Tag: Luke Masterson

4 Vikings offensive keys in Week 14 vs. Raiders

The Vikings offense is struggling and they will need to perform well to beat the Raiders on Sunday

After having a bye week to lick their wounds from the two previous defeats, the Minnesota Vikings are back in action, this time on the road. Minnesota takes on the Las Vegas Raiders in Allegiant Stadium at 3:05 p.m. CST.

The Vikings offense struggled mightily in their two losses just before the bye week. In weeks 11 and 12, the Vikings’ offense was tied for 29th in EPA/play with the Cleveland Browns and in front of only the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets.

Since cutting bait with Josh McDaniels and that regime, the Raiders’ defense has come alive.

Minnesota is still firmly in the playoff picture as they currently hold the second wild-card spot and the sixth seed in the playoffs. But those two losses to the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears may loom large as these were chances to distance themselves from the pack.

Instead, they are fighting off three teams with the same 6-6 record as they hold, including the Green Bay Packers, for a shot at the playoffs. Every game matters and the Vikings need to capitalize on each game.

If the Vikings want to get back to their winning ways against the Raiders, the offense has to look a lot better than it did before the bye. To do that, they will need to follow these four keys to victory.

Raiders vs Giants final injury report: LB Divine Deablo, FB Jakob Johnson both OUT

LB Divine Deablo and LB Luke Masterson OUT. LB Robert Spillane Questionable. Yikes.

The final injury report is out and so too are several Raiders players. Among them is linebacker Divine Deablo (ankle), LB Luke Masterson (concussion), fullback Jakob Johnson (concussion), and tackle Thayer Munford (neck).

As if it the linebacker corps wasn’t already thin, Robert Spillane is officially Questionable with an injured hand.

Last Sunday the Raiders found themselves down to Amari Burney and Curtis Bolton at linebacker. They signed Jaylon Smith this week off the Saints practice squad. It may be too much to ask him to be ready in a matter of days, so they will certainly be hoping at very least Spillane can go.

The Giants will be without former Raiders TE Darren Waller who suffered a hamstring injury last week, making his return to Las Vegas not as he had hoped.

Also OUT for the Giants is QB Tyrod Taylor and K Graham Gano.

Questionable are OL Evan Neal (ankle), OL Andrew Thomas (hamstring), and RB Jashaun Corbin (hamstring).

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 1 win over Broncos

Raiders Ballers & Busters for their win in Denver

Nothing like opening the season with a win. It wasn’t always pretty — and the Raiders are well aware of that — but it ended with the Raiders pulling out a 17-16 victory in Denver. And that’s what matters most the W.

However, along the way, there were those who made things more difficult and those who kept the Raiders afloat and ultimately played hero.

This is their stories (bong, bong)

Ballers

QB Jimmy Garoppolo

The opening drive was as smooth as it gets. So smooth, in fact, it was hard to believe Jimmy G was taking his first snaps with a new team in an offense he last played in seven years ago. He converted a 4th and one, dropping one in to Davante Adams for 13 yards, scrambled for eight yards on third and seven, and put a bow on it with a touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers in third and goal at the three.

His next pass wouldn’t come until the second quarter and he picked right up where he left off, completing consecutive passes to Meyers for 21 yards and 13 yards. That drive would end with Meyers unable to hold onto a pass Jimmy actually fit between defenders in the back of the end zone. They settled for a field goal and a 10-6 lead.

After that, the Raiders offense went more than two quarters of play without a score. They would get into goal-to-go in the third quarter, but Garoppolo got greedy and ended up throwing a pass into coverage in the end zone that was tipped and intercepted.

This allowed the Broncos to come back and take a 16-10 lead. But late in the fourth quarter, Jimmy G dusted himself off and drove the Raiders for the go-ahead touchdown He completed passes to Davante for 18 yards, Jakobi for 16 yards and Austin Hooper for 20 yards. Then in second and goal from the six, he nailed Jakobi on a slant at the goal line for the score.

The final act was the Raiders getting the ball with five minutes left and draining the clock down. And on third and seven, needing a first down to seal it, Garoppolo scrambled for eight yards to come away with the win.

DE Maxx Crosby

Crosby was terrorizing Mike McGlinchey and, by extension Russell Wilson, he had Wilson seeing ghosts. Sometimes he was seeing a very much alive Madd Maxx coming for him.

