Tag: Las Vegas Raiders vs Baltimore Ravens

Raiders Week 1 snap counts vs Ravens: Denzelle Good plays 10 snaps on torn ACL

Raiders Week 1 snap counts vs Ravens: Denzelle Good plays 10 snaps on torn ACL

Reports came out on Tuesday afternoon that Denzelle Good has been lost for the season with a torn ACL. Good left the game Monday night against the Ravens on the seventh snap of the game. But if you look at the snap counts, he played 17 snaps. How could that be? Well, I’ll tell you.

Initially, Good was replaced at right guard by Jermaine Eluemunor. But come the second quarter, Good trotted back onto the field. He played the full four snaps on the first series. And after briefly being replaced again by Eluemunor, Good returned to the game to play six more snaps. That means Good played ten snaps ON A TORN ACL! That’s insane.

The Raiders are going to miss him the rest of the season and I could see them looking to add a guard in the coming days.

Most of the notable snaps came on defense where there were a lot of new faces. Two recent additions came at linebacker where the team added veterans Denzel Perryman and KJ Wright.

Perryman got the start alongside Cory Littleton and the two led all linebackers in snaps. KJ Wright saw 54% of the snaps which made last year’s starter Nick Kwiatkoski the odd man out, seeing just 23 snaps (24%).

New starting corner Casey Hayward saw all but one snap on defense. This means former starter Damon Arnette saw just one snap. Meanwhile, rookie starting nickel Nate Hobbs played 34 snaps (50%).

Here’s how the snap counts stacked up.

OFFENSE Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kolton Miller T 86 100% 5 16%
Alex Leatherwood T 86 100% 5 16%
John Simpson G 86 100% 5 16%
Derek Carr QB 86 100% 0 0%
Andre James C 86 100% 0 0%
Darren Waller TE 81 94% 0 0%
Jermaine Eluemunor T 69 80% 4 12%
Bryan Edwards WR 57 66% 0 0%
Henry Ruggs III WR 56 65% 7 22%
Hunter Renfrow WR 47 55% 4 12%
Foster Moreau TE 46 53% 22 69%
Josh Jacobs RB 45 52% 0% 0%
Kenyan Drake RB 41 48% 0% 0%
Alec Ingold FB 23 27% 22 69%
Zay Jones WR 20 23% 9 28%
Denzelle Good G 17 20% 1 3%
Derek Carrier TE 11 13% 27 84%
Willie Snead WR 2 2% 7 22%
Marcus Mariota QB 1 1% 0 0%
DEFENSE Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Johnathan Abram SS 68 100% 20 62%
Trayvon Mullen CB 68 100% 5 16%
Trevon Moehrig DB 68 100% 5 16%
Casey Hayward CB 67 99% 5 16%
Maxx Crosby DE 62 91% 5 16%
Cory Littleton LB 57 84% 15 47%
Denzel Perryman LB 52 76% 0 0%
Johnathan Hankins DT 46 68% 5 16%
Quinton Jefferson DT 43 63% 5 16%
K.J. Wright LB 37 54% 3 9%
Nate Hobbs DB 34 50% 15 47%
Darius Philon DT 34 50% 5 16%
Yannick Ngakoue DE 33 49% 2 6%
Carl Nassib DE 30 44% 7 22%
Nick Kwiatkoski LB 16 24% 23 72%
Solomon Thomas DE 15 22% 0 0%
Gerald McCoy DT 9 13% 0 0%
Dallin Leavitt FS 8 12% 22 69%
Damon Arnette CB 1 1% 4 12%
SPECIAL TEAMS Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Divine Deablo LB 0 0% 22 69%
Tyree Gillespie DB 0 0% 16 50%
Trent Sieg LS 0 0% 11 34%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 11 34%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 10 31%
Amik Robertson CB 0 0% 8 25%
Brandon Parker T 0 0% 5 16%
Nick Martin C 0 0% 5 16

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Raiders edge rushers ‘stay ready’ vs Ravens, wreak havoc on Lamar Jackson

Raiders edge rushers come ready vs Ravens, wreak havoc on Lamar Jackson

I saw a stat shortly after the Raiders crazy win over the Ravens Monday night that said Lamar Jackson was pressured on over 50% of his dropbacks. That seems like a lot, and it is, but watching it, if you’d asked me how many times it seemed like Jackson was running for his life, I would have said it was even more often.

It honestly seemed like every time he took the snap, he had one of the Raiders edge rusher bearing down on him before he could even set his feet. It was unreal. Especially when you consider the Raiders have been one of the worst pass rushing teams in the league the past three seasons.

