Raiders help another opponent win Defensive Player of the Week award

For the second time in three games, we have a Defensive Player of the Week winner after facing the Raiders. This time Rams CB Cobie Durant.

It’s long been said that facing the Raiders is the cure for what ails you. In some cases this season, it has led to awards. We are now at two times in the past three weeks it has happened.

This week’s NFC Defensive Player of the Week is Rams CB Cobie Durant.

Two weeks ago it was Broncos’ Pat Surtain who won it after he had two interceptions against the Raiders including a 100-yard pick six.

Just like Surtain, Durant was either responsible or the recipient on two of the Raiders turnovers in Sunday’s loss. On leading to a defensive touchdown.

Durant’s first play was breaking up a pass for Brock Bowers to end the Raiders first scoring drive and they settled for a field goal.

Later in the second quarter, he made the first interception of the game, giving the Rams the ball at the Vegas 47 and leading to the first touchdown.

Not four minutes later, he shot up the middle unblocked on the blitz and hit Gardner Minshew as he attempted to throw, knocking the ball out. It was then picked up by Kam Curl and returned for the second touchdown of the game.

And suddenly what was a 3-0 Raiders lead, was not a 14-3 Rams lead.

Ballers for Raiders Week 7 loss to Rams

Picking out the individual performances in the Raiders Week 7 loss to the Rams.

At some point we should just call all these Raiders loss to Raiders. Because it doesn’t seem to matter the team in the other jersey, the Raiders real opponent each week is themselves.

That being said, there are a few players who stepped up and did their part to try and pull out the win. Even if their efforts fell short. As per usual, we will start with them before we feature the failures.

Ballers

S Tre’von Moehrig

Moehrig was sent on the blitz several times in this game. To great results. He was sent on third down on the Rams first drive and nailed Matt Stafford to force an incomplete pass. He would then assist on a run stuff for a three-and-out in the second quarter.

He got in the backfield again for a tackle for loss to end a drive early in the third quarter. Then on the Rams’ final two drives, he had a pressure on an incompletion and a run stuff, finishing second on the team with six combined tackles, one for a loss, a QB hit and a pass breakup.

RB Alexander Mattison

Consecutive runs of 13 and 12 yards led out the Raiders’ first scoring drive. He would add a five-yard run later in that drive to help the Raiders jump to a 3-0 lead to begin the second quarter.

After falling down 14-3 late in the second quarter, the Raiders needed to go on a drive. And they did that courtesy of Mattison, who had two runs for a first down and a 17-yard screen that put them in field goal range.

Four runs for 21 yards set the Raiders up for their third score of the game in the third quarter. Mattison had 92 yards on the ground and 123 yards from scrimmage on 26 touches.

CB Nate Hobbs, CB Jakorian Bennett

Tight coverage by Bennett set up a third and long that would lead to a punt on the Rams’ second drive. After the Raiders took a 3-0 lead early in the second, Hobbs’ run stuff on 4th and one gave the Raiders the ball back with a turnover on downs.

Bennett ended the Rams first possession of the third quarter with a three-and-out by breaking up the pass on third down.

With the fourth quarter looming, the Raiders needed a score to give them a chance. They got that score when Robert Spillane got a hand on a pass and Hobbs picked it off and returned it 35 yards to the LA 14-yard-line. That made it a one-score game at 20-12.

The following drive ended with Bennett in tight coverage in the end zone for an incompletion and the field goal missed off the upright. And the final Rams possession ended with Hobbs making the tackle short of the sticks on third down.

TE Brock Bowers

The first time the Raiders got in scoring position in the game was off of his 25-yard catch and run. Most of that was YAC; something he has become known for.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Bowers already had six catches for 64 yards and the Raiders were one score away. They looked to Bowers early and often on their drive to try and tie it up. He had three first down catches on the first five plays. Two plays later, he was the lead blocked on a first down run on fourth down.

He would finish the game with ten catches for 93 yards which was one catch shy of the entire total for the rest of the team (11).

DT Adam Butler

His first tackle was a run stuff at the line that ended the Rams’ second drive. He ended another Rams’ possession in the second quarter with another run stuff. He added another run stop in the fourth quarter to finished tied for second on the team in tackles (6).

K Daniel Carlson

Though it’s never a good thing when your kicker scores all your points, at least he was steady. Carlson made all five of his field goals in the game with the longest coming from 47 yards.