In the second quarter, with the Raiders holding a 10-6 lead, the Broncos drove into field goal range. Then on three consecutive plays, Crosby ended that and then some.

First he was held and still managed to get the tackle for loss (they accepted the penalty). The next play he sacked Russell Wilson. The play after that, he got pressure that forded Wilson to get rid of the ball quickly to his outlet and it resulted in a tackle for loss on a screen. Those plays put the Broncos in third and 34 (!!!) and well out of field goal range.

The Broncos would end up scoring a touchdown just before half time to take a 13-10 lead. Then they would get the ball again to start the third quarter. They would drive into Raiders territory and in first down, Crosby would make the run stuff. Two plays later, they would attempt a 55-yard field goal and miss it wide right.

The Raiders would retake the lead 17-16 late in the fourth, but it was up to the defense to hold onto it. They did that with a three-and-out and, of course, one of those plays Crosby got pressure to force an incompletion.

CB Nate Hobbs

It seems some people forgot how good Nate Hobbs is due to his having played through injuries and being moved all over the secondary last season. He did a fine job of reminding everyone Sunday in Denver.

He led the Raiders in combined tackles (12), solo tackles (8), and tackles for loss (2). Now, leading a team in tackles isn’t always a good thing, especially for a defensive back. Because often it also means giving up a lot of catches. That was not the case with Hobbs.

The nickel corner had three tackles on the Broncos’ opening drive. One on a six-yard catch, one for a loss on a screen pass, and one a run stuff for no gain.

The first Broncos drive of the third quarter, Hobbs got pressure on a blitz to force an incompletion, and then made the tackle on a short catch to bring up fourth down and the Broncos missed the 55-yard field goal attempt.

He would make two more tackles in the game, both on runs for minimal yardage, the second was for a loss to start the Broncos’ final drive which ended in a three-and-out.

Y’all remember now?

WR Jakobi Meyers

While Patrick Surtain II was trying his best to keep Davante Adams under wraps, Jimmy G was having a field day with Jakobi.

Meyers caught both of the Raiders’ touchdowns in the game. He also caught the first two passes of their drive for a field goal for 21 and 13 yards respectively. If he would have made the catch in traffic in the back of the end zone, that might’ve been three touchdown catches for him.

Ultimately he finished with nine catches on ten targets for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

LB Divine Deablo

Second on the team with 9 combined tackles was Deablo. And if not for a couple penalties, his day would have been even better.

The first penalty came when he made a fantastic read on a pass in the flat, but seemed to inadvertently (and unnecessarily) grab the face mask on the tackle. It wiped out what would have been a big tackle for loss and turned it into an automatic first down.

Deablo quickly made up for the penalty, however. Two plays later, he *did* make a tackle for loss on a screen pass. Then on third and 34, he made the stop to force the punt.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Broncos would drive into goal-to-go. On second and goal from the five, Russell Wilson threw for the end zone and Deablo swatted down his pass at point blank range. They would settle for a field goal, allowing the Raiders a chance to make the come back.

After the Raiders came back to go ahead 17-16, the first play featured Hobbs and Deablo getting in the backfield to make the tackle for loss.

WR Davante Adams

Surtain gave it his best shot, but he wasn’t keeping Davante down. In fact, as if to prove a point, the first two passes of the game went to Davante and he caught both of them for eight yards and 13 yards — the latter on fourth and one.

The long drive in the third that ended with an interception in the end zone, saw Adams catch two 12-yard passes and force a pass interference on Surtain that put the Raiders in first and goal at the four-yard-line. One of the three shots Jimmy G took at the end zone went for Adams, but he was covered and the ball was knocked down. So, ultimately Surtain would win that round.

The go-ahead touchdown drive, on the other hand, got going with Davante breaking wide open for an 18-yard catch. It was Adams’s final catch of the day, giving him six catches for 66 yards and a happy ending to his first outing with a new Raiders QB throwing him passes.

Honorable Mention

CB Jakorian Bennett — It was perfect for the rookie. He had a couple of pass interference calls at bad times. But ultimately he held up well considering he played every snap in his first NFL game. And displayed some solid tackling abilities too.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 17 vs 49ers

Plenty of Ballers in this game, but more Busters led to another late collapse.

