Tag: jackson powers-johnson

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.

See the Ballers

Busters for Raiders week 14 loss to the Buccaneers

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

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

Busters

S Isaiah Pola-Mao

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

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

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

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

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

QB Aidan O’Connell

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

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

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

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

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

C Jackson Powers-Johnson

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

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

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

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

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

LB Robert Spillane

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

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

CB DeCamerion Richardson

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

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

WR Tre Tucker

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

P AJ Cole

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

See the Ballers

Raiders PFF grades: 5 highest rated Week 14 vs. Buccaneers

The Raiders lost again, their ninth straight defeat. But who actually performed well against the Buccaneers on Sunday?

The Raiders battled in Tampa Bay on Sunday after falling behind the Buccaneers early, and for a while, it seemed like they’d actually win a game.

But the Las Vegas offense couldn’t score enough points and the defense ran out of steam, allowing the Bucs to register a couple of fourth-quarter touchdowns. It was the Raiders’ ninth straight defeat.

Some players put good performances on tape, however. Safety Tre’von Moehrig is the highest-graded Raider this week according to Pro Football Focus, earning an impressive 90.6 score. He’s followed on the list by another defender, defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson.

Moehrig led his team in tackles and recovered a fumble, and Chaisson had an incredible interception after tipping the football at the line of scrimmage. Each player registered half of a QB sack and Moehrig had three pass breakups.

They’re followed on the list by three young players on offense: running back Sincere McCormick, tight end Brock Bowers, and center Jackson Powers-Johnson. McCormick started in the backfield and responded with 78 yards on 15 carries. He’ll get more opportunities to adjust to the NFL as the season winds down.

Bowers had a quiet day as a receiver with just three catches, though he had a long reception of 25 yards. He’s still in the running for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Powers-Johnson has displayed a lot of skill at center since he took over for offensive lineman Andre James, but the rookie needs to reduce his penalties and miscues as part of the maturity process.

After nine straight weeks of PFF grades following a Raiders loss, when will we see how the team grades after a win? That’s uncertain, but Las Vegas will try for victory again on Monday night against the Falcons in Las Vegas.

Aidan O’Connell takes blame for Raiders debacle to end game vs Chiefs

If you’re searching for blame for the crushing ending that cost the Raiders to win in Kansas City, Aidan O’Connell says put it on him.

Everyone is still reeling from the ending to the Raiders vs Chiefs in Arrowhead today. With the Raiders in field goal range with 11 seconds left, looking to kick the game-winning field goal, they blew it.

Aidan O’Connell came out and lined up in shotgun to pass it. According to head coach Antonio Pierce, the reason for this formation was because O’Connell was to run some time off the clock and then throw the ball away before they came out to kick the field goal as time expired.

It was a risky play call for many reasons. And a bad snap was one of those risks. That’s what happened. Watch the full sequence as well as the confusion that ensued that took the game from a sure Raiders win to a defeat.

Kirk Herbstreit insisted in the broadcast that it wasn’t Aidan O’Connell’s fault. That Jackson Powers-Johnson simply snapped the ball too early. But O’Connell told a different story after the game, taking full responsibility for the miscue.

“It’s completely my fault,” said O’Connell after the game. “I was looking out to the right, making sure guys were set and I started clapping to…in my head I was thinking signal the ball to get the ball, but when I start clapping it tells Jackson to snap the ball. So, Jackson did exactly what he should have done and I clapped too early. That’s how the ball bounces sometimes. It didn’t go our way, so super tough, but there’s really nobody to blame by myself. That’s probably the hardest part to swallow.”

It’s hard to say, really, whether the blame falls completely on O’Connell or if he’s just doing the admirable thing and falling on the sword for his center.

Either way, it’s a good look for the young QB. He put the team in this position by completing several passes to get them in range for the field goal, and shouldn’t have been put in the shotgun on such a crucial play when the game was seemingly in the bag.

Final score: Chiefs defeat Raiders 19-17 after unbelievable penalty

The Kansas City #Chiefs earned a 19-17 win in Week 13 after an unbelievable penalty by Las Vegas #Raiders center Jackson Powers-Johnson.

The Kansas City Chiefs nearly lost their second game of the 2024 regular season against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13 but were bailed out by an unbelievable penalty on the matchup’s penultimate play.

Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell marched Las Vegas downfield on a heroic drive that seemed to have his team in a position to knock off the defending Super Bowl champions on a last-second field goal.

But, when rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson mistakenly snapped the ball to an unsuspecting O’Connell on a crucial third down with 15 seconds left in the game, the Chiefs made the most of the Raiders’ miscue.

Linebacker Nick Bolton lept on the ball, which had deflected off of O’Connell and onto the ground.

A flag, which was assumed to be for a false start on Powers-Johnson, was thrown, and Las Vegas seemed poised to retake possession.

But, after officials on the field deliberated, an illegal shift was called, which gave Kansas City the option to decline the penalty and gain possession.

Patrick Mahomes kneeled on the game’s final play to officially clinch the Chiefs a 19-17 win after a forgettable outing by the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Raiders vs Chiefs: Botched snap steals defeat from jaws of victory for Raiders

What looked like a sure win for the Raiders ended in heartbreak with a fumbled snap and a Chiefs improbable victory.