Continue to the Busters…

Busters for Raiders Week 7 loss to Rams

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

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

Busters

QB Gardner Minshew

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

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

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

T DJ Glaze

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

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

G Jordan Meredith, C Andre James

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

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

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

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

T Kolton Miller

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

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

DT John Jenkins

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

HC Antonio Pierce, OC Luke Getsy

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

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

See the Ballers

Raiders Week 7 snap counts vs Rams: Who filled in at receiver with Jakobi Meyers OUT

With Davante Adams traded away and Jakobi Meyers again out with injury, the Raiders had to cobble together a wide receiver corps vs the Rams

It is becoming increasingly obvious with each game the lack of star power on this Raiders team. Obviously it starts at quarterback where it clearly hasn’t mattered whether it’s Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew behind center. But it extends well beyond that.

Several of the team’s biggest stars heading into this season were not on the field or not on the roster for Sunday’s game in Los Angeles. Including Davante Adams who was traded to the Jets and Christian Wilkins who is on injured reserve.

At receiver in particular, they were also without start Jakobi Meyers who has an ankle injury.

Leading the way in snaps for the Raiders were Tre Tucker and DJ Turner, both of whom plaed 75 snaps (95%). That takes care of one outside receiver spot (Tucker) and the slot (Turner).

For the other receiver spot, the duties were split between recent practice squad players Alex Bachman and Kristian Wilkerson; neither of whom got a single target. So, yeah, not really what you want.

It was a four-man rotation at defensive tackle of Adam Butler, John Jenkins, Jonah Laulu, and Matthew Butler.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Jackson Powers-Johnson G 79 100% 5 18%
Kolton Miller T 79 100% 5 18%
Jordan Meredith G 79 100% 5 18%
DJ Glaze T 79 100% 5 18%
Andre James C 79 100% 0 0%
DJ Turner WR 75 95% 7 25%
Tre Tucker WR 75 95% 0 0%
Brock Bowers TE 66 84% 0 0%
Gardner Minshew II QB 65 82% 0 0%
Alexander Mattison RB 55 70% 0 0%
Alex Bachman WR 36 46% 12 43%
Harrison Bryant TE 23 29% 4 14%
Kristian Wilkerson WR 18 23% 6 21%
John Samuel Shenker TE 14 18% 11 39%
Aidan O’Connell QB 14 18% 0 0%
Ameer Abdullah RB 13 16% 15 54%
Zamir White RB 11 14% 0 0%
Justin Shorter TE 3 4% 12 43%
Andrus Peat G 3 4% 5 18%
Thayer Munford T 3 4% 5 18%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 55 100% 7 25%
Maxx Crosby DE 55 100% 1 4%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 55 100% 0 0%
Robert Spillane LB 55 100% 0 0%
Jack Jones CB 53 96% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 51 93% 11 39%
Nate Hobbs CB 48 87% 0 0%
Jakorian Bennett CB 44 80% 0 0%
Adam Butler DT 36 65% 5 18%
John Jenkins DT 34 62% 7 25%
Tyree Wilson DE 30 55% 3 11%
Jonah Laulu DT 27 49% 6 21%
K’Lavon Chaisson LB 22 40% 1 4%
Matthew Butler DT 16 29% 4 14%
Charles Snowden DE 11 20% 11 39%
Decamerion Richardson CB 9 16% 16 57%
Thomas Harper FS 4 7% 16 57%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Amari Gainer LB 0 0% 23 82%
Amari Burney LB 0 0% 23 82%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 16 57%
Trey Taylor SS 0 0% 12 43%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 10 36%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 9 32%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 9 32%
Darnay Holmes CB 0 0% 7 25%
Nesta Jade Silvera DT 0 0% 7 25%
Cody Whitehair G 0 0% 5 18%
Tyreik McAllister RB 0 0% 2 7%

Another crucial call by Antonio Pierce snuffs out Raiders glimmer of hope vs Rams

Even with all of the Raiders’ mistakes, they still had a shot late against the Rams. But another poor decision by Antonio Pierce killed it.

Four yards. That’s how far away the Raiders were from having a shot at tying up their game against the Rams Sunday. That in and of itself is pretty shocking considering how many mistakes and miscues the Raiders had in the game.

They turned the ball over three times in the game and each of those turnovers led to touchdowns. Meanwhile they hadn’t gotten in the end zone all day themselves.

