Tag: Kolton Miller

Raiders offensive line had statement game Sunday vs Chargers

With no sacks or negative runs allowed Raiders Oline made big statement vs Chargers

In many ways, the Raiders completely flipped the script on the Chargers in their second meeting of the season. It turned a one-score loss in the opener into a one-score win on Sunday.

The most notable difference came along the offensive line. Where they were unsettled and struggling to find a foothold in the first meeting, 12 weeks later, it was the opposite story.

That first meeting, Derek Carr was sacked five times and Josh Jacobs had his fewest carries and second fewest yards of the season. Sunday, Carr wasn’t sacked once and the Raiders didn’t have a single negative play in the run game.

For the most part, the offensive line had serious issues in the opener. The two possible exceptions were guard Dylan Parham and center Andre James.

The two of them have been steady presences on the line this season, though the rookie Parham moved around a lot while the team looked for the best combination at guard and right tackle.

Over the team’s three-game win streak, the Raiders have fielded the same starting five playing every single snap — LT Kolton Miller, LG Parham, C James, RG Alex Bars, and RT Jermaine Eluemunor. This group had been playing very well as a whole, and Sunday they had their best game of the season.

“Confident. Obviously just progressing,” Parham told me after the game. “You want to be able to play the best ball in November and beyond. And so for us, obviously just getting better, understanding the scheme a little bit better and just having our feet up underneath us. Week one is going to look a little different for everybody and it’s going to be new, especially with the way we were rotating the first couple weeks. And so now we have that chemistry a little bit more and we’ve built that and it feels a little bit different than just like new and you have a little bit of everything going on.”

The lack of pressure allowed Carr to connect on four passes over 30 yards, including two deep touchdowns to Davante Adams. And Carr noted after the game the best thing about that kind of game is with the short week “The main thing is I didn’t get hit in the ribs again, so I’m happy about that.”

And then there’s the ground game, which was dominant again with Josh Jacobs going for 144 yards and a touchdown.

It was Jacobs’s third straight game with over 100 yards on the ground and it comes on the heels of a career game for Jacobs in which he had 229 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Jacobs has been on this journey with this offensive line. The teamwork and chemistry between the offensive linemen is often discussed, but there’s also a chemistry and feel that occurs between the line and the back. You are seeing it with how Jacobs is seeing his openings.

“They believe in me like I believe in them,” Jacobs said of his line. “I encourage those guys all the time. I’m their biggest advocate. Even when they do bad, I tell them I believe in them. You can tell that they lay it out on the line for me and that’s a great feeling to have.”

That is a two-way street as well. With the way Jacobs has been running, it inspires the line.

“It definitely makes you want to block more because a lot of times when you see it, you’ll be like ‘how did he get through that?’ Parham said of Jacobs. “It’s just like, if he can get through that, then imagine if you just hold up a little bit longer. A little bit extra. He can do a lot of things with the ball. He’s literally a magician back there. . . watching him perform on Sundays it makes you want to go harder. And then seeing him battle through tackles, those extra yards after contact, he’s a dog, man.”

Jacobs has always been known for his yards after contact. But much of that had to do with how often he was hit in the backfield or at the line. And he will still often make something out of nothing. In games like this, the line was clearly doing their part.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=none image=https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

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.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Raiders, Seahawks Thursday Week 12 injury report: DT Kendal Vickers sidelined by back injury

Raiders DT Kendal Vickers sidelined by back injury. LT Kolton Miller once again limited by shoulder/abdomen injuries.

Thursday didn’t bring any upgrades for the Raiders on the injury report. Both LT Kolton Miller (shoulder/abdomen) and LB Luke Masterson (ribs) were once again limited. They did, however, see someone added to the injury report. Defensive tackle Kendal Vickers suffered a back injury that caused him to miss practice Thursday.

Seahawks DE LJ Collier returned to practice from illness. He was limited, as was G Damien Lewis (ankle). Still missing was WR Dee Eskridge (hand).

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=none image=https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Raiders, Seahawks Wednesday Week 12 injury report: LT Kolton Miller still limited

LT Kolton Miller still limited for Raiders with shoulder/abdomen injuries

As far as injury reports go, the Raiders Wednesday injury report was pretty promising. There were only two players on it at all. Left tackle Kolton Miller (shoulder/abdomen) and LB Luke Masterson (ribs) were both limited.