It was the first game of the post-Derek Carr era in Las Vegas. And not only did the offense not skip a beat, it looked better than it had all season long. Meanwhile the banged up defense look as bad as it had at any point this season.

Thus how the two teams went into overtime tied at 34 and the Raiders ultimately lost 37-34.

Ballers

QB Jarrett Stidham, WR Davante Adams

Stidham was perfect to start this game, driving the Raiders down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive while going three-for-three for 58 yards and a 24-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller.

The second drive, Stidham got Adams involved. His first pass went to Adams who broke wide open for a 27-yard gain. A few plays later, Adams forced a pass interference to give the Raiders a first and goal at the five-yard-line. They would get to the one and settle for a field goal to go up 10-7.

Just before the half was up, the two had their first gorgeous connection. Stidham put it up along the left side of the end zone for Adams who caught it over a defender and tapped his toes for the touchdown to give the Raiders a 17-14 lead at the half.

A couple minutes into the third quarter, they connected again. Again it was for a touchdown. This time Stidham rolled out left and kept his eyes downfield with defenders closing in. All the while Adams was working to break open. Just as Stidham reached the left sideline and was about to get nailed, Adams got behind the defense and Stidham threw it to him for a 60-yard touchdown. Adams later said Stidham congratulated him on the sideline with blood in his teeth. Instant respect.

The 24-14 lead would disappear in the fourth quarter and become a 27-24 deficit. Then a 34-27 deficit with two minutes left. Then Stidham went back to work, first finding Mack Hollins for 21 yards, then throwing one up for Adams who made a spectacular adjustment and diving catch for 45 yards. A couple plays later, the Raiders tied it up at 34.

In the overtime period, Stidham dropped back and was hit as he threw, causing the ball to flutter and was picked off and returned to put the 49ers in position for the game-winner.

Stidham finished with 365 yards and three touchdowns. That’s the most passing yards by a Raiders quarterback since week 11 of the 2021 season. And matches Derek Carr’s highest TD total of any game in the past four years.

Adams had seven catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns. His second best game of the season.

CB Tyler Hall

The Top Baller from last week in Pittsburgh, Hall is showing up with some big time plays of late. He had two pass breakups in the fourth quarter that helped end drives. The first was on a deep ball near the goal line. The second was at the goal line on a pass that wasn’t even to his man. He just read Purdy’s eyes and came off his man to knock down a would-be touchdown pass to George Kittle. Hall also didn’t give up a catch on 26 snaps.

TE Foster Moreau, TE Darren Waller

Moreau rebounded from a rough game in Pittsburgh to be a reliable target and blocker in this one. Waller looked to be back to his old self as well.

The first play of the game went to Moreau on a swing pass that went for 20 yards. The final play of that drive, Stidham again rolled right, this time dropping one in for Waller who had gotten behind the defense for the touchdown.

Waller’s stat line was interesting. He had three catches for 72 yards. That’s an average of 24 yards per catch. But in actually, his three catches all literally went for exactly 24 yards each.

Moreau’s second catch came in the fourth quarter. Stidham threw for him with the defender’s back turned and Moreau reached over the defender’s back and pulled the pass in for 21 yards. Two plays later, he caught one over the middle for 14 yards to set up a long field goal to tie the game at 27-27.

The 49ers answered with a touchdown to go up 34-27. Then it was Waller getting open in the end zone to force a pass interference that put them in first and goal at the one and another game-tying score.

K Daniel Carlson

Without Carlson’s big leg, this game doesn’t get to overtime. He came in and split the uprights on a 57-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. What a weapon he is.

Honorable Mention

CB Amik Robertson — Climbing the ladder to take a ball away from George Kittle is no small thing. That’s what Robertson did to give the Raiders their only takeaway of the game.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 15 vs Patriots

The good and the bad for the Raiders from a crazy rollercoaster of a game vs the Patriots

You rarely see a team shoot themselves in the foot and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as much as the Patriots did in Las Vegas on Sunday. And even with all the self-mutilation they did in this game, they still managed to make a comeback from 14 points down to lead the Raiders 24-17 with under two minutes left in the game.

That blowing double-digit leads thing is the Raiders’ MO this season. And it was only because of the final utterly inexplicably boneheaded decision to try a double lateral at the end of the game that the Raiders were able to win this one in regulation.

