And on the final TD, Pola-Mao committed to the right side of the field and ended up covering no one while leaving the entire middle of the field complete wide open for Jonnu Smith all alone to go 57 yards for the score.

CB DeCamerion Richardson

With Jakorian Bennett lost on the second play of the game, the rookie was pressed into service. And he didn’t fair well to say the least.

Richardson gave up a 16-yard catch on the first drive that set the Dolphins up at the Vegas 12-yard line. Then on the next drive, he gave up a 24-yard catch that set them up at the 16-yard line.

The second touchdown of the game for the Dolphins was given up by Richardson from nine yards out.

The next drive, he gave up a 14-yard catch on third and four, and finally failed to keep containment on the edge to allow for an easy run around the left side for the touchdown.

RT DJ Glaze, RG Dylan Parham

The Raiders got a reprieve on their first drive of the game when Calais Campbell was flagged for roughing the kicker on their punt attempt. They too advantage and moved into goal to go at the ten. Then on second and goal, Parham gave up the sack to back them up to the 18. They gave up on scoring the TD after that and kicked the field goal.

The next drive, they again drove into goal to go. And again, it was pressure that killed their shot. This time it was Glaze giving up pressure that forced a throw short of the first down and they again settled for three instead of six.

The Raiders got the ball to start the second half, and promptly went three-and-out. Because Glaze gave up pressure on third down again, leading to a bad pass that fell incomplete.

They would finally punch it in in the third quarter, but when they went for two to try and make it a three-point game, Parham got shucked to give up a run stuff for a loss.

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Raiders to field 6th different starting OL of the season Week 11 vs Dolphins

When the Raiders take the field against the Dolphins week 11, they will have their sixth different starting offensive line combination.

Sunday when the Raiders take the field on offense against the Dolphins in Miami, the offensive line will be almost completely unrecognizable from the one that took the field at the start of the season. Heck, it won’t even resemble the one that took the field for their last game.

Injuries along with poor play from the initial starters has completely transformed the Raiders offensive line. This week they will field their whopping sixth different starting offensive line combination this season.

From left to right, the starting five will be LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Jackson Powers-Johnson, RG Jordan Meredith, and RT DJ Glaze.

The only position on the line with the same starter from the season opener is left tackle Kolton Miller.

Cody Whitehair started the season at left guard — he’s OUT for this game. Andre James started the season at center — he’s OUT for this game.
Dylan Parham started the season at right guard — he got injured and then supplanted as the starter by Jordan Meredith.
Thayer Munford started the season at right tackle — he got injured and then supplanted as the starter by rookie DJ Glaze.

Here is what the starting lineup has looked like for each game this season:

Week	LT	LG	C	RG	RT
1	Miller	Whitehair	James	Parham	Munford
2	Miller	Peat	James	Parham	Munford
3	Miller	Whitehair	James	Parham	Munford
4	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Parham	Glaze
5	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Parham	Glaze
6	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Parham	Glaze
7	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Meredith	Glaze
8	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Meredith	Glaze
9	Miller	Whitehair	P-Johnson	Meredith	Glaze
11	Miller	Parham	P-Johnson	Meredith	Glaze

“At the end of the day, it’s kind of been like our whole season. Next man up, right? Next man up,” head coach Antonio Pierce said of the shuffling line.

“You just hate that we keep changing all these pieces along the offensive line, because at some point, you’d like just to have five guys there, continuity, chemistry. That’s really the glue to our team, when you can have that. So something we’re working on consistently.”

On one hand, it’s hard to gain any consistency of play without continuity. On the other hand, finding the best five is important and at least two of these guys was replaced by someone who outplayed them.

It’s very possible this lineup is the best five the Raiders have. Parham moves back to left guard where he had played the past two seasons and Andre James didn’t do much to keep Rimington Award Winner Powers-Johnson from getting his shot to take the job. And thus far, JPJ has looked the part.

As for depth, the Raiders may need to dig into their practice squad for that.

Raiders trio recognized by The Athletic’s NFL midseason All-Rookie team

A trio of Raiders were recognized by The Athletic in their NFL midseason All-Rookie team.

With the NFL season having passed its midway point, a number of outlets are putting together their list of midseason awards.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler put together his NFL midseason All-Rookie team.

It won’t surprise Las Vegas Raiders fans to see rookie sensation Brock Bowers on Brugler’s midseason All-Rookie team. Among tight ends, the 6-foot-4, 230 pound rookie from Georgia has racked up a league-leading 580 receiving yards.

Bowers is currently second among all NFL players in receptions with 57 grabs. The Raiders rookie has a pair of touchdown receptions as well. Bowers hauled in a 57-yard touchdown against Denver in Week 5 and a 22-yard touchdown grab last week against the Bengals.

