Tag: Las Vegas Raiders vs Baltimore Ravens

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

From his first snap to his last, Maxx Crosby was nightmare for the Ravens. The very first play of the game, he stuffed a run at the line. With 12 seconds left in the game, he got a pressure on Lamar Jackson to help force an incompletion.

And everything in between was more of the same. His heroics were a key factor in the Raiders pulling out a shocking 26-23 win over the Ravens in Baltimore. And for his efforts, he’s been awarded AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

His final numbers were two sacks, six tackles, four tackles for loss, two QB hits, and a batted pass. Just an across-the-board dominating day.

His first sack was on the fourth play of the game. His second sack came after the Raiders tied it up at 23-23 in the fourth. On that sack he came up the middle on a stunt and right into Lamar Jackson’s face to put him on his back and help get the Raiders the ball back with enough time to drive for the win.

Busters for Raiders Week 2 win vs Ravens

Those whose play required heroics to overcome.

There wouldn’t have been a need for heroics had the Raiders not put themselves in a hole in this game. And it was pretty obvious at times what the problem was.

Busters

LT Kolton Miller, LG Andrus Peat, RT Thayer Munford

Let’s be clear, no one on this offensive line was good. The run game was historically bad and that falls on everyone. But these three were SO bad, they get special mention.

Last week Kolton Miller had what seemed to me to be the worst game of his career. Well, that wasn’t a fluke. He had another brutal game in this one.

Miller gave up a sack on the very first play of the game. And it was a strip sack which he luckily fell on or the Raiders would have been looking at going down a score seconds into this one.

Getting the start next to him was Andrus Peat, taking the place of Cody Whitehair. Three plays in, he was shucked out of the way to give up a run stuff for a two-yard loss. The Raiders moved backward on two of their first three plays and punted it away.

Second drive, Miller didn’t block the end to give up a free sack on third down.

The second quarter, the Raiders finally got a first down. They even drove into scoring range. But it ended with Peat missing his block to give up a tackle for loss, leading to a 53-yard field goal.

They got into scoring range again later in the second quarter. But Munford was beat around the edge and since Peat was also beaten up the middle, Minshew had nowhere to go and was sacked, leading to a 51-yard field goal.

Peat was sent back to the bench for the second and Cody Whitehair took over.

Munford had a disastrous possession in the third quarter. Starting out by blocking no one to give up a run stuff. Then two plays later losing his block to give up another run stuff for no gain, following immediately be giving up a tackle for loss. They convert on third and long and ended up turning it over on downs.

The offense may have come up late in this one, but the run game never did. And Minshew still had to overcome poor pass blocking as well. Miller gave up another sack, as did Munford.

S Tre’von Moehrig, S Marcus Epps

Weird to think all the starting cornerbacks are Ballers and both starting safeties are Busters. Not sure I’ve seen that happen before.

The biggest play of the Ravens first drive of the game was a 19-yard catch given up by Epps on third and seven. And they got on the board with a field goal.

The next Ravens scoring drive started with Moehrig giving up a 17-yard catch. And the final scoring drive of the first half saw Moehrig give up an eight-yard catch that put them in scoring range at the 34.

They would go for a touchdown to open the third quarter and the big play was a 30-yard run by Derrick Henry on which Epps missed the tackle near the line. Two plays later, Moehrig gave up the touchdown catch from eight yards out.

To begin the fourth quarter, the Ravens would drive for another TD. They would drive into Vegas territory at the 48 and Epps would miss a tackle to give up a 15-yard run. Two plays later came the biggest play of the drive with Epps getting blocked to give up a 17-yard run and Moehrig tacking on a few more with a late hit out of bounds call. This put the Ravens in first and goal at the six-yard-line. They scored two plays later.

DE Charles Snowden

That first touchdown drive to start the third quarter saw Derrick Henry break off a 30-yard run. He got the edge to begin with because Snowden was blocked. Then Snowden tried to recover and chase Henry down only to embarrassed by a wicked stiff arm.

Their second touchdown drive, that 17-yard run mentioned a couple paragraphs back began with Snowden missing a tackle. He showed some pass rushing prowess in the preseason, but his tackling leaves much to be desired.