What was most impressive is the pressure never let up. From the first snap to the last, the Raiders were terrorizing Jackson. And they did it with a three-man rotation. Clelin Ferrell and Malcolm Koonce were both healthy scratches for the game, so the Raiders took the field with three active edge defenders. That was it. Just Maxx Crosby on one side, Yannick Ngakoue on the other, and Carl Nassib rotating in. And that trio never let up and never tired.

“For us we stay ready. We push each other every single day, so no matter who’s going to be up, we’re going to be ready,” said Crosby. “It was amazing. I don’t even know how many snaps we played, I really don’t know, but everybody was ready when their name was called. That was super encouraging to see and I think we did a great job today.”

As he has for the past two seasons, Crosby led the way for the Raiders. The third-year edge rusher had three sacks on Jackson, though he was only credited – at least initially – with two. Crosby is known for his energy and he was on another level in this game.

The 24-year-old was named a captain for this game, which he considered a tremendous honor. One Crosby had not had at any level. His head coach has not held back in his praise of Crosby’s work ethic and getting the Captain badge was the result of that.

“Maxx backed it up,” Gruden said after the game. “You do it day after day after day and you get an opportunity in prime time to show where you are, I thought he showed some things tonight.”

The past couple seasons, Crosby has basically gone at it alone. He was able to put up 17 sacks despite a lack of help on the other side and in the middle. He has that help now with Ngakoue, who, not coincidentally, was named a captain as well.

“It’s just a different shift, a different mindset ever since guys like Yannick got here,” tight end Darren Waller said after some impressive defensive play Monday Night. “Just the mindset that he brings every single day, it’s just like we’ll go out there and be a force and guys are starting to buy into that. You can tell they are just playing simple football and flying around. So, I’m very happy for them.”

Late in the game, Maxx would lose his fellow defensive captain to a hamstring injury. Stepping up as Nassib who came in and they didn’t seem to miss a beat. Then the game went to overtime. And wouldn’t you know it, the biggest play of the overtime period was made by Nassib, who got into the backfield and laid a hard sack on Jackson, knocking the ball out and giving it back to the Raiders. Two plays later, Carr found Zay Jones for the game-winning touchdown.

“It was big. He made a big play at the end of the game,” Gruden said of Nassib. “Gerald McCoy got hurt, Yannick was out, (we were) playing Lamar Jackson. I mean this guy is a magician back there. He creates so much offense unscripted. Gus Bradley did a great job, he and his staff. And it’s a credit to Rod Marinelli and certainly Carl Nassib, he’s had a great training camp and we’re going to need him obviously going forward.”

We could soon know the exact severity of Ngakoue’s hamstring injury and if it will cost him any time. If he is lost, it would obviously be a big blow, especially considering how good the pass rush looked with him in the game last night. As Gruden noted, it would fall to Nassib to be the guy and continue to play like he did late against the Ravens. And Clelin Ferrell would be the third edge defender rotating in.

Jon Gruden sums up Raiders wild finish vs Ravens ‘I feel like I died and woke up and died again’

Jon Gruden sums up Raiders wild finish vs Ravens ‘I feel like I died and woke up and died again’

You rarely see more insane things go down at the end of a game than what happened between the Raiders and Ravens Monday Night. It was the perfect cap to open the 2021 NFL season and the perfect way to start the Raiders era in Las Vegas with fans in attendance.

The finish to regulation was crazy enough, with the Ravens going up 27-24 with :37 seconds remaining and then the Raiders driving down the field to tie the game back up again to send it to overtime.

That late drive featured the first catch by starting wide receiver Bryan Edwards in the game. And then his second catch right after. Then Edwards had his third catch to start overtime. Then his fourth catch went for 33 yards and appeared to win the game.

The two teams converged on the field to shake hands, Jon Gruden already had the headset on for the postgame interview only to have it all called back because the officials said Edwards was down short of the goal line.

“It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster,” said running back Josh Jacobs, who wasn’t even sure he’d be able to play in the game due to a late illness. “Everybody was running out on the field and we were all celebrating, shaking the other team’s hands, things like that. . . they were telling us like ‘you guys got a good team offensively and defensively and y’all kind of deserved this game’ so when we heard that it wasn’t a touchdown it was like…how is this gonna go.”

How it went was an even more ridiculous rollercoaster.