After averaging eight catches per game in October, Bowers now leads all rookies with 57 receptions, second most in the NFL across all players, behind only Wilson (60). Bowers’ run blocking has been a roller coaster, but when targeted, good things have happened (81.4 percent reception rate).

Bowers also has been a weapon with the ball in his hands. Just five receivers and tight ends in the NFL have eclipsed 300 yards after the catch this season: Ja’Marr Chase, Khalil Shakir, Chris Godwin, Zay Flowers and … Bowers. Regardless of who is under center for the Raiders, they need to continue targeting No. 89. – Brugler, The Athletic.

Selected by the Raiders with the No. 13 overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft, it’s clear that Las Vegas has its next great offensive star in Bowers.

In a season where things very well could continue to shift sideways, Bowers figures to remain a bright spot throughout. The first-rounder has done nothing but exceed expectations.

Bowers joins an offensive All-Rookie team from Brugler that also features Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Joe Alt and Pittsburgh Steelers interior offensive lineman Zach Frazier.

Two other Raiders were honored as honorable mention midseason All-Rookie team members.

Interior offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson and offensive tackle DJ Glaze were both chosen as honorable mention selections. Powers-Johnson was a second-round draft pick out of Oregon, while Glaze was a third-round selection of the Raiders via Maryland.

Busters for Raiders Week 8 loss to Chiefs

The Raiders had their chances to make this game more competitive, but could never capitalize.

The Chiefs ran away with this game just before the half and never looked back. A 10-7 Raiders lead turned into a 17-10 deficit in just two minutes time. The Raiders had their chances to come back, but couldn’t get out of their own way or were just outmatched.

Busters

OC Luke Getsy

So many wasted opportunities in this game. Let’s start near the end of the second quarter. The Raiders had just fallen down 14-10 with under two minutes left. They had the chance to at very least be the last to have the ball. But instead they went three-and-out. First play was an end around the Chiefs sniffed out for no gain. Then a two-yard run. Then a blitz by the Chiefs that wasn’t picked up, forcing Minshew to throw it away. The Chiefs only needed to use one of their timeouts to get the ball back with a minute left. They used that time to drive for a second score in the final two minutes of the first half. That’s how to suck the air out of the building.

The first possession of the third quarter, the Raiders AGAIN went three-and-out. And it happened in much the same fashion as the previous one – run for minimal gain, short catch for no gain, and free runner on a blitz leading to an incompletion.

Next possession, the Raiders got a gift. First the defense stopped the Chiefs for a three-and-out with just one yard picked up. The punt was fielded near midfield by DJ Turner and returned to the KC 43. A late hit out of bounds tacked on another 15 yards, starting the Raiders out in field goal range at the 28. And despite getting some help from a KC holding penalty, and driving all the way to first and goal at the four, they still couldn’t punch it in. First play inside the five, Getsy had Tre Turner blocking a defensive end, leading to a four-yard loss on the run. Then on third and goal from the seven, he had John Samuel Shenker and Ameer Abdullah trying to block George Karlaftis, who brushed past both of them to get the sack.

Next possession the offense got an even bigger gift. An interception put them right back in first and goal inside the five. A second chance to get right what they got wrong the previous trip. They had the ball at the three, ran it three straight times and were still at the three. Minshew then ran right into a sack for the turnover on downs.

Understand what happened here. They had been abysmal at running the ball all day, with their backs averaging less than a yard per carry. So, they, of course, ran it three straight times and were held out of the end zone. This time last week, they were having some success running it against the Rams. And in this same situation, they abandoned the run, opting to pass it three straight times and were likewise kept from getting in the end zone. It’s like the only question when it comes to what play(s) to run is what will they least expect. Even though the reason they may not expect it is because it’s just a very bad idea that doesn’t play to your own strengths.

The only times the Raiders were able to score a TD in this game were the opening scripted drive and after they were down by two scores late. Any positive offensive numbers have to take those facts into consideration. That’s not winning football.

LB Robert Spillane

This was tough. On paper, Spillane had a great game. He led the team with 12 combined tackles (six solo) with one for a loss. But just three of those 12 tackles were inside four yards and didn’t result in a first down or touchdown.

He gave up a 13-yard catch on the first third down of the game to open up the Chiefs first touchdown drive. Their second touchdown drive, he again gave up the first down catch on their first third down. Then on third and goal from the five, he gave up the touchdown catch to Travis Kelce over the middle.

The Chiefs got the ball back with just under a minute left until the half. And Spillane gave up a wide open catch to Kelce along the way to them adding a field goal to go up 17-10. He later gave up chunk runs on each the Chiefs’ last two scoring drives.