Also see the Ballers

Ballers for Raiders Week 2 win vs Ravens

Ballers for Raiders Week 2 win vs Ravens

What a game. Through much of this game it was looking like a replay of the season opener against the Chargers. Where the Raiders defense keeps it close while the offense flails and ultimately sees the opposing team put things together late to win it.

Even early into the fourth quarter, it still had that feel. The Ravens drove for a field goal to end the first half and a touchdown to begin the third quarter to make it a ten-point game. Meanwhile it was most of the way through the third quarter and the Raiders still hadn’t gotten in the end zone and were down by ten.

Then suddenly they turned it on and scored three straight times while the defense allowed one score and they pulled off the upset.

There were so many heroes, it was hard to pick a Top Baller this week. But I managed.

Ballers

LB Robert Spillane

To be the biggest playmaker in a game full of playmakers is quite an accomplishment.

He led the team with ten combined tackles (eight solo) and nearly all of them were huge plays. The first Ravens drive featured two Spillane run stuffs for a net two yards and the third down tackle on a catch short of the sticks.

Spillane stalled another drive in the second quarter by tracking Lamar Jackson on a rollout to the right sideline to keep containment and force him to make a bad pass incomplete.

The Ravens got in the endzone on their first drive of the third quarter. But Spillane did his part to try and keep that from happening when he stuffed a run at the line on first and goal. The next drive, he intercepted a Lamar Jackson pass off a deflection to give the Raiders another shot with great field position. They took advantage of it to drive for their first touchdown, making that turnover crucial to the outcome.

The Raiders would pull within seven points midway through the fourth quarter, putting it in the hands of the defense to give them a shot to tie it up. They did the job too, with Spillane batted down Jackson’s pass on third down to send the Ravens offense away with a three-and-out.

After the offense drove for a game-tying touchdown, the defense came out to try and keep the Ravens from driving for the game winner. Spillane followed up a big sack by Maxx Crosby with a run stuff for no gain. The Ravens couldn’t make up the third and long, giving the Raiders a chance to win it in regulation. And they did just that.

DE Maxx Crosby

He was his usual holy terror self, which is not always the easiest thing to do against a multifaceted quarterback like Lamar Jackson.

Crsoby had a run stuff on the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage and a sack on the fourth play. Then he had a run tackle for loss on the second possession, leading to a three-and-out. So, yeah, it was shaping up to be a long day keeping the Condor contained.

First play of the second quarter was another Crosby run stuff for a loss, leading to another three-and-out. He added a batted pass on the next drive.

After the Raiders tied it up at 23-23 midway through the fourth, Crosby came flying up the gut right into to Jackson’s face for a nine-yard sack. That sealed the Ravens’ fate.

QB Gardner Minshew, WR Davante Adams, TE Brock Bowers

We pick up the action in the third quarter. That’s when the Raiders offense started to get things rolling. The first big completion went for 25 yards to Brock Bowers to put them in scoring range. But ultimately the Raiders could go for it on the 4th and short and fail, with Minshew’s pass for Davante a bit short and Adams unable to make the catch around a defender. But it was a sign of things to come.

The Raiders defense would take the ball back and the offense returned to mount another drive. The big play saw Minshew stand tall in the pocket as he waited for something to open up and then Bowers came back to his QB to make the catch inside the five and put the Raiders in first and goal at the one. They punched it in on the next play.

Next possession they were on the move again. It featured consecutive connections with Adams for 26 yards and 30 yards. The 26-yarder came on a perfect pass from Minshew, throwing it before Adams had even made his break, so he turned the find the ball right there. The 30-yard catch was especially impressive, with Adams leaning out of bounds, dragging his toes.

That drive ended in a field goal, which meant a touchdown was needed to tie it up. First play of the Raiders next drive, had well placed ball from Minshew with Davante’s notorious late hands ensuring the defender had no shot at it up the left sideline for 29 yards. Bowers got hte next first own on a 15-yard grab. Then Bowers would convert on third down with an 11-yard catch to put the Raiders in first and goal at the nine. Adams was interfered with to put it at the one. Where Minshew had a masterful read option where he pulled it back and threw it over the defense to Adams for the game-tying touchdown.

