Tag: Oakland Raiders

WATCH: Quandre Diggs gets first interception with Seahawks

Watch as Seattle Seahawks defensive back Quandre Diggs gets his first interception with his new team

A few weeks ago, former Texas Longhorn defensive back Quandre Diggs was traded from the Detroit Lions to the Seattle Seahawks. Last night, Diggs saw his first action with Seattle in a clash between the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers went into this Monday Night Football matchup as the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL. The Seahawks were able to stun the 49ers in San Francisco, winning in overtime by a score of 27-24.

About midway through the 3rd quarter, Diggs was able to intercept 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with the score being 10-7 in favor of San Francisco. This interception led to a Seahawks touchdown, giving them the lead.

On the night, Diggs was able to tally two tackles, one of which was solo, a pass defense, and this interception.

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Raiders mid-season awards: Best rookies through Week 10

Raiders mid-season awards: Best rookies through Week 10

Technically last week was the actual midseason mark for the Raiders, but it was a short week, so there just wasn’t time to put together any awards, so we’re doing it after nine games instead. Starting with the rookies of the midseason.

Offensive Rookie of the Midseason: RB Josh Jacobs

This one was a no-brainer. He is not just the best rookie on the Raiders, but the best in the NFL. He is currently fifth in the NFL, averaging 90.1 yards per game for a total of 811 yards rushing. He is also sixth in the league with 7 rushing touchdowns. Those are rankings among all running backs, not just rookies.

Jacobs consistently gets something out of nothing, rarely getting stopped for no gain or a loss. He is a patient runner who shows excellent burst through the hole, and strength at the point of attack to drive through defenders. He’s rushed for over 120 yards in three of his last five games.

Defensive Rookie of the Midseason: DE Maxx Crosby

‘Mad’ Maxx has been a terror off the edge for the Raiders. He is currently tied with Benson Mayowa for the team lead with 7 QB hits. He has 2.5 sacks along with 5 tackles for loss, 3 pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

Last week against the Chargers, he had just a half-sack but made Philip Rivers’s life miserable all game long. Crosby was showing his hair-on-fire play from the jump but only seems to be getting better. Quite the get in the fourth round.

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Raiders double-digit favorites over visiting Bengals in Week 11

Raiders double-digit favorites over visiting Bengals in Week 11

There was a stretch this season in which the Raiders weren’t favored for any games. Basically, it started in week two against the Chiefs and went through their 5-game road stint to Minnesota, Indianapolis, London (Bears), Green Bay, and Houston. They would win two of those five and currently sit at 5-4 on the season.

Coming off two-straight wins against the Lions and Chargers, the Raiders are now 3-1 at home and are getting some respect from oddsmakers. They welcome the winless (0-9) Bengals to town on Sunday, and the line is the largest of the week at between -10 and -10.5, depending on the site.

The five teams the Raiders have beaten this season have a combined record of 19-26-1, and none of the teams to whom they lost currently has a losing record. Far from it, actually. They have a combined record of 27-12 record.

So, they’ve handled their business against ‘beatable’ teams. Teams don’t get more beatable than the 0-8 Bengals whose defense ranks dead last in the NFL and in the bottom five on offense. They’ve scored over 20 points just once this season and have surrendered at least 21 points in every game.

Meanwhile, the Raiders have scored at least 24 points each of the past six games, but have allowed at least 21 points in all but the opener against the Broncos.

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Former Raiders DT Justin Ellis signs on with Ravens

Former Raiders DT Justin Ellis signs on with Ravens

‘Jelly’ has found a home. Former Raiders starting defensive tackle Justin Ellis has signed with the Baltimore Ravens, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

When the Raiders made their final roster cuts on August 31, Ellis was placed on injured reserve. He was dealing with a knee injury at the time. He remained on the Raiders’ injured reserve until October 8, when he was released with an injury settlement.

The former fourth-round pick signed a new long term contract with the Raiders in the 2018 offseason. It was one of Jon Gruden’s first moves as head coach. And he hasn’t been able to stay healthy since. Ellis would start the 2018 season on injured reserve, not returning until Week 12. He played in the final six games.

With several decent options to be part of the Raiders’ DT rotation, they moved on from the big nose tackle.

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Raiders move up to No. 12 in Touchdown Wire power rankings

Raiders move up to No. 12 in Touchdown Wire Power Rankings

The Oakland Raiders got a big win in Week 10, defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in the final night game at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. That win moved the Raiders to 5-4, and they are now just one game back in the division.