T DJ Glaze

He gave up run stuff on the opening drive and a sack along with another run stuff that threatened to upend the Raiders’ second scoring drive. Then on their third scoring drive, he was tossed to give up a run stuff for a loss, and was flagged for illegal formation on third and goal. The Chiefs got a sack on the play, but no matter what, the Raiders weren’t scoring on the play because of the Glaze penalty.

CB Jakorian Bennett

Bennett also gave a 20-yard catch and a third down conversion. He just did it on three straight catch to lead out the Chiefs second touchdown drive. He then gave up a 16-yard that put the Chiefs in Raiders territory at the 40 in the final seconds of the second quarter, setting them up for their third score and the second in the final two minutes of the first half.

RB Alexander Mattison

Mattison finished with just 15 yards on 14 carries. Several times it seemed he left yards on the field. And a couple times perhaps even a touchdown. The big one was on third and goal from the one, where it appeared as if, had he run it straight up the gut, he would have just had LB Nick Bolton to go through to cross the goal line. But he went out right instead and was met by half the Chiefs’ defense where he was stopped for a loss.

DT John Jenkins

Credit to Jenkins for getting the tipped ball that led to the Raiders’ only takeaway. But other than that, it was that a great outing for the veteran defensive tackle. He was once again getting pushed all over the field.

He was run through on the first touchdown, then was blocked on an 11-yard shovel pass on the second TD drive. Then gave up two runs on the Chiefs’ final TD drive, including the one that put them in field goal range, and the third down conversion.

DC Patrick Graham

I lost count of how many times a Chiefs receiver was able to find a wide open soft spot in the zone or a running back came out of the backfield completely uncovered for big yards off the dump pass. Both happened multiple times on the back-to-back scoring drives to end the first half. It’s just inexcusable to so many times be wondering how a guy gets so wide open and just who was assigned to him. And coming away thinking maybe no one was and the Chiefs exploited that to the fullest.

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Busters for Raiders Week 7 loss to Rams

There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Raiders’ latest ugly display. But I’m still going to try and really zero on in the worst of the worst.

Busters

QB Gardner Minshew

His first drive looked decent, leading the Raiders to their first score. But it went downhill after that. His second possession they went three-and-out. His next drive ended with him rolling left on third down and forcing a pass to Brock Bowers that was easily intercepted. There was no reason to even attempt that pass. Just a terrible decision on Minshew’s part. And it led to the Rams’ first TD.

In fact, Minshew would turn the ball over four times in the games. The first three led to TD’s – two interceptions and a fumble scoop and score – and the fourth one ended the game.

Every time he got even near the red zone, things would fall apart. First time, he got to the 25 and went 0-2, second time he got to the 24 and had a false start and went 0-2, third time he got to the 23 and went 0-2, fourth time he got the ball at the 14 off a turnover and went 0-1, And the fifth time he got to the 15 and went 0-2 – completing one pass that was stopped for no gain. Yeah, that’s right, five times from the 25-yard line or closer, he didn’t complete a single pass for positive yards. Going 1-10.

T DJ Glaze

The first drive of the game ended with Glaze giving up a pressure that led to a bad pass on third down and a punt. The next drive he was flagged for holding and the Raiders were unable to make the yards back up, but in the process of trying, Aidan O’Connell injured his thumb on a rushing defender and is now on injured reserve.

His final act was to jump early on fourth and goal from the four when the Raiders needed a touchdown to have a chance to tie it up. Suddenly the fourth and goal at the four became fourth and goal at the nine.

G Jordan Meredith, C Andre James

The second score for the Rams came on defense. When Meredith failed to block Cobie Durant and he shot through to hit Minshew for the strip sack. Kam Curl picked it up and returned it for the touchdown to give the Rams a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

The first possession of the third quarter for the Raiders ended with a three-and-out and it was led out with James giving up a run stuff.

The Nate Hobbs interception gave the Raiders the ball at the LA 14-yard-line. On first down, Minshew threw for Brock Bowers for six yards, but James was flagged for ineligible man down field to bring it back.

On the final drive for the Raiders, Meredith missed his block to give up a run stuff on third down that forced the Raiders to go for it on fourth and one. Then on first and goal from the four, James gave up a pressure, forcing Minshew to throw the ball away.

T Kolton Miller

Late in the second quarter, the Raiders drove to the Rams’ 24-yard line looking to get their first touchdown. That ended in part because Miller gave up a hit on Minshew, leading to a bad throw, so they settled for a field goal to go into the locker room down 14-6.