CB Nate Hobbs, CB Jack Jones, CB Jakorian Bennett

Just like the above trio, I just couldn’t separate these guys. Bennett showed up first with a huge pass breakup on a deep ball attempt up the left sideline in the second quarter. This forced a 56-yard field goal attempt which Justin Tucker missed wide.

The next drive began with a coverage incompletion by Jones. Bennett would also force an incompletion on the drive with tight coverage. And finally, Jones made the tackle short of the first down to force the Ravens to settled for a field goal.

The third quarter saw Bennett break up another pass. This time Spillane was there to intercept it off the deflection. The takeaway led to the Raiders getting their first touchdown of the day.

With the Raiders making a push, and within a score, Jones helped that effort by stopping Lamar Jackson for a loss on a scramble. Jones would then effectively end the game with a pass breakup on a deep attempt up the right sideline that looked for a moment to be a catch that would have been enough for the Ravens to tie it up. Clutch.

Nate Hobbs just simply locked it up on the day, giving up just one catch for 13 yards.

K Daniel Carlson

He was 4-for-4 on the day with field goals from 53 and 51 yards. That’s doing his job.

Busters coming soon…

Breaking down how Raiders deployed WR and TE through 2 weeks

We have a two-game sample to see just how the Raiders are deploying their receivers and tight ends so far.

With Week 2 officially in the books, we now have multiple data points to help us figure out what to expect from this new look Raiders offense under Luke Getsy.

It’s pretty clear at this point that the group of pass catchers are the strength of the unit, and that’s to be expected when you look at the resources the team has put into it.

The Raiders rank third in the NFL in cap space dedicated to wide receivers and have now spent top 35 picks on tight ends in back to back drafts. Acquiring all that talent is great, but the way that talent is used can be just as important.

The first and most important player to talk about is, of course, Davante Adams.

Sometimes when teams have a truly elite receiver like Adams, they’ll throw them on the outside every play and ask them to win against whatever coverage they’re faced with. But in today’s NFL, more and more teams have started moving their best players around the formation. Not only does this allow you to take advantage of favorable matchups, it also makes life easier for your quarterback by giving him larger windows to throw into.

So far this year, Adams has taken 27% of his snaps from the slot. That’s still a touch lower than his first year with the team but a big improvement from 16.9% last year.

Those alignment numbers are part of the reason Adams’s yardage total dropped by almost 400 yards from 2022 to 2023 despite seeing 3 more targets.

The uptick in slot snaps this year is already paying off. Adams had 9 catches for 110 yards in week 2. He only hit those totals twice all of last season. 

Next we have the highly touted 1st round pick Brock Bowers.

Having a player like Bowers can do so many things for an offense, but tight ends are so often misused because they aren’t a great fit for their offense. This can lead to underwhelming production and prevent them from reaching their ceiling.

The early signs suggest that this will not be the case here. Bowers has been on the field for 62 pass plays this season and has run a route on 59 of them (95%).

Of the 37 tight ends who have played at least 25 passing snaps, only 2 have a higher route participation rate than Bowers. He’s certainly a capable blocker, but you don’t draft a tight end in the top 15 for their pass blocking.

Luke Getsy is also doing a good job moving the Georgia product around the formation. Bowers has taken 45 snaps from the slot, 30 at inline tight end, eight out wide, and one from the backfield. This is a great balance that allows them to use him in a variety of ways without turning him into a glorified decoy.

The only nitpick I have with Bowers’s usage is that he’s only run the fourth most routes on the team. I suspect this will increase as the season rolls on, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. 

Now that we’ve covered the two thoroughbreds, let’s talk about some of the other receivers and tight ends.

As expected, Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker have been far and away WR2 and WR3. Both players took over 60% of their snaps from the outside in 2023, but Hunter Renfrow’s departure opened up space in the slot. They’ve opted to keep Tucker and his elite speed on the outside, moving Meyers to play a majority in the slot.

For Meyers, this makes sense considering it’s what he did for his entire career in New England. At the same time, it’s a bit surprising because Meyers performed well in 2023, and Tucker spent a whopping 96.5% of the time in the slot during his final season at Cincinnati. Speed is likely the main reason for this decision, and it’s hard to fault them for that.