After a failed QB sneak by Derek Carr, an Alex Leatherwodd false start backed the Raiders to the six-yard-line, which meant going to the air to try and get the score. Willie Snead was unable to get to a high Derek Carr pass which then bounced in the air and was intercepted in the end zone. From euphoria to despair just like that.

The Ravens took over and started to move the ball. Then on third down, Carl Nassib strip sacked Lamar Jackson and the Raiders took over once again, already in scoring range to win it.

They came onto the field to kick the field goal only to be flagged for a delay of game, which led to the offense coming back onto the field. As if everything else wasn’t bad enough, Derek Carr and the offense was on and off the field in seconds.

“I don’t what happened, I turned my back and I was just praying we made it,” Carr said of the field goal unit taking the field. “And I turn around and it’s a delay of game and I say ‘Ok, well he can still make this’ and they’re like ‘get back out there’ and I hear in my headset coach calling personnel so I start running back out there.”

Two plays later, the Ravens came with an all-out blitz, and the Raiders were ready for it. Carr dropped back and threw the ball high in the air as Zay Jones broke wide open for the touchdown. For real this time. From euphoria to disappointment to despair to hope to confusion to euphoria again.

“I feel like I died and woke up and died again,” Jon Gruden said of the last sequence. “I was like a cat. I had multiple lives tonight.”

I can’t imagine a better way to explain it than that. Gruden certainly has a way with words. Derek Carr summed it up another way.

“It feels like my career. It’s like Yes!” Carr said, moving his hand up to signify a high note. “Crap!” Carr said with a laugh while moving his hand down.

In other words, it was all the extreme highs and extreme lows of an seven-year career packed into a few seconds of game time. Which sounds about right, to be honest.

But regardless of the highs and lows, the important part for Carr and the Raiders was that it ended on a high. That’s what makes the rollercoaster worth it in the end. Although no doubt utterly exhausting.

Watch: Raiders first half starts with Marcus Mariota trickery, ends with Josh Jacobs TD run

Watch: Raiders first half starts with Marcus Mariota trickery, ends with Josh Jacobs TD run

It didn’t take long for Jon Gruden to take the Mariota Mobile out of the garage. On the third play of the game, Mariota came in the game at quarterback and Derek Carr split out wide. Mariota kept it on a read-option and shot up the middle for 31 yards. It was the type of wrinkle a lot of people have been waiting to see the Raiders unveil with Mariota on the team.

The Raiders were unable to capitalize on the play with the drive ending in a punt. In fact, the Raiders punted on each of their first four possessions. Meanwhile the Ravens drove for two touchdowns.

Late in the second quarter, Mariota’s 31-yard run was more than Derek Carr had passing the ball (29). Carr seemed to be missing open receivers and forcing the ball to Darren Waller.

Eventually, the Raiders would figure some things out and late in the second quarter drove for a touchdown of their own to make it a 14-7 game.

The touchdown was set up by a pass to Darren Waller followed by a pass interference call that put the Raiders in first and goal. Then Josh Jacobs dove in for the score.

The Ravens seemed to have the last shot at scoring in the first half, but on 4th and one, KJ Wright shot into the backfield to stuff the run attempt for a loss and a turnover on downs.

The Raiders took over with just over a minute and drove for a field goal to pull to within four points at 14-10 at the half.

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Raiders TE Darren Waller ‘grateful’ for time with Ravens as he faces former team on Birthday

Raiders TE Darren Waller looks to make it a Happy Birthday tonight vs his former team

How Darren Waller got to where he is now — as one of the best tight ends in the game — is anything but ordinary. The former sixth-round pick was given several chances with his original team in Baltimore despite multiple suspensions for substance abuse. The team he is about to face to open the 2021 season, fresh off leading the league in receptions among tight ends (107).

Many times players can get up when facing their former team. But this situation, like most with Waller, is somewhat unique. The Ravens didn’t give up on Waller. They believed in his abilities enough to keep him around in the hopes that he could kick his addiction and live up to his potential. Unfortunately for them, the Raiders took that chance on him before they could.

Late in the 2018 season, the Raiders signed Waller off the Ravens’ practice squad and almost instantly the 6-6, 255-pounder showed off star qualities, and soon earned a long-term extension that already looks like a bargain.

So, while some players may look to stick it to the team that gave up on them, Waller looks at the Ravens as the team that helped get him to where he is now.