And that was it.

Miller missed last Sunday’s game in Denver. He was replaced at left tackle by Jermaine Eluemunor who moved over from right tackle. Rookie Thayer Munford stepped in to start at right tackle.

The Seahawks had two players missing — WR Dee Eskridge (hand) and DE LJ Collier (illness).

Today was just a walk-thru for the Raiders. They will practice early on Thursday so they can have a chance to get home to spend Thanksgiving with their families.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=none image=https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Raiders, Broncos final Week 11 injury report: WR Davante Adams (abdomen) Questionable

Davante Adams (abdomen) and LT Kolton Miller both Questionable for Raiders vs Broncos

Wide receiver is a big question mark for both the Raiders and Broncos as they are set to meet this Sunday. The Raiders were without two of their top three receivers already with Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow both on injured reserve. They top receiver, Davante Adams is Questionable for this week with an abdomen injury. Leaving only Mack Hollins as a sure bet to play.

The Broncos will be without two of their top four receivers with Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler both ruled OUT for the game. A third of those top four is Questionable with Kendall Hinton dealing with a shoulder injury. Leaving only Courtland Sutton for sure playing.

Also OUT for the Broncos are FB/TE Andrew Beck (hamstring), and CB K’Waun Williams (wrist/elbow/knee). Questionable are LB Baron Browning (hip), OL Tom Compton (back), T Cameron Fleming (quad), and G Graham Glasgow (shoulder).

For the Raiders, LT Kolton Miller (shoulder/abdomen), LB Denzel Perryman, and LB Luke Masterson are all Questionable.

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.

Raiders offensive line starting to ‘settle in’ now with very positive results in win over Texans

Raiders Oline felt like they were starting to ‘settle in’ after win over Texans

It’s safe to say the Raiders offensive line is coming off their best game of the season. They not only played a big role in Josh Jacobs having arguably the best game of his career, but kept Derek Carr clean as well.

Jacobs ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Texans. Most of those yards (98) and all of the touchdowns occurred in the second half as the Raiders offensive line wore down the defense.

It is probably no coincidence that they had such a game with the same starting five for consecutive weeks for the first time this season.

Granted, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor went out on the first drive and was replaced by Thayer Munford, the other starting four were the same and at the same positions where they had started prior to the bye week. And Munford has played enough snaps at right tackle, having him come in didn’t disrupt anything.

Right tackle has seen a great deal of change going back to training camp, preseason, and the regular season. But so too has the guard positions and even the center position.

While Andre James is the returning starter at the center position, both guard positions have new faces. And they haven’t always been the same new faces. 

The new face the coaching staff has been trying to find a home for is rookie Dylan Parham. The top pick (third round) seems to have found his home at left guard. And his chemistry with left tackle Kolton Miller is showing up on the field.

“It’s just everybody moving around and now we’re getting comfortable with one another and we’re starting to settle in a little bit more,” Parham said following the Raiders win over the Texans Sunday. “Once you know how another player plays, you can play off of them. It helps the whole offensive line. But that’s the thing, we’re all one as a unit. There’s five of us, but we’re all one. So, once we start getting on one course it helps us play a lot better, so I feel like that’s why we’re playing well as we go along.”

Being the only steady presence on the offensive line, left tackle Kolton Miller agreed wholeheartedly with Parham’s assessment.

“We’re learning more from each other and we hope to keep it up,” Miller said of he and Parham working next to each other. “He’ll probably be there for a while. He’s growing a lot as a young player, as a first year player. He’ll talk and that’s the biggest thing is communication with all these stunts. He’s been coming in with a veteran mentality as a rookie, so that’s been huge.”

Getting the run game going the way they have in recent weeks has helped the offense considerably. Mostly it takes pressure off Derek Carr and the receivers. It also keeps the defense honest, leading to open receivers when they do go to the air.

It was clear that balance was off over the first few games and some of that was because the offensive line was not performing well. There was clearly a lot more blame to go around, but the offensive line is crucial to the success of an offense and it wasn’t what it needed to be. 

From the looks of it, that is changing. It has led to two wins over the past three games, and the other game was a close loss to the Chiefs. And that’s with right tackle still being a bit of an issue. Get that one figured out and we will see more runaway wins like we saw last Sunday.