The result of this, however, is Tucker has struggled to get involved early and spends most of his time clearing out space for other playmakers — an important, but often thankless job.

It would be nice to see more of Tucker getting downfield on full speed motion plays, similar to what the Dolphins do with their speedy receivers. They’ve done some of that stuff with Meyers, but Tucker’s speed could really be leveraged in those situations. Tucker’s average depth of target was 19.2 yards last, but he has yet to see a target more than 20 yards downfield in 2024. 

Finally, there’s Michael Mayer. A highly drafted player who has sort of been cast aside with the arrival of Bowers.

Mayer has good hands, he’s solid in contested situations and is a capable route runner. He’s just not quite as dynamic as some of the top receiving tight ends around the league.

At the same time, he hasn’t fared particularly well as a blocker in his NFL career so far. Mayer was 72nd out of 91 qualified tight ends in PFF run blocking grade in 2023. He’s fallen more into that type of role in 2024, so hopefully we see improvement as he can focus more on that part of his game. 

Overall, I like what Luke Getsy has done with his pass catchers so far in 2024. We’re seeing much more diversity with their alignment compared to 2023. The passing game may not look like it did against Baltimore every week, but expect it to continue looking better than last year. 

WATCH: Gronk says Raiders rookie TE Brock Bowers ‘on track to be better than (me)’

A bonafide Hall of Fame tight end just said Brock Bowers is ‘on track to be better than (me)’

No question Brock Bowers is off to a hot start to his NFL career. After just two games, he is drawing some high praise.

Teammate Davante Adams appeared on Up And Adams along with former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski and they had some strong words to describe Brock Bowers’ play to begin his career.

“He’s shows some promise of looking like the guy that’s on the screen with us right now, honestly,” Davante Adams said of Bowers. “This young player is on a different level for a rookie and I think Baltimore got a chance to feel that a little bit.”

That’s big words, especially with whom considering who Davante is drawing comparisons. Gronkowski basically has a bust with his name on it in Canton after an illustrious career including four Super Bowl rings, four All Pro nods, and making the Hall of Fame’s All 2010s team.

His response to Davante’s comparison was even more shocking.

“I agree with that,” Gronkowski replied.

“I feel like he’s on track to be better than myself. I don’t think he can dominate in the trenches the way I dominated in the trenches, but just overall as a pass catching tight end, I think he can surpass me in many situations.”

Bowers set an NFL record for tight ends in their first two NFL games with 15 catches totaling 156 yards. He had six catches in the opener and nine last week in Baltimore.

Gronk definitely has the advantage as a complete package type of tight end. When the Raiders drafted Bowers they did so for his versatility as a pass catcher. They have no intention of leaving him in to block very often.

Their plan of attack with him paid dividends last week with Bowers playing an outsized role in upsetting the Ravens in Baltimore.

Raiders PFF grades: 5 highest-rated from Week 2 vs Ravens

5 highest-rated Raiders from Week 2 win over Ravens

The Raiders’ fortunes look bright after their comeback win against the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday, as the Las Vegas offense sprang to life in the second half.

This week’s grades from Pro Football Focus tell the story. The Raiders’ top two receiving options in the win, wide receiver Davante Adams and tight end Brock Bowers, are PFF’s top-rated players. Bowers earned top honors with an impressive 83.1 grade.

https://twitter.com/PFF_Raiders/status/1835732286630744221

Quarterback Gardner Minshew also made the cut. That’s a huge change from a week ago, when only one player on offense, guard Dylan Parham, graded in the top five.

The Raiders defense had a banner day in Baltimore as well. Defensive end Maxx Crosby had a huge impact and made PFF’s weekly list for the second time in a row. And while linebacker Robert Spillane made multiple impact plays, fellow linebacker Divine Deablo graded ahead of him this time. That’s a great sign for a defense that will continue to be tested all season long.

If Minshew and the offense can get the run game going and continue utilizing the elite skill of Adams and Bowers, the Raiders could make some noise this season, considering how good the defense looks through two weeks. Next week’s home game against the Panthers is an ideal opportunity to put it all together.