The Raiders were in third and five from the LA nine-yard line to begin the fourth quarter. But Miller gave up a pressure and Minshew ditched it out of bounds to preserve at least a field goal. The next drive he gave up a run stuff for a loss.

DT John Jenkins

After the Rams’ first takeaway, the first play saw Jenkins driven back nine yards on a run play that put them in scoring range. He later was seen being pushed back on another nine-yard run and on the final Rams’ possession, while they looked to run clock, he was blocked back on a 14-yard run. Jenkins finished with zero tackles or any other stat in the game.

HC Antonio Pierce, OC Luke Getsy

With a reprieve on the missed field goal (and earlier extra point), the Raiders went on what was to be their long drive to try and salvage the game. A touchdown and two-point conversion ties it. They would get all the way to the four-yard-line. Along the way they converted a fourth down with a Mattison run, followed by a nine-yard Zamir White run, and then a 12-yard end around by Tre Tucker to put them in first and goal at the four. And would get no closer.

From there, Getsy inexplicably went away from the run completely, calling three pass plays despite Minshew having been 0-7 on passes inside the 28-yard line before that. Then on fourth down, DJ Glaze was flagged for a false start and Antonio Pierce lost his nerve, opting for a field goal instead. This despite a field goal keeping them a touchdown away and giving up major field position and clock time in the process. A terrible decision by Pierce that at best made their hopes of tying or winning the game exponentially more difficult and at worst sealed the Raiders fate.

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Raiders Week 5 snap counts vs Broncos: Rookies get plenty of playing time

The Raiders are increasingly diffing into their depth chart this season. One result was a good deal of Raiders rookies getting the start and others getting increased snaps. Here’s how the rookies snaps worked out for this one: Rd 1 TE Brock Bowers – …

Rd 1 TE Brock Bowers — Start, 55 snaps (79%)
Rd 2 G Jackson Powers-Johnson — Start, 70 snaps (100%)
Rd 3 T DJ Glaze — Start, 70 snaps (100%)
Rd 5 LB Tommy Eichenberg — Start, 45 snaps (71%), 18 ST snaps (60%)
Rd 6 RB Dylan Laube — 10 ST snaps (30%)
UDFA LB Amari Gainer — 28 ST snaps (93%)
UDFA DT Jonah Laulu — 19 snaps (30%), 9 ST snaps (30%)
UDFA CB Thomas Harper — 13 (21%), 23 ST snaps (77%)

Offense				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Jackson Powers-Johnson	G	70	100%	2	7%
Delmar Glaze	T	70	100%	2	7%
Dylan Parham	G	70	100%	2	7%
Andre James	C	70	100%	0	0%
Kolton Miller	T	70	100%	0	0%
Jakobi Meyers	WR	68	97%	0	0%
Tre Tucker	WR	59	84%	0	0%
Brock Bowers	TE	55	79%	0	0%
DJ Turner	WR	52	74%	11	37%
Gardner Minshew II	QB	44	63%	0	0%
Alexander Mattison	RB	40	57%	0	0%
Harrison Bryant	TE	32	46%	5	17%
Ameer Abdullah	RB	31	44%	16	53%
Aidan O’Connell	QB	26	37%	0	0%
John Samuel Shenker	TE	10	14%	15	50%
Andrus Peat	G	2	3%	2	7%
Alex Bachman	WR	1	1%	16	53%
Defense				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Robert Spillane	LB	63	100%	0	0%
Jakorian Bennett	CB	62	98%	0	0%
Isaiah Pola-Mao	FS	60	95%	9	30%
Jack Jones	CB	56	89%	0	0%
Adam Butler	DT	54	86%	2	7%
Maxx Crosby	DE	52	83%	0	0%
Tre’von Moehrig	FS	50	79%	0	0%
Nate Hobbs	CB	47	75%	0	0%
Tommy Eichenberg	LB	45	71%	18	60%
John Jenkins	DT	38	60%	9	30%
Tyree Wilson	DE	34	54%	7	23%
Charles Snowden	DE	29	46%	0	0%
Christian Wilkins	DT	22	35%	2	7%
K’Lavon Chaisson	LB	21	33%	10	33%
Jonah Laulu	DT	19	30%	9	30%
Thomas Harper	FS	13	21%	23	77%
Christopher Smith	SS	11	17%	26	87%
Nesta Jade Silvera	DT	10	16%	9	30%
Amari Burney	LB	8	13%	21	70%
Janarius Robinson	DE	1	2%	8	27%
Special Teams				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Amari Gainer	LB	0	0%	28	93%
Kana’i Mauga	LB	0	0%	18	60%
Sam Webb	CB	0	0%	10	33%
Dylan Laube	RB	0	0%	10	33%
Sincere McCormick	RB	0	0%	9	30%
AJ Cole III	P	0	0%	7	23%
Jacob Bobenmoyer	LS	0	0%	7	23%
Darnay Holmes	CB	0	0%	7	23%
Daniel Carlson	K	0	0%	6	20%
Jordan Meredith	G	0	0%	2	7%
Cody Whitehair	G	0	0%	2	7%

Busters for Raiders Week 4 win over Browns

We know the heroes for this come-from-behind win over the Browns. But it wasn’t all good in the hood. The Browns were able to stay within striking distance for a reason.