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.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 1 vs Chargers

Those players who contributed most to the Raiders loss and those who gave them reason for optimism despite.

Despite all the talk of how encouraging the season opener was for the Raiders, or all the positive signs, they still lost. Ballers & Busters should do well to call attention to the positive signs while pointing to how it all went wrong.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

No sacks, sure. But a lot of that had to do with just how elusive Justin Herbert can be. Crosby still got plenty of pressure and was stout against the run as well.

His run-stopping prowess showed up on the first drive in which he made two stops and got in the backfield to help lead to a stop on a third play and the Chargers would end up settling for a field goal.

The second Chargers possession was a three-and-out with Crosby getting pressure on first down to force a short completion and then teamed up to make the stop on third and short for no gain.

On the next drive, he had a couple more tackles and another pressure and the drive after that ended when he teamed up to make the stop on fourth down for no gain and a turnover on downs.

The first drive of the third quarter had Crosby all over it, getting two pressures and a QB hit to force an incompletion, but despite his efforts, the Chargers still scored.

To begin the fourth quarter, he started off a three-and-out with a run stuff. And the next drive he made a tackle for loss and the Chargers would miss a 49-yard field goal attempt to keep the game within reach late.

The Raiders offense would get back in the end zone to pull it to a five-point game. All the defense needed to do was stop the Chargers quickly to give them a chance. They did just that, with Crosby making the tackle on a three-yard catch on second down of a three-and-out.

So, yeah, no sacks but Crosby finished second on the team in tackles (10) and added two QB hits and a tackle for loss.

WR Davante Adams

Quite the Silver & Black debut for the All-Pro receiver. He was every bit as advertised, making the first catch of the day and putting up 54 yards on three catches on the first drive alone.

The first pass of the third quarter went to Adams as well as the second pass with Adams breaking wide open and taking the catch for 41 yards and the Raiders scored their first TD three plays later.

With the fourth quarter winding down, the Raiders were in first and goal at the three. Carr went to Adams on the fade, but overthrew it. Then he threw for Adams along the goal on the right. The pass was wide right, but Adams showed off his insane reach to extend to pluck it out of the air for the touchdown.

Adams finished with 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. Nice introduction to the Raider Nation.

CB Nate Hobbs

The final big play of the day for the Raiders to give them a chance to make the comeback came from Hobbs. In third-and-three, Hobbs swatted down a pass over the middle intended for Mike Williams and the Chargers went three-and-out.

That was just the final play for Hobbs, who was all over the place in this one. On a play on the first drive, he shot into the backfield to make a tackle for loss. He did it again early in the second quarter. And a few plays later, he put his helmet into the ball on a tackle to force the fumble that might have been a turnover had it not went out of bounds.

The Chargers would score on that drive, with Hobbs giving them a first and goal because he hit Justin Herbert on his slide. But that was an extremely tough play to gauge because Herbert hesitated on his slide and Hobbs had already committed.

Hobbs would finish third on the team with nine tackles, adding two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.

Honorable Mention

C Andre James, G Dylan Parham — The ground game for the Raiders picked up late in this game and these two had a good deal to do with that.

[lawrence-newsletter]

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Raiders announce 2022 team captains

Raiders will have 8 team captains this season

Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels took to the podium for the last time prior to the team’s season opener against the Chargers. His first order of business? Naming the 2022 team captains.

McDaniels was generous with his team captains too, naming eight of them — three on offense, three on defense, and two on special teams

Offense:

QB Derek Carr
WR Davante Adams
T Kolton Miller

Defense:

LB Denzel Perryman
DE Maxx Crosby
S Duron Harmon

Special Teams:

P AJ Cole
WR Mack Hollins

The somewhat surprising players among the team captains are Duron Harmon and Mack Hollins.

Harmon may not even start at safety, with Johnathan Abram and Tre’von Moehrig starting there. And Hollins gets the nod as a kick coverage and blocking specialist.

All the others make perfect sense.

This is Miller’s first time as team captain. Last season the offensive lineman Jon Gruden named as team captain was Richie Incognito who didn’t end up playing a single game due to a calf injury.

Derek Carr and Maxx Crosby are the only captains from last season who return as captains this season.

Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller were team captains last season as well and neither are team captains this time around.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=none image=https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]