With that win, the Raiders are starting to get more national attention, as well. In Doug Farrar’s latest power rankings at Touchdown Wire, the Raiders have moved all the way up to No. 12, just ahead of the Dallas Cowboys.

Considering the expectations heading into the season, the Raiders and their fans have to be thrilled with how the season is going. Here is what Farrar had to say about the Raiders this season:

Against the Chargers last Thursday, it was time for Oakland’s rookie pass-rushers to show up. This they did, as Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby combined for three sacks and 10 total pressures. Rookie running back Josh Jacobs also scored the game-deciding touchdown in a 26-24 win that put the Raiders over .500 — that was the Raiders’ league-leading 13th touchdown by a rookie in 2019. Oakland’s personnel staff, led by general manager Mike Mayock, has put together the NFL’s most impressive rookie class this season. There’s simply no way Jon Gruden’s team would be in playoff contention had Mayock and his people not done such an incredible job up and down their draft board.

With an incredibly easy schedule coming up over the next few weeks, the Raiders could significantly move up lists like this and inside the top 10. The Raiders have a real chance to make some noise this season and into the playoffs.

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Rookie RB Josh Jacobs is PFF’s highest-graded Raider

Rookie RB Josh Jacobs is PFF’s highest-graded Raider

Every week, Josh Jacobs is doing more and more to help the Raiders win. Whether it’s making plays in the passing game by blocking or catching, or dominating on the ground, Oakland is able to rely on their stud rookie to carry their offense.

While the production numbers speak for themselves, Jacobs is starting to earn some more national attention now that we are more than halfway through the 2019 season. According to Pro Football Focus, Jacobs is the team’s highest-graded player and is the No. 1 ranked running back in the entire NFL. Take a look at what the site has to say about the former Alabama star:

 A first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Jacobs has lived up to the hype to start the season. He leads all NFL backs with 200 or more offensive snaps played in overall grade (90.4) and rushing grade (90.5) so far this season. He still needs more targets in the passing game, but he’s been nothing but dominant on the ground. He leads all NFL backs with 100 or more carries in forced missed tackles per attempt (0.27) and ranks fifth in yards after contact per attempt (3.6).

Through nine weeks, it’s relatively clear that Jacobs is the front runner for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award as he is going to set numerous franchise records for the Silver and Black. If Jacobs can continue to play at this level, look for the Raiders to make a run to the playoffs behind their workhorse back.

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NFL Week 10: 26 elite performances

Lamar Jackson was a human highlight reel to top the elite in Week 10 of the NFL season.

Lamar Jackson continues to stun, Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley failed to deliver and the Seahawks edged the Niners to complete Week 10.

Arizona Cardinals

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Christian Kirk had a huge game in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was going to take time for Kyler Murray and the young Cardinals’ receiving corps — exempting Larry Fitzgerald — to gel. Murray and Kirk were on the same page Sunday as they connected six times for 138 yards and three TDs. Kirk outdid his fellow Texas A&M WR, Mike Evans, on the other side as the Bucs’ star WR had four grabs for 82 yards in the win.

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AFC playoff picture: Jaguars exit Week 10 with No. 10 seed

The Jags came out of their bye week in the hunt for the wild-card, but their loss to the Texans really hurt.

Although we’re over a week removed from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ loss to the Houston Texans, fans still are well aware of how costly it was. At the time, the victory would’ve put the Jags in second place in the AFC South with a 5-4 record and right in the heat of the battle for a wildcard seed when considering Week 10’s games. Instead, they will have to settle for the No. 10 seed with a 4-5 record.

As for the rest of the AFC, the standings for this week are as follows:

1. New England Patriots (8-1)
2. Baltimore Ravens (7-2)
3. Houston Texans (6-3)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)
5. Buffalo Bills (6-3)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)

7. Oakland Raiders (5-4)
8. Indianapolis Colts (5-4)
9. Tennessee Titans (5-5)
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-5)

Obviously, a wild-card spot is what the Jags will have to settle for because they have a lot of ground to make up to catch the AFC South leading Texans, who are 6-3 and have two victories over them. That said, they definitely need to win Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, who ironically are ahead of them in the playoff race and are in the same division. A win would put the Jags in second in the division with a 5-5 record and would help them leapfrog the Titans (due to Jacksonville’s Week 3 win), who also have a 5-5 record.

