Raiders player grades – Page 5

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 12 vs Cowboys

It was a happy, albeit very long, Thanksgiving for the Raiders. In a game that took nearly four hours in real-time, the Raiders would go blow-for-blow with the Cowboys and come out on top in the end with a 36-33 overtime win.

Ballers

WR DeSean Jackson

There were no questions whatsoever that the difference in this Raiders offense from their three-game losing streak was the presence of Jackson. This offense showed just how toothless it was without a deep threat since Henry Ruggs III was released.

Jackson is 12 years Ruggs’s senior, but the savvy veteran still has the speed to get open and separate from defenders. He put that on display early in this one, getting behind a defender, making the catch, and cruising 56 yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead.

Just his presence was clearly opening things up for others and the Raiders offense was resurrected. With the Raiders in scoring position already late in the second quarter, Jackson forced a pass interference in the end zone that put them in first and goal from the one and they scored on the next play to give them a 14-6 lead.

Another pass interference from Jackson’s man set the Raiders up for a field goal late in the third quarter and they took a 27-19 lead. The next two Raiders scoring drives began with Jackson catches of 16 and 29 yards respectively to give the Raiders a 33-30 lead late. It’s no coincidence the game Jackson sees his snaps basically triple, the Raiders score a season-high 36 points.

K Daniel Carlson

Five field goals — a career-high. A 56-yard field goal to give the Raiders a late lead — a career-high. Game-winner in overtime — BALLER. Turkey leg. Goodnight.

DT Johnathan Hankins

Hankins is a big man. He likes to eat. It was Thanksgiving. And he was feasting. Four different times in this game, Big Hank made the big play on the drive.

We start with the Cowboys’ third drive. On the first play, Hankins stuffs a run for two yards. That helped lead to a three-and-out. Next drive he was held on a run. Three plays late, the drive was over.

The first Dallas drive of the third quarter featured Hankins batting a ball down at the line. The drive would stall a few plays later. In the final possession of the third quarter, Hankins stuffed a run for one yard and it led to another three-and-out.

The overtime period began with the Cowboys on offense at their own seven-yard-line. On the second play, Hankins ran down a screen — yes all 340 pounds of him — to make the stop at four yards. It led to a three-and-out and a punt from their own end zone. The Raiders would then drive for the game-winner.

RB Josh Jacobs

Jacobs put up a season-high 87 yards rushing and had 112 yards from scrimmage. He also scored a touchdown from one yard out late in the second quarter to give the Raiders a 14-6 lead.

The next Raiders drive saw him break a tackle on a screen pass and go for 17 yards. He added a nine-yard run from the 20 and a three-yard run to put the Raiders in third and goal from the three, but the Raiders couldn’t get the TD and settled for a chip shot field goal.

Early in the third, Jacobs would help the Raiders get back into goal-to-go with consecutive six-yard runs. This time Mariota came in and faked the handoff to Jacobs and took it in for the touchdown and a 24-13 lead.

In the overtime period, Jacobs started the Raiders’ drive with an eight-yard catch off a swing pass, followed by an 18-yard run that put the Raiders in Dallas territory at the 49. They would go on to win it on a short field goal.

WR Hunter Renfrow, QB Derek Carr

Carr was slinging it again and Renfrow was his favorite target. So much so that the shifty slot receiver set career marks in catches (8) and yards (134). He also had career-long catches TWICE in this game.

The day started with Carr throwing a surgical pass over the defender to Desean Jackson for a 56-yard touchdown. The next two scoring drives would feature completions on third and long to Bryan Edwards (12 yards) and Zay Jones (12 yards).

Early in the third quarter, Carr connected with Renfrow for 31 yards — a new career-long catch for Renfrow. It would put the Raiders at the Dallas 44. Two plays later Carr went back to Renfrow for 14 yards. That drive would end in a touchdown.

The Cowboys would answer with a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown by Tony Pollard. Carr was inspired by Pollard’s wheels and on the ensuing drive, he broke off a season-best 22-yard run on third and 11. That drive would lead to a field goal and a 27-19 lead.

Carr found Jackson again for 16 yards to begin the next drive. Then Renfrow broke open deep and made another career-long catch of 54 yards to the Dallas 15. They would settle for a field goal and a 30-22 lead.

No doubt the Raiders and Derek Carr benefited greatly from a few pass interference penalties in this game. But even with the yards on those penalties, Carr still completed 24 passes for 373 yards and a touchdown.

S Johnathan Abram, DE Yannick Ngakoue

The Cowboys opened the game with a three-and-out with Ngakoue making the run stop on second down and Abram making the tackle on a one-yard catch on third and four.

After a Dallas scoring drive, they went three-and-out again. On third and 13, Abram had coverage on an incompletion.

With the Raiders holding a 17-6 lead late in the second quarter, Ngakoue got around Tyron Smith to put a hit on Dak Prescott to force an incompletion. Two plays later, they would attempt a 59-yard field goal and miss it, giving the Raiders good field position.

With a chance to take a lead early in the third quarter, the Raiders defense stiffened up just in time. On third and ten, Abram made the stop on a seven-yard screen to force a punt.