Ballers

DE Chandler Jones

Jones was the recipient of the ‘Right place at the right time’ award on that final play. He had missed the initial tackle on Rhamondre Stevenson that led to a big run which, for a moment, looked like he could go the distance. Everyone expected that last play to be stopped and the two teams to go to OT. But Stevenson lateraled it to Jacoby Meyers at the last instant.

That lateral wasn’t the big mistake. That came when Meyers decided to try and lateral it AGAIN, this time attempting to throw it way back to the entirely not athletic Mac Jones. Well, the lateral was complete to Jones, all right. It was just the wrong Jones. Then Chandler planted Mac with a stiff arm and took it back for the game-winning touchdown. Never seen anything like it.

Jones also had a pressure resulting in an incompletion two plays before that and made a run stop at the line on the previous possession leading to a crucial three-and-out. Earlier in the quarter, he hit Mac Jones from behind on third down to force the Pats to settle for a long field goal. All in all, a strong finish for Chandler.

CB Tyler Hall

He played 43 snaps (66%) and the only catch he gave up, he stopped in its tracks for four yards. He also had a big pass breakup on a deep pass to stop the Patriots’ first drive of the third quarter.

DE Malcolm Koonce

It’s not the number of snaps you have, but rather what you do with them. With 27 seconds left in the second quarter, Koonce came in on the punt team and streaked in to block the punt and give the Raiders the ball at the New England 20-yard-line. What looked like two teams that were headed for the locker room with the Raiders leading 10-3, would end up a scoring opportunity on which the Raiders were able to capitalize.

QB Derek Carr, WR Mack Hollins

The first touchdown drive for the Raiders came early in the second quarter. On the drive, Carr completed a 19-yard pass to Keelan Cole on third and nine and finished off the drive with a perfect pass over the middle for a 25-yard connection with Darren Waller.

After the punt block, Hollins made the first catch for 11 yards. He then drew an illegal contact penalty on the next play. Then in first and goal from the five-yard-line, Carr put the ball into a tight window, at Hollins’s knee level and he made the grab for the touchdown to give the Raiders a 17-3 lead at the half.

A Carr pick-six saw the Raiders lead cut to 17-10. Then they were unable to get back on track on the next drive. But Hollins would do his part to tilt the field. AJ Cole launched a 47-yard punt to the goal line where Hollins was waiting to down it at the two-yard line.

Ultimately the Raiders’ lead would disappear, giving way to a 24-17 Patriots lead with under three minutes remaining.

Carr would look to Hollins again. The first pass was overthrown and the Raiders went three-and-out. However, had Darren Waller not been in the wrong area and tried to catch the pass intended for Adams, that looked like it would have been a long touchdown catch and run.

Carr and Hollins got another shot with two minutes left in the game. Carr overthrew Hollins again on third down. But, the next play, on their last possible chance, Carr hit Hollins on a comeback route for 12 yards. They thought the play was so nice, they did it twice to the same result.

A few plays later, Carr found Keelan Cole for a 30-yard touchdown. It didn’t look like Cole actually got both feel inbounds, but Carr’s pass was where it needed to be and the officials saw no definitive evidence to overturn it so the score was tied at 24-24.

Honorable Mention

RB Josh Jacobs — He had ten touches for 61 yards on the Raiders’ first two scoring drives and finished with 93 yards on 22 carries (4.2 yards per carry).
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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).

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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.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 10 vs Colts

As Week 11 approaches, we look back at the Ballers & Busters for the Week 10 debacle vs the Colts

Many of you have probably already moved on from the Raiders loss to the Colts last Sunday. Normally Ballers & Busters comes out early in the week, but coming down with a vicious cold on Monday put a kink in that for me, so here we are the day before their next game.

Better late than never, right? For posterity?

The way the Raiders got their two wins this season were by putting together a full four quarters. In most of their six losses, they were shut down for a full half of football. Whether that was a slow start or a late collapse. This one was a bit of both.

In the end they were still shut down for a half of football. It was simply split up between the first and fourth quarters. Hence, the slow start AND a late collapse. They were decent in between, but that won’t get it done.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

As is often the case, Crosby was the best player on the field in Silver & Black. He had a run stop for no gain on the Colts’ final drive of the first quarter to hold it to a field goal.