“As a human being I’ll naturally reflect on my times there,” Waller said of facing the Ravens. “It will be cool to see people there that I knew and had worked with before, but it will be a normal game for me. There’s not any kind of hard feelings or resentment or anything like that. They didn’t even have to give me a chance to be on the practice squad, they could’ve just cut me before that. They had no reason to bring me back, but they still did. They gave me an opportunity and allowed me to improve upon my skills and take advantage of this opportunity I’m getting here, so I’m grateful to them. But once the ball is kicked off I got plenty of things to worry about as far as scheme and just seeing how they’re going to be covering me and the rest of the offense, so it’ll just be normal football.”

Waller was in Baltimore for the better part of four years. One of those seasons (2017) he was suspended and the final one (2018) he spent on the practice squad until the Raiders stole him away and he appeared in the final four games that season.

In the following two seasons, Waller has averaged 1170 yards with 12 total touchdowns and last season was named to the Pro Bowl after setting a new franchise record with 107 catches.

For that, he is grateful. Though I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few good-natured smiles over at his former team’s sideline when he makes a nice play or two.

Just to top it all off, it’s also Waller’s 29th Birthday, so what better gift to himself than to have a monster game to make his former team wish they had signed him back to the active roster before he could realize his potential elsewhere. Tonight that ‘elsewhere’ team will look to use the Ravens’ mistake against them.

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Raiders elevate undrafted rookie RB Trey Ragas from practice squad vs Ravens

Raiders elevate undrafted rookie RB Trey Ragas from practice squad vs Ravens

One of the stories of Raiders’ camp was the performance of running back Trey Ragas. He earned a spot on the Raiders’ practice squad and now he could see action in the team’s season opener. The undrafted rookie has been elevated from the practice squad.

His elevation suggests the status of Josh Jacobs is still somewhat in question. Though recent reports have Jacobs with a high likelihood of playing, whether or not he will be full-go is another question. Ragas’ elevation could be a precaution, or it could be to share the load with Jacobs and Kenyan Drake.

Peyton Barber is also on the roster but was just added last week, so he may not be up to speed with the offensive scheme. Ragas, on the other hand, has spent the entire offseason with the Raiders and impressed in preseason action, making a strong case for the regular-season roster.

Ragas went undrafted out of Lousiana where he put up 3572 yards and 38 touchdowns in four seasons, averaging six yards per carry.

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Ravens elevate DT Justin Ellis from practice squad to face former team

Ravens elevate DT Justin Ellis from practice squad to face former team

After spending the past two seasons in Baltimore, the Ravens cut veteran Justin Ellis prior to the season and brought him back on their practice squad. And today they activated the former Raiders nose tackle, allowing him the chance to face the team on which he spent the first four years of his NFL career.

Ellis was the team’s fifth-round pick in 2014. He was part of the Raiders’ somewhat famous 2014 draft in which they also landed Khalil Mack (4th overall), Derek Carr (round two), Gabe Jackson (round three), Latavius Murray (round 6), CB TJ Carrie (round seven), and DE Shelby Harris (round seven).

An interesting sidenote is the Ravens also added Latavius Murray this week after a string of injuries to their running back corps. So, they will have a member of that 2014 draft class on both sides of the ball.

Hard to say how much insight they’ll get from these two considering Ellis last played with the Raiders in 2018 and Murray in 2016. But both should be motivated to show up against their former team.

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Raiders RB Josh Jacobs ‘should be good to go’ vs Ravens following illness

RB Josh Jacobs was listed as questionable for Raiders with an illness. He ‘should be good to go’ vs Ravens

Sunday was spent wondering if Josh Jacobs was going to play for the Raiders in their Monday Night opener against the Ravens. He came down with an illness on Saturday that had him added to the injury report as questionable.

The illness was said to be non-COVID related and as of now, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Jacobs should be good to go, adding that the team is 100% vaccinated.

Having an illness this late in the game could ultimately have the Raiders regulating Jacobs’s playing time, so that will be something to watch for. Should Jacobs see fewer snaps, those snaps would go to Kenyan Drake with newly added Peyton Barber perhaps seeing some playing time as well.

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Raiders DE Maxx Crosby to take field tonight as a team Captain for first time at any level

‘It’s crazy’: Raiders DE Maxx Crosby to take field tonight as a team Captain for first time at any level

Last week Raiders head coach Jon Gruden named the Raiders team captains this season. And there were a lot of them. Seven in total where there would usually be five. Mainly because, as Gruden said, there was a three-way tie for players on the offense between Darren Waller, Josh Jacobs, and Richie Incognito so all three got the C on their chest along with Derek Carr. Alec Ingold was selected as the captain for the special teams.