Raiders Week 2 snap counts vs Ravens: Christian Wilkins leads the way

Raiders Week 2 snap counts vs Ravens: Christian Wilkins leads the way

The Raiders are probably still riding the high they felt going into Baltimore and coming out with a win. That would go especially for those who saw a good percentage of the snaps in this wild affair.

Leading the way in terms of snaps was star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Not only did he play all but three snaps on defense (95%) — a rare thing for an interior defensive lineman — but he played 12 snaps on special teams (36%), giving him a team-leading 74 snaps.

Offense
 Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kolton Miller T 63 100% 6 18%
Thayer Munford T 63 100% 6 18%
Dylan Parham G 63 100% 6 18%
Andre James C 63 100% 0 0%
Gardner Minshew II QB 63 100% 0 0%
Davante Adams WR 59 94% 0 0%
Jakobi Meyers WR 59 94% 0 0%
Brock Bowers TE 43 68% 0 0%
Zamir White RB 40 63% 0 0%
Michael Mayer TE 39 62% 0 0%
Tre Tucker WR 38 60% 4 12%
Cody Whitehair G 36 57% 6 18%
Andrus Peat G 27 43% 6 18%
Alexander Mattison RB 14 22% 2 6%
DJ Turner WR 8 13% 27 82%
Ameer Abdullah RB 8 13% 17 52%
Harrison Bryant TE 7 11% 10 30%
Defense
 Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Maxx Crosby DE 65 100% 6 18%
Marcus Epps SS 65 100% 0 0%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 65 100% 0 0%
Nate Hobbs CB 65 100% 0 0%
Robert Spillane LB 65 100% 0 0%
Jack Jones CB 65 100% 0 0%
Christian Wilkins DT 62 95% 12 36%
Adam Butler DT 53 82% 0 0%
Jakorian Bennett CB 46 71% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 43 66% 0 0%
Janarius Robinson DE 36 55% 6 18%
Charles Snowden DE 27 42% 8 24%
John Jenkins DT 21 32% 6 18%
Luke Masterson LB 12 18% 27 82%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 12 18% 27 82%
Nesta Jade Silvera DT 8 12% 6 18%
Jonah Laulu DT 2 3% 6 18%
K’Lavon Chaisson LB 2 3% 0 0%
Sam Webb CB 1 2% 11 33%
Special Teams
 Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kana’i Mauga LB 0 0% 27 82%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 24 73%
Tommy Eichenberg LB 0 0% 21 64%
Amari Burney LB 0 0% 21 64%
Amari Gainer LB 0 0% 18 55%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 13 39%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 9 27%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 9 27%
Delmar Glaze T 0 0% 6 18%
Jordan Meredith G 0 0% 6 18%
Darnay Holmes CB 0 0% 4 12%

Raiders winners and losers in 26-23 victory vs. Ravens

The Raiders turned this game around after halftime and earned their first win of the season. Which players stood out in this comeback win?

The Raiders offense tallied just 43 yards in the first half against the Ravens on Sunday but turned it on after the break, leading Las Vegas to a 26-23 upset victory in Baltimore.

Kicker Daniel Carlson notched the winning field goal with less than a minute remaining, and the Raiders defense stopped a last-gasp effort by Baltimore to seal the deal. Quarterback Gardner Minshew started to connect with wide receiver Davante Adams and tight end Brock Bowers after halftime and the offense sizzled despite just 27 rushing yards all afternoon.

The Raiders needed every minute of regulation to earn the win after falling behind 23-13 in the fourth quarter. Here are the winners and losers for the week as the Raiders improved to 1-1 on the campaign.

Winner: WR Davante Adams

Once again, Adams proved he’s among the NFL’s elite. He made a handful of incredible catches as the Raiders marched to victory, including a touchdown grab that evened the score at 23 points.

More impressive than his touchdown, Adams’ catch along the sideline on the Raiders’ previous drive was a sight to behold. It set up a Carlson field goal to bring the Raiders within one score of Baltimore.

https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1835404745323725168

Adams racked up 110 yards receiving, catching nine of his 12 targets. The trust between Adams and Minshew grew exponentially in this game, and that’s a huge positive for Las Vegas moving forward.