It was back to the scene of the crime for the Raiders and the Chiefs. The last time the Chiefs lost on their home first was Christmas Day of last season to these very same Raiders. This time a lot more wins separated the two teams. But it didn’t matter. This Black Friday was not going to be a cakewalk win for the AFC top team Chiefs.

The first half was a defensive battle mostly and it was a one-score game at 10-3 going into the locker room.

Two third quarter field goals for the Chiefs would put some space between the teams, and made it look like the same old second half collapsing Raiders. 

And suddenly it wasn’t. And it happened quickly.

Off the kickoff from the second field goa Ameer Abdullah broke off a 59-yard kick return. Two plays later, he would drop one into Brock Bowers for a 33-yard touchdown to bring it to a one-score game again at 16-10.

The defense would force a three-and-out and on the second play of the Raiders possession, O’Connell launched one to Tre Tucker up the left sideline for a 69-yard touchdown. After the point after, the Raiders took at 17-16 lead over the Chiefs, giving flashbacks of their improbable win in Kansas City last season.

That lead didn’t last long. The Chiefs drove quickly down the field on the ensuing possession. But the Raiders defense held up at the end again, to limit them to a field goal and a 19-17 lead.

That’s where it would stay heading into the final minutes and the Raiders began driving again into KC territory.

A Bowers 14-yard catch put the ball at the KC 40-yard-line. But they would get no farther. George Karlaftis gets in the way of a pass into the flat to bring up third and 11. Then Justin Reid swatted one down.

With the ball at the 41 with 2:21 left, the Raiders brought out Daniel Carlson for his third attempt outside 55 yards. He had missed the previous two from 55 and 56 and this one was from 58 yards out. The kick was low and wide.

All was not lost, however. The Raiders defense stopped the Chiefs for another three-and-out, while taking just 21 seconds off the clock, giving the Raiders two minutes to again try and drive for a game-winning score.

A 25-yard connection from O’Connell to Bowers put the ball at midfield. An 11-yard pass to Jakobi Meyers and a seven-yard pass to Abdullah put the Raiders in field goal range with mere seconds left. Then…disaster.

O’Connell was not expecting the shotgun snap from center Jackson Powers Johnson and the Chiefs recovered the fumble to hold onto the win.

Brutal ending for the Raiders who had the game all but won.

Big question for me is why was he even in shotgun in this position?

Raiders sticking with Jackson Powers-Johnson at center over Andre James

Even with Andre James returning from injury the Raiders are sticking with rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson to start at center.

Thursday, Andre James returned to practice, which opens the question as to whether he could return to the starting lineup. But despite his return, Raiders head coach is opting to stick with his rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson at the position.

“We’ll stay with the same five,” said Pierce of the plans on the Oline. “Just continuity. Unless something drastic changes today, I don’t see a change in the lineup. They’ve been practicing well the last couple days together and we’ll keep it accordingly.”

Last week was the first game in a while the Raiders had the same starting five offensive linemen for the full game.

That starting five from left to right was LT Kolton Miller, LG Jordan Meredith, C JPJ, RG Dylan Parham, RT DJ Glaze.

This five could be the most promising for combination for the Raiders. It features the Raiders stalwart LT Miller, hopeful Meredith beside him, and rookie draft picks JPJ and Glaze in the mix as well.

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.

Ballers for Raiders Week 9 loss to Bengals

Picking out the individual performances in the Raiders loss to the Bengals in Week 9.

Another early strong effort eventually crumbled and got away from the Raiders just as has happened so many times this season. And ultimately the game was over by midway through the third quarter.

Before that happened, however, there were some positive performances to mention.

Ballers

WR Jakobi Meyers

Believe it or not, Meyers surpassed 100 yards receiving for the first time as a Raider. Hard to believe considering how much he has meant to this team since they signed him prior to last season.

He got things started with the longest play on the Raiders opening drive, catching a 22-yard pass to put them at the Cincinnati 23. They went on to score an opening drive touchdown.

The next drive, he led out with a 15-yard grab to the Cincy 49 and then had the longest catch again, going for 23 yards on a slant to put the Raiders in field goal range at the 26. From there they tied it up at 10-10. Meyers would add two more catches for 22 yards on the Raiders final drive of the first half that nearly got them into scoring range again.

C Jackson Powers-Johnson, G Jordan Meredith

These two were doing some serious work on the Raiders opening drive. The Raiders run game actually looked proficient and it was because of these two pushing defenders around. They ran the ball seven times on the opening drive. The three longest ones either JPJ, Meredith or both laid key blocks. And JPJ opened up the hole one what was initially ruled a TD (and probably should have stood) on first and goal.

Funny thing is, the only reason either of these two are playing the positions they’re playing is because of injuries. But they are earning the right to keep those jobs.

CB Jack Jones

Early in the fourth quarter, he had a pick six to make the game a bit interesting late. Then he ended the next Bengals possession with a pass breakup on third down.

Continue to the Busters…