The two on defense were the Raiders pass rushing duo of Yannick Ngakoue and Maxx Crosby. For Crosby in particular, this was a momentous occasion. Because despite his success in High School and at Eastern Michigan that made him a round four pick in the NFL, he had never been named a captain at any level.

“It’s crazy,” said Crosby of his being named a Captain. “It’s really my first time ever being a captain in my whole life. And I think that’s just a testament to all the trials and tribulations I’ve gone through in my life. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. But taking care of the off-the-field is just as important as on-the-field or in the locker room or in the weight room. Just coming in every day and being that same guy, putting my head down, and working. Gaining the trust of my teammates and my coaches, that’s all I’ve been trying to do my whole life. Now I’ve really put it into action and I’m still continuing to grow everyday. So, being voted captain by my team and my coaches and everything, it’s nothing but a blessing. I can’t wait to go out there and have a ‘C’ on my chest. It’s kind of crazy. Being 24 with a ‘C’ on your chest for an NFL team is rare. So, I don’t take it for granted and it’s something I take really seriously. I’m looking forward to it.”

Crosby’s story acts as a reminder for those who may be used to being named a Captain by this point. For instance, the quarterback, who is almost always named a captain simply by virtue of the position he plays.

The third year defensive end has led the Raiders in sacks over his two seasons (17). He was so excited by the honor he had to share it with Derek Carr, who has was just named a captain for the eighth time. And Crosby’s excitement served as a reminder of how much of an honor it is to be named a Captain.

“Sometimes you take for granted those little things and that was like a reality check for me,” Carr said of talking with Crosby. “‘Bro, this means so much to me.’ And I told him, I said, ‘Maxx, you proved it on and off the field every day.’ Everyone knows his story off the field and what he’s been able to accomplish personally, and on the field, we’ve been able to see what he’s accomplished this offseason.

“No one has worked harder than that guy. In the weight room, even on days we don’t have lifts, (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach) A.J. [Neibel] has got to tell him like we’re not lifting today, Maxx, like go rest. He has just taken his game and his leadership to such a high level that I’d follow that guy anywhere. And he inspires me, just him having that little conversation with me and saying that it made everything worth so much more because it meant so much to him. Just being around him, his personality is infectious. I’m sure you guys love talking to him. He’s awesome to be around and I don’t know about his car color choice, but besides that he’s earned it for sure.”

The little dig at Crosby’s car color is the running joke about Crosby driving an orange Porsche. But even that fits with who Crosby is as a person and as a player. He said he went into the dealership to pick out his car and was given three choices — white, black, or Lava Orange. He made the unique choice. And he was told that it was the first and only Lava Orange Porsche in the state of Nevada at the time he bought it.

As Gruden has said on more than one occasion, “what makes a man different is what makes him great.” Crosby walks to the beat of his own drum. It’s part of what gives him his drive and his work ethic. It’s why he is accused of living at the facility. It’s what makes him special and has had him reach successes in the NFL no one expected he would reach. That ‘C’ he will wear tonight was well-earned.

Raiders head into season opener looking to keep pace in undefeated AFC West

Raiders head into season opener looking to keep pace in undefeated AFC West

It was a good Sunday for the AFC West. As good as it gets, in fact. All three AFC West teams that played won their matchups.

First up was the Chargers who were in Washington. The Chargers were leading 10-6 in the second quarter when Washington lost starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to a hip injury. Then that lead slipped away with backup Tyler Heinicke in at quarterback and it became a 16-13 Washington lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Then early in the fourth, Washington fumbled at their own three-yard-line, the Charger recovered and Justin Herbert found Mike Williams for the touchdown to take a 20-16 lead. That would be the final score.

The game of the day was a playoff rematch between the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. The Browns jumped out to an early lead and maintained a lead well into the fourth quarter. But a fumble by the punter at their own 15-yard-line would set the Chiefs up for a touchdown to give them their first lead of the game. Patrick Mahomes found Travis Kelce for the score to give them a 33-29 lead. Cleveland drove to midfield with 1:16 remaining and Baker Mayfield was intercepted to end it.

And finally, the Broncos were in New York where they had the most convincing victory of the day for the three AFC West clubs. Teddy Bridgewater had an outstanding debut and Von Miller had two sacks in his return to the field after a year away as the Broncos won going away 27-13.

This all means the Raiders must take down a tough Ravens team at home tonight to close out opening weekend and keep pace with their division rivals. It doesn’t if it’s a late comeback win as the Chargers and Chiefs had or cruising to a win as the Broncos did. This division is clearly made up of some tough outs

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