Winner: DE Maxx Crosby

The Raiders superstars stepped up on Sunday, as defensive end Maxx Crosby matched Adams’ impact. He was a beast in the first half and made an enormous play after Adams’ game-tying score. His vicious takedown of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson prompted a Ravens punt; the Raiders notched the game-winning score on the ensuing possession.

https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1835410047976833223

Crosby racked up four tackles for loss, two QB sacks, a pass breakup, and two QB hits. His pep talk to Minshew after an early interception was yet another display of his elite leadership.

Winner: TE Brock Bowers

Rookie tight end Brock Bowers was a bonafide weapon on Sunday. He caught all nine of his targets for 98 yards, including multiple chunk-yardage plays.

https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1835394454099829177

As the game wore on, Bowers and Adams devastated the Ravens defense. It appears the Raiders have found the ideal one-two punch in the passing game with those two players, just as the franchise envisioned when it selected Bowers in the first round.

Winner: LB Robert Spillane

Linebacker Robert Spillane again patrolled the middle of the Raiders’ defense, racking up 10 tackles with eight solo stops. He also had two pass breakups and a huge interception in the second half. He took advantage of a nice play by cornerback Jakorian Bennett, grabbing the ball after Bennett tipped it in the air.

https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1835396389112545569

After Spillane’s interception, Raiders running back Alexander Mattison notched a short-yardage touchdown to tighten the score at 16-13.

Winner: K Daniel Carlson

Carlson not only made the game-winning kick, he kept the Raiders afloat in the first half with two field goals of 50-plus yards. He made all four of his field goal attempts and both of his extra-point opportunities.

Winner: HC Antonio Pierce

This was a massive upset in the NFL, and coach Antonio Pierce’s fingerprints are all over this win. He kept his cool throughout, even as the Raiders offense was incredibly inept through two quarters.

Winner: OC Luke Getsy

If the Raiders offense continued its woeful play in the second half of this game, Getsy would’ve been roasted all week long, and worse, he’d deserve it. Instead, Getsy made some adjustments and his offense looked formidable despite no running game to speak of.

Winner: QB Gardner Minshew

Minshew threw an unsightly interception in the first half but made play after play after the Raiders abandoned the run game. He decided to force-feed the ball to Adams, and predictably, it worked, opening up opportunities for Bowers in the process.

Loser: OT Kolton Miller

For the second week in a row, left tackle Kolton Miller had a bad game in pass protection. He allowed multiple QB sacks vs. defensive end Odafe Oweh, including on the Raiders first snap from scrimmage.

Loser: Offensive line

The Raiders offensive line helped in this win too, but it was despite their awful effort in the run game. Perhaps most telling, the Ravens had a whopping nine tackles for loss. They weren’t great in pass protection either, allowing five QB sacks and 10 QB hits.

Loser: RB Zamir White

The Raiders won on Sunday without a running game, but that isn’t sustainable. Eventually, running back Zamir White has to get going. He only got nine carries, however, as Getsy called a lot of wide receiver runs and short passes on plays around the edge.

Thankfully for Las Vegas, White carried the ball effectively at the end of the game on the way to the Raiders game-winning field goal. If Getsy can get the run game going, this offense could actually become potent and match the Raiders’ excellent defense.

Suddenly, the Raiders’ start to the season looks extremely promising. After this comeback victory on the road, Las Vegas welcomes the winless Panthers to Allegiant Stadium next week and will have a chance for a winning record.

But as we saw against the Ravens, anything is possible in the NFL. Led by Pierce, a huge week of preparation for Las Vegas has likely already begun.

Raiders pull off stunner, win wild Week 2 in Baltimore 26-23 over Ravens

Raiders pull off stunner, win wild Week 2 in Baltimore 26-23 over Ravens

Just as in the season opener, the Raiders defense kept it close early. It was a 3-0 Ravens lead at the end of the first quarter with the Ravens having converted just one first down. They forced a punt on the first drive and gave up just one first down on the second drive, with Maxx Crosby adding a sack to help stall the drive for a field goal.

Things started to pick up a bit for the Raiders offense to begin the second quarter with Brock Bowers making a couple catches along with Davante Adams, moving the Raiders past midfield before it stalled. Daniel Carlson added a 53-yard field goal to tie it up at 3-3.

The Ravens answers with another drive into scoring range. The Raiders defense would eventually stop them, but not before they reached the 25 and added another field goal to go back up 6-3.