Busters

T Kolton Miller

Myles Garrett has a way of making opponents look silly. But this isn’t about judging the quality of the opponent. And there’s no softening things because of it.

Things started to go badly for Miller on the final drive of the second quarter. The Raiders got the ball with 1:20 left to the half. A 17-yard run on first down had them thinking they might be able to get a score before heading into the locker room. But that hope ended on the next play when Miller gave up the sack. So, they opted to just head for the locker room with a 10-10 tie instead.

The Raiders got the ball first in the second half and on their first third down, Miller gave up a big hit on Gardner Minshew that would have ended the drive if not for Garrett being flagged for roughing the passer. Still not good to get your own QB blown up like that.

To begin the fourth quarter, the Raiders were clinging to a four-point lead after a fumble return for a touchdown by the Browns. They had moved to midfield on their drive when on third and two, Miller gave up another sack to end the threat.

With 4:55 left in the game, the Raiders were hoping to keep possession long enough to drain the clock out. But on the very first play, Miller was late getting to his assignment, causing a tackle for a loss of five yards. It led to a three-and-out and just over a minute and a half off the clock, giving the Browns plenty of time to drive for the winning score, which they very nearly did.

RB Zamir White

While the rest of the offense came out of their running futility funk, White did not. He had a season-high 17 carries and the result was a season worst performance, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry with the team’s only turnover on a fumble that was scooped up and returned for a touchdown.

The team turned to Alexander Mattison after White’s fumble, but when they gave him the ball again, he was promptly stopped in the backfield for a loss of five yards.

In the second half, with the Raiders needing to score and then keep the ball away from the Browns’ offense, White had six carries for a combined four yards and a fumble, giving them their only points in the second half. During that same time frame Mattison had four carries for 36 yards. A change at feature back is forthcoming.

QB Gardner Minshew

14 of 24 for 130 yards and no TD’s with two rushes for negative two yards and two sacks. Yeah, the Raiders got the win, but it wasn’t on the arm or the legs of Minshew.

The first drive was dead in the water, but might have come out of it had Minshew been able to connect with DJ Turner who had gotten behind the defense on what would have been a huge gain. Perhaps even a touchdown. But Minshew overthrew him. Turner is very fast, so that’s not easy to do. The result was the Raiders were down 10-0 before Minshew had completed a pass.

To his credit, he did complete a few passes to help the Raiders tie the game up in the second quarter. But another drive would end with a bad throw to an open receiver. This time is was underthrown into the turf and Daniel Carlson had to connect on a 52-yard field goal as a result.

The first drive of the third quarter only got into scoring range due to a roughing the passer penalty. And it ended two plays later with Minshew overthrowing Jakobi Meyers. The touchdown drive on the next possession featured one completed pass and two overthrows. The final 35 yards came on the ground.

The fourth quarter saw Minshew convert zero third downs with just one first down total through the air.

LB Luke Masterson

The only touchdown drive for the Browns was their first drive of the game. And it had Masterson mistakes all over it. First play he was out of position on a six yard run. A few plays later he would miss a tackle on a five-yard run. They had driven to the 12-yard-line and Masterson gave up a seven-yard catch. Two plays later, he gave up the first down run to put them in first and goal at the one. Two plays after that, he bit hard on the play action to allow a wide open touchdown to the tight end.

The next defensive series hadn’t even started yet and Masterson was already hurting them. He was flagged for being illegally downfield on the punt.

Late in the second quarter, the Browns were driving to try and re-take the lead. And they nearly did it thanks to Masterson giving up two catches for 36 yards.

I counted at least three missed tackles by Masterson, which means he had nearly as many missed tackles as he he solo tackles (4).

T DJ Glaze

Nothing went right on the Raiders first possession of the game. But the worst part was Glaze being flagged for holding on the second play which backed them up to their own eight yard line.

Glaze gave up a hit on Minshew in the third quarter. Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, he was beaten off the snap to get Zamir White smacked in the backfield and White fumbled it away. It was returned for a touchdown to make it a four-point game.