Then he ended the Colts’ first drive of the third quarter by sacking Matt Ryan on third and one. The 14-yard loss resulted in a 48-yard field goal attempt that missed off the right upright. The play energized the offense and they drove for a touchdown and their first lead of the game at 14-13.

The Colts’ first drive of the fourth quarter was a three-and-out with Crosby making the run stop on third and nine. Once again, the offense responded with a go-ahead score. Even though in both instances, their lead didn’t last long.

P AJ Cole

Cole was launching rocket shots all game long. His punts traveled 50, 67, 61, 54, and 62 yards for an average of 58.8 yards per punt. Only one of his punts was returned past the 20-yard-line.

TE Foster Moreau

The first touchdown of the day for the Raiders was Moreau making a diving grab with a defender draped all over him. But it was also Moreau who got the Raiders in scoring range in the first place. He made the longest catch of the game for the Raiders at that point, taking a short pass for 21 yards. Then with the Raiders at the Indianapolis 36, he laid the key block to spring Josh Jacobs on a 22-yard run.

In the third quarter, the Raiders went on their second TD drive with Moreau perhaps making the key play on the drive. On second and 20, Moreau caught an 18-yard pass. They converted the third and two and scored the TD two plays later.

It’s a shame his day ended with a ball hitting both his hands in the end zone on what would’ve been the game-winning touchdown. But the moment the ball got there, it was swatted out by LB Bobby Okereke.

RB Ameer Abullah

Abdullah would’ve had an even bigger day than his four catches for 33 yards had Derek Carr not missed him wide-open over the middle late in the first quarter leading to a three-and-out.

As it stood, Abdullah had several third-down catches, converting on two, and putting them in 4th and one on the other which they converted.

He also returned a kickoff to the 38-yard-line.

WR Davante Adams

Finished with nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. Much of his yards came on his touchdown from 48 yards out.

Probably his most impressive catch came on the Raiders’ final drive. On third and eight, he took the pass in the right flat, broke a tackle, and dragged defenders for several yards to pick up the first down. Later in the drive, he made a catch, broke a tackle, and took it for 16 yards to the 19-yard-line.

Honorable Mention

CB Sam Webb – Kept most catches in front of him. Finished with a team-leading two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

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Raiders snap counts vs Colts: LB Jayon Brown goes from inactive for a month to playing every snap

You know it’s bad when Jayon Brown goes from inactive for a month to playing every snap

You know it’s bad at linebacker when the guy who was relegated to inactive every week for the past month ends up starting and playing every snap.

That’s what happened with the Raiders Sunday with Jayon Brown. The veteran linebacker was relegated to the inactive list for the previous four games, but due to the injuries to Divine Deablo and Denzel Perryman along with the sudden retirement of Blake Gonzalez, he was forced into service.

Along with Brown’s jump in snaps, so too did as couple of undrafted rookies. Fourth on the team in snaps was CB Sam Webb who missed just two defensive snaps in the game. LB Luke Masterson also saw his snaps go up, seeing 47 defensive snaps (72%)

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Dylan Parham G 70 100% 2 9%
Alex Bars G 70 100% 2 9%
Kolton Miller T 70 100% 2 9%
Jermaine Eluemunor G 70 100% 2 9%
Andre James C 70 100% 0 0%
Derek Carr QB 70 100% 0 0%
Mack Hollins WR 67 96% 3 13%
Foster Moreau TE 67 96% 1 4%
Davante Adams WR 65 93% 0 0%
Josh Jacobs RB 55 79% 0 0%
Keelan Cole WR 48 69% 3 13%
Jakob Johnson FB 20 29% 10 43%
Ameer Abdullah RB 15 21% 14 61%
Thayer Munford T 5 7% 2 9%
Jesper Horsted TE 4 6% 13 57%
DJ Turner WR 2 3% 6 26%
Zamir White RB 2 3% 5 22%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Jayon Brown LB 65 100% 1 4%
Rock Ya-Sin CB 65 100% 0 0%
Trevon Moehrig FS 65 100% 0 0%
Sam Webb CB 63 97% 7 30%
Maxx Crosby DE 63 97% 5 22%
Duron Harmon SS 58 89% 4 17%
Bilal Nichols DT 56 86% 5 22%
Luke Masterson LB 47 72% 13 57%
Chandler Jones DE 46 71% 0 0%
Andrew Billings DT 40 62% 0 0%
Amik Robertson CB 33 51% 0 0%
Kendal Vickers DT 29 45% 4 17%
Kyle Peko DT 28 43% 4 17%
Tashawn Bower DE 19 29% 7 30%
Sidney Jones CB 15 23% 0 0%
Anthony Averett CB 9 14% 0 0%
Darien Butler LB 7 11% 20 87%
Roderic Teamer SS 5 8% 11 48%
Malcolm Koonce DE 3 5% 1 4%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Matthias Farley FS 0 0% 21 91%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 0 0% 18 78%
Brandon Bolden RB 0 0% 17 74%
Curtis Bolton LB 0 0% 16 70%
Brittain Brown RB 0 0% 9 39%
Trent Sieg LS 0 0% 7 30%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 7 30%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 6 26%
John Simpson G 0 0% 2 9%
Lester Cotton G 0 0% 2 9%
Jacob Hollister TE 0 0% 1 4