The key game to watch aside from the Jags’ during Week 11 will take place on Thursday night between the sixth seeded Pittsburgh Steelers and their divisional foes: the Cleveland Browns. The team’s typically play each other tough and a loss would knock the Steelers down to 5-5. Meanwhile, the fifth seed Buffalo Bills will take on the Miami Dolphins, while the seventh seed Oakland Raiders will take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Lastly, the ninth seeded Titans will be on their bye week.

Jon Gruden lays out Raiders top nickel option(s) should Lamarcus Joyner be unable to go

Jon Gruden lays out Raiders top nickel option(s) should Lamarcus Joyner be unable to go

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Following the Raiders’ Thursday night win over the Chargers, Jon Gruden was initially most concerned about the apparent hamstring injury suffered by nickel cornerback Lamarcus Joyner. He pulled up without contact on the Chargers’ final possession. Those non-contact injuries are often the worst ones.

As it turned out, it was fellow defensive back Karl Joseph who had the more severe injury, and he was placed on the injured reserve list two days later.

While Joyner’s hamstring injury is not season-ending, he may still miss some time. The Raiders signed free agent DJ Swearinger to try and fill the void left by the loss of Joseph, but at cornerback, they recently traded away one of their starters, leaving them with some serious depth issues now that Joyner is a question mark.

So, who replaces Joyner at the nickel cornerback spot? Well, that depends…

“Nevin Lawson is a guy that can play inside,” said Gruden. “Worley can play inside. Isaiah Johnson can play outside, so we have some options. But we’ll see where Lamarcus is here in the next couple days.”

Lawson is the first option. Worley had been tried out at safety and nickel earlier in the season as the Raiders explored their best five options for the secondary. Moving to safety may have been an option had Joyner not been injured, but now Worley is desperately needed at the cornerback spot.

Whether Worley could be tried at the nickel spot is dependent upon where rookie Isaiah Johnson is in his development. Johnson was activated from the injured reserve list just last week and plays exclusively outside.

“We’ll see where Isaiah is with a full week of practice. Remember last week was his first full week active, and we didn’t even have a full-speed practice before the Charger game. So this will be really the first time we get a chance to see him on the practice field for a full week.”

Experience is undoubtedly a concern with Johnson, while Lawson is a veteran cornerback with 54 NFL starts in 66 appearances under his belt. So, it would seem there is a very good chance the cornerback trio will be Worley and Trayvon Mullen on the outside, Lawson in the slot, and Johnson and Keisean Nixon off the bench.

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Raiders tried to claim DJ Swearinger last year, now need him to ‘put it all together’ quickly

Raiders tried to claim DJ Swearinger last year, now need him to ‘put it all together’ quickly

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Safety was a bit of a question mark for the Raiders late last season. So, when Washington waived DJ Swearinger on Christmas Eve, Jon Gruden hopes his brother had sent him a Christmas gift. Jon put in a claim for the former second-round pick. But it was the Arizona Cardinals who swooped in like a game of White Elephant and claimed Swearinger instead.

Swearinger started at safety for the first four games for the Cardinals. That’s when the Cardinals thought 5th round supplemental draft pick Jalen Thompson was ready to take over, so they cut Swearinger loose.

For five weeks, Swearinger was unemployed, waiting for an NFL team in need of his services. Last Thursday, his opportunity knocked when, on the last play of the game, Karl Joseph suffered an ankle injury and was lost for the season.

The former top pick safety is the second starting safety the Raiders have lost this season after first-round rookie Johnathan Abram was lost in the opener.

Joseph had played nearly every single snap at safety and made the game-sealing play of the game the past two weeks. So, losing him is significant. After him and fellow starter Erik Harris, there’s just Curtis Riley and Dallin Leavitt, who play almost exclusively on special teams.

Swearinger has started 70 games in 90 appearances in seven NFL seasons, but he has switched teams six times in that span. There’s a reason why a safety as once highly touted as Swearinger has been unable to stick with a team for long. Some have suggested it is his character that is most concerning. The Raiders don’t have the luxury of worrying about personality issues. They need what he can bring on the field. And they need it now.

“He’s got to put it all together,” said Gruden. “That’s what he needs to do. He’s got to start that process today. We need the very best of Swearinger.”

Despite some solid stints over 31 starts in Washington, Swearinger was waived just before the season finale. In his four starts in Arizona this season, the Cardinals weren’t getting the “very best” of Swearinger, and that was ultimately why he was let go this time.

Last season, Swearinger would have been a claim for the future. Now, in the thick of the playoff chase, he will be looked to bolster their lineup for the stretch run.

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