But despite it all, they had a legitimate shot to clean the slate. They were down 20-12 which means a touchdown and a two-point conversion and they tie it up. And when the chips were down, Antonio Pierce made the wrong call, pulling the rug out from underneath them.

Three straight passes from the four probably wasn’t the wisest decision for starters. Mainly because it was the run game that was actually doing the best work for the Raiders in the game.

Two of those passes fell incomplete and the third was stopped for no gain to bring up fourth and goal at the four. And, as it should be, the Raiders went for it.

But then DJ Glaze was flagged for a false start. And suddenly Pierce had second thoughts. For some reason, scoring from nine yards versus four yards changed everything. He. then opted to have Daniel Carlson come out and kick his fifth field goal of the day.

“We had three timeouts,” said Pierce when explaining his decision. “So we figured we’d get the ball back for those guys with a minute forty or whatever it was on the clock and give our offense a chance again in the two-minute drill with no timeouts. That was the thought process.”

Having all your timeouts isn’t nearly a good enough reason to make that decision. Even if you fail, you still have your timeouts. And even with the field goal, you still need a touchdown.

When you think about it is the worst of all possible scenarios. Even worse than going for it and failing. It was simply the wrong call by Pierce. And it killed their best chance late in this game.

Best case scenario is you go for it, make it, convert the two points and tie it up. Then you’re just a defensive stop away from a chance to win it or head to overtime.

Next best case is going for it, making the touchdown, failing on the two-point conversion, getting a defensive stop, and then needing only to drive for a field goal to win it.

Next best is going for it, failing, turning it over on downs near the goal line, getting a stop, and then another chance to tie it up with decent field position.

Worst case is settling for a field goal, setting them up at their own 30 off the kickoff, getting a defensive stop, and starting your drive deep in your own territory off the punt with just over a minute with no timeouts left. That’s just what happened.

The result was the Raiders were forced to be one dimensional — the dimension that they had struggled with all day with a leaky offensive line and practice squad receivers — and the Rams easily knocked down the first two passes and picked off the third to end the game.

Let’s be clear here. This Raiders team had no business being still in this game late. They did everything in their power to be blown out. But the reality is, they were in that position. And that call on fourth down squandered their one shot to pull out an unlikely win. That falls no Pierce.

Two weeks ago in Denver, he called for a punt on fourth and two at the Denver 42. In the opener — also in LA — he went for it on fourth down at his own 41 early in the game and then late in the game, down a score, a punted on fourth and one from the Chargers’ 41. Make sense out of that. Make sense out of any of his 4th down decisions. I dare you.

And all this is to say nothing of the utter lack of discipline on this team that has had them in a steady, slow motion implosion the past three weeks. It’s one thing to shoot yourself in the foot. It’s another to have the wind taken out of your sails from a lack of aggressiveness in those times when aggressiveness is called for.

Raiders hit franchise futility record, lose to Rams 20-15

It may be time to stop labeling these Raiders losses as collapses.

It may be time to stop labeling these Raiders losses as collapses. Because that would suggest they had things together and lost it. But Sunday they were still in the third quarter when they had already turned the ball over three times with the Rams scoring touchdowns off of each one.

With five minutes left in the second quarter, the Raiders held a 3-0 lead. Aidan O’Connell had left with an injured thumb and it was Gardner Minshew who led them to their first score.

It was Minshew’s third drive when he threw for Brock Bowers over the middle and it was picked off at the Vegas 47. Four plays later, the Rams were in the end zone to go up 7-3.

Next drive last five plays. Minshew was sacked as he was looking to throw, fumbled the ball and it was returned by Kam Curl for a touchdown to make it a 14-3 game.

So, in a matter of four minutes time, the game went from 3-0 Raiders to 14-3 Rams.

The Raiders managed to add a field goal to make it a 14-6 game at the half. But the third quarter, we were back to the norm. From a three-and-out, to a three-play possession in which Minshew threw behind DJ Turner and was intercepted.

They set up at the Vegas 31 after the interception and drove for another touchdown. The point after was missed so the score was 20-6.

For just the second time in the game, the Raiders mounted a drive for a score, adding a field goal to make it a 20-9 game.

The Raiders got one back late in the third quarter when Robert Spillane got a hand on a ball and Nate Hobbs picked it off and returned it to the LA 14-yard line. They added a field goal to make it a 20-12 game. In other words, a one score game.