An interception by Gardner Minshew gave the Ravens another chance to score late in the second quarter. But their drive would stall once again and this time Justin Tucker’s 56-yard attempt was no good wide left and the score remained 6-3.

Minshew came out to lead the two-minute drill. A 24-yard pass interference penalty on Marlon Humphrey put the Raiders in field goal range inside the 30. They lined up in third-and-five and Thayre Munford was beaten on the edge by Kyle Van Noy to give up the nine-yard sack. Daniel Carlson hit the 51-yard field goal to tie it back up at 6-6 with 1:37 left in the second quarter.

That was enough time for the Ravens to drive deep into Raiders territory, but the Raiders defense ultimately stiffened up in the red zone, forcing a field goal and the Ravens took a 9-6 lead into the half.

Just like last week, Minshew was completing a high percentage of his passes, but the results weren’t there. He was 14 of 16 for 64 yards and an interception.

Right out the gates in the third quarter, the Ravens ran right through the Raiders. They got first downs on their first two plays on a run up the middle and a pass to a wide open Mark Andrews. Then Derrick Henry took the handoff for 29 yards up the left sideline to put them in first and goal at the nine. Two plays later, Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers for an easy touchdown over the middle to make it a 16-6 Ravens lead.

After a turnover on downs for the Raiders, it looked like the Ravens might march right back down for another score. But everything changed when Jakorian Bennett broke up a pass and Robert Spillane intercepted it. The Raiders took full advantage of the takeaway, driving for a touchdown. The big play was a 27-yard completion to Brock Bowers to the one-yard-line. Alexander Mattison got the handoff from the one and punched it in for the score to make it a 16-13 game.

That didn’t last long. The Ravens marched right back down the field, leaning on Derrick Henry who ran for 38 yards and a touchdown on the drive to make bring it back to a ten-point Ravens lead at 23-13.

True to the now back-and-forth of this game, the Raiders offense started moving too. Gardner Minshew connected with Davante Adams for 28 yards and then Davante made a brilliant sideline grab on the tips of his toes, leaning out of bounds for a 30-yard gain to put them in first and goal at the nine-yard-line.

They would settle for a field goal to make it a one-score game at 23-16.

The defense did their job to force a three-and-out on the Ravens and give the offense another shot. And the offense didn’t squander those efforts.

Minshew went back to the air, connecting with Davante Adams on another deep ball up the left sideline for 29 yards. An 11-yard completion to Brock Bowers put them in first and goal at the nine. A Baltimore pass inferference in the end zone gave the Raiders another first and goal at the one. And Minshew faked a run, throwing over the top to Adams for the game-tying touchdown.

The Raiders defense AGAIN held the Ravens to a three-and-out. And it featured a huge nine-yard sack by Maxx Crosby, his second of the game.

After a short punt and a penalty, the Raiders started with the ball in Baltimore territory. Zamir White ran it four times for 16 yards and Minshew completed an eight yard pass to Jakobi Meyers to put them in field goal range and run the clock down. Daniel Carlson connected on his field goal to give the Raiders the lead at 26-23.

The Ravens had 27 seconds to try and drive to tie it up and they couldn’t do it.

In a game they were 9.5-point underdogs on the road, the Raiders pull off the 26-23 win to improve to 1-1 on the season.

Watch: Davante Adams makes incredible tiptoe sideline grab late vs Ravens

Watch: Davante Adams makes incredible tiptoe sideline grab late vs Ravens

Less than ten minutes left in the Raiders Week 2 game against the Ravens, it was a ten point game. The Raiders were down 23-13 to the Ravens whose offense came alive in the second half to begin to run away with it.

A takeaway by the defense that led to a touchdown kept it interesting. And then Davante Adams did Davante Adams tings to try and will the Raiders to staying in it.

Following a nice 28-yard grab by Adams, he made a brilliant catch on the left sideline, that initially didn’t look like it could possibly be a catch. But the officials said the catch was made. And they were right.

Take a look at this beauty.

That catch put the Raiders in first and goal at the nine-yard-line Unfortunately they couldn’t get into the endzone and three plays later would settle for a field goal to make it a one-score game at 23-16.