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders preseason matchup with Patriots

Those Raiders who made a strong impression in the preseason finale, and those who did not.

The 2022 preseason for the Raiders wrapped up Friday night in Las Vegas. It was the last chance a lot of Raiders players had of making a strong impression, both on the Raiders as well as other teams that may be watching.

The goal here for many of these roster hopefuls is to make the Raiders’ decision very difficult. For others, it was to make the Raiders feel confident in keeping them.

Some achieved those goals, others did not.

Ballers

CB Sam Webb

No one stepped up bigger than Webb did. If only because he stepped out of obscurity to making his presence felt big time. The undrafted rookie out of Missouri Western was all over the place.

A possession in the first quarter began with Webb forcing an incompletion in coverage and ended two plays later with him making the tackle short of the sticks.

The next drive, he kept a short catch in front of him to make the tackle, have coverage on an incompletion on third down to force the Pats to go for it on fourth down, and had coverage on Davante Parker in the end zone, forcing him to push off for an offensive pass interference penalty. Webb also on occasion forces run-on sentences.

The next possession ended with Webb again keeping the play in front of him to make the tackle short of the sticks. He ended two more drive in the third quarter with a tackle short of the first down and a pass breakup on a deep ball attempt. He finished tied for the team lead with five solo tackles.

DE Tashawn Bower

Bower took an already impressive preseason and put an exclamation point on it. With the team in much need of pass rush depth behind Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones, Bower made a big statement that he can be that next man up.

He did it all in this game on defense. He made stops in the run game, he made a tackle outside on a receiver, and most importantly, he got pressure on the QB. To the tune of two sacks and a QB hit.

His second sack was a strip sack. And though the Raiders didn’t recover it, Bower made up for it later, when he recovered a fumble that ended the game for the Patriots. He led all defensive linemen with five combined tackles, all solo.

LB Luke Masterson

No player in this game did himself more favors than Masterson. He was simply masterful in proving his worth.

Why do I say that? Well, in part because fringe roster guys like him need to show up big time on special teams. And Masterson had two special teams tackles in this game.

It was more than his special teams play, though. He showed up as a linebacker on defense when he teamed up for a tackle for loss on the second play of the game.  Then he showed up in coverage on the next drive, picking off a pass over the middle and returning it 30 yards. The Raiders would score a touchdown off that turnover.

LB Darien Butler

The man who led the team with seven combined tackles. He teamed up with Masterson to make that tackle for loss on the second play of the game. Then he just played relatively mistake-free football the rest of the way, being where he needed to be and making the stop when it had to be made.

P AJ Cole, K Daniel Carlson

If there were any other kickers on this team right now, these two would have been parked on the sideline with the starters. But there aren’t, so they just went out and showed they are arguably the best kicker/punter duo in the league.

Cole’s first two punts traveled 64 yards and 63 yards. Then he opened the third quarter with a 62-yard punt with no return. His final punt went 35 yards and was fair caught at the 13-yard-line.

Carlson made all three of his field goals, including a 50-yarder.

Honorable Mention

WR Isaiah Zuber — He earned the nickname “two-way Zay” in this one. Because he had a nice catch on offense, and then picked off a deep pass when put in the game at safety as well.

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