On the ensuing drive, Matt Stafford found Tyler Johnson for a 37-yard catch and run to put the Rams in scoring position, but the Raiders defense held up and kicker Josh Karty missed the 35-yard attempt. That plus his missed PAT is the only reason this game was still at one score.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Raiders mounted a long drive. Routinely finding Brock Bowers for receptions and getting good yards up the gut from Alexander Mattison.

A Tre Tucker end around put them in first and goal at the four-yard-line. They would get no closer. A ditched pass, near interception, and no gain on a pass to Brock Bowers brought up fourth and goal. They were ready to go for it, but DJ Glaze was flagged for a false start and they opted for a field goal instead to make it a 20-15 game with 2:46 left and all of their timeouts.

A 14-yard run by Kyren Williams on the Rams next possession would take the Rams to the 44 and the clock to the two-minute warning.

From there the Rams would get nine yards on three plays, but stayed in bounds, causing the Raiders to take all three of their timeouts.

Off the punt, the Raiders got the ball back at their own 11-yard-line with 1:39 left. They would need to go 89 yards to win it.

They would get zero.

Two passes for Tre Tucker were knocked down and then Gardner Minshew overthrew DJ Turner and was intercepted for the fourth time.

That was the fourth turnover for the Raiders in the game. With the Hobbs interception, that brings their turnover differential to -13 which ties a franchise record. The worst kind.

They have also turned the ball over at least three times in three straight games and for the fourth time this season.

The Raiders fall to 2-5 on the season. The Rams improve to 2-4.

Raiders Week 7 inactives: WR Jakobi Meyers not playing vs Rams

Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers was Doubtful coming into the game against the Rams and is officially inactive.

The Raiders will once again be working with a skeleton crew at wide receiver. Jakobi Meyers was Doubtful coming into the game and is officially inactive.

Tre Tucker will get the start at one outside spot with DJ Turner getting the start in the slot and a rotation on the other side including recent practice squad signing Alex Bachman and practice squad elevation Kristian Wilkerson.

Last week in the loss to the Steelers, the wide receivers didn’t get a target until the final seconds of the first half. Tucker in particular got just two targets with no touches.

Dylan Laube is back among the inactives due to the return of Zamir White to the lineup.  Laube had one carry in his debut last week and fumbled the ball away.

Janarius Robinson is inactive due to the emergence of Charles Snowden and the addition of K’Lavon Chaisson.

Dylan Parham is inactive due to injury. He will be replaced at right guard by Jordan Meredith.

Raiders vs Rams injury report: Dylan Parham OUT, Adam Butler Questionable Week 7

All the latest updates and news on Raiders injury report ahead of a Week 7 game vs. the Rams.

For the second time this season, the Raiders head to Los Angeles to play a game. This time it’s against the Rams. And this time, the Raiders will be without several of the players they had on the field when they visited the Chargers in the season opener.

Several starters are either on injured reserve or simply not on the team anymore. For instance, DT Christian Wilkins and S Marcus Epps are on IR. And Davante Adams was traded to the Jets this week.

Several other starters are on the injury report and their status is in doubt.

One player whose status is not in doubt is Dylan Parham. The starting guard is OUT for the game with a foot injury He will be replaced in the lineup by Jordan Meredith.

The most concerning potential loss is that of Jakobi Meyers who missed all week of practices and is officially Doubtful for the. The Raiders were without him last week and tried replacing him by committee while Tre Tucker started on the other side.

Joining the injury report on Friday was Adam Butler. He missed practice with a knee injury and illness and is officially Questionable for the game.

Other Raiders players who are OUT include linebackers Kana’i Mauga (knee) and Tommy Eichenberg (quad).

Raiders, Rams Week 7 injury update: 2 key starters return to practice

Raiders, Rams Week 7 injury update: 2 key starters return to practice

A couple Raiders starters returned to practice Thursday for the Raiders. But four starters were still missing.

The two starters who returned were LT Kolton Miller and CB Jack Jones. The four still missing are DE Maxx Crosby (ankle), WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle), G Dylan Parham (foot), and DT John Jenkins (illness).

The ones to worry about are WR Jakobi Meyers and G Dylan Parham.

Meyers missed last Sunday’s game and the Raiders couldn’t get the ball to the wide receivers who were healthy for the game. And with Davante Adams now with the Jets, the Raiders were without both their outside starters to begin the season.

Parham left midway through the game on Sunday and was replaced by Jordan Meredith.