Later in the quarter, the Cowboys would score on a 100-yard kick return. They opted to go for two and Abram burst past his blocker to blow up the play and keep the score at 24-19. That would turn out to be a crucial stop.

Early in the fourth quarter, it appeared for a moment that Abram had given up a touchdown. But Ngakoue was held on the play and the Cowboys were marched back to third and 13 and would settle for a field goal. The next Dallas possession ended with and three-and-out and Ngakoue sacking Prescott on third and five.

Just as Abram stopped the two-point conversion attempt earlier, he surrendered one on a catch late in the fourth that tied up the game at 30-30. But you can’t fault him too much because had he not made the first stop, that would have been an extra-point attempt for the lead.

Abram would put up two tackles on the Cowboys’ final drive of regulation and the first tackle of overtime to finish with a team-leading ten combined tackles.

Ngakoue would add his team-leading eighth sack of the season and lead the team in this game with two QB hits and a tackle for loss.

P AJ Cole

Four of his five punts were stopped inside the 20. He finished with a net of 45.4 yards per punt.

LG John Simpson

He made the block to clear the way for Josh Jacobs to score untouched from one yard out. The next drive he blocked for Kenyan Drake on a four-yard run that put the Raiders in first and goal. Simpson’s biggest play came on the next drive when he recovered Derek Carr’s fumble off the strip-sack.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 11 vs Bengals

Not a lot went right for the Raiders in this one. As evidenced by their 47 offensive snaps, which is the fewest by a Raiders team in 12 years. That was caused by short, stalled offensive drives, and long, drawn-out drives by the Bengals.

The offense was completely inept all save one drive in which they drove 75 yards for a TD on three plays. The defense’s biggest problem seemed to be untimely penalties on plays that would have led to a punt but instead ended up leading to scores. Thus the 32-13 final score.

A few players stood out of the pack in an overall ugly affair.

Ballers

TE Darren Waller

Several early drives began with a long completion to Waller before stalling. Until finally, Carr managed to find him twice on a drive for 54 yards, then connected with Foster Moreau for their only touchdown of the game. Waller would finish with a season-high 116 yards on seven catches.

LB Denzel Perryman

Perryman made the first tackle of the game. Then added a pass breakup on the same drive which ended in a strip-sack by Yannick Ngakoue. Late in the third quarter, with the Raiders still within a score, Perryman had a drive in which he made a run stuff at the line, broke up a pass, and streaked into the backfield to make his second tackle for loss in the game.

That would lead to the Bengals having to settle for a field goal and kept the game close until late in the fourth.

Perryman would do what he usually does; lead the team in tackles (12) and solo tackles (9). Two of those tackles were for a loss and he added two pass breakups as well.

CB Casey Hayward

He just continues being an invisible man out there. Which is to say he isn’t giving up much in the way of catches, let alone touchdowns. The first moment he was noticed in this game was coming up to help make a tackle for loss on third and one, leading to one of just two Bengals punts in the game.

Hayward would make another tackle for loss in the third quarter that helped lead to the Bengals settling for a long field goal.

C Andre James

He was solid in the run and pass game, keeping pressure out of the backfield and giving up no run stuffs. He was also the key block downfield on Josh Jacobs’s 18-yard run in the third quarter.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 10 vs Chiefs

A letdown against the Giants last week gave way to a rout against the rival Chiefs Sunday. There were signs early that this one could get away from the Raiders quickly. But a big drive early in the third kept the game within reach. Until it wasn’t.

Ballers

WR Bryan Edwards

Edwards led the Raiders in receiving, putting up 88 yards on three catches. He also got behind his man on a play forcing a pass interference that led the Raiders’ first touchdown.

Their second touchdown was a 37-yard strike caught by Edwards who was bracketed by defenders. He also had catches of 27 yards and 24 yards, which were the three longest plays of the game for the Raiders.

DE Maxx Crosby

Though he was unable to notch a sack in the game, he still got in the backfield quite a bit, putting up 13 pressures in the game and two QB hits.

Crosby made the stop on a run for no gain on the second play of the game, leading to a three-and-out to begin the game.

Late in the third quarter, he was held on a play with the Chiefs at the 17-yard-line. Then on third down, he chased down Patrick Mahomes to force him to throw it away. They would settle for a field goal which kept it at a two-score game. The game got away from the Raiders after that.

P AJ Cole

The Raiders had one turnover in the game. It was Cole making the tackle on a punt return by putting his head right on the ball to knock it out and give the Raiders the ball at the 50-yard-line. That set up the Raiders’ first touchdown. For a punter to do that is Baller worthy stuff.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 9 vs Giants

Based on the Raiders and Giants’ records and how they’ve played this season, the Raiders should’ve handled their business in New York. But the Raiders were dealing with much larger issues.

The Raiders struggled to keep their head above water against the Giants and despite six trips into the end zone put up just 16 points. On top of it, they turned the ball over three times. That’s a recipe for a loss.

Ballers

RB Josh Jacobs

Jacobs was running angry in this game. He was decisive and sharp and when facing prospective tacklers, he was aggressive and violent in his running style. He got the ball five times on the Raiders opening drive, picking up 45 yards on the ground.

The biggest run went for 18 yards to set the Raiders up in first and goal from the six. A four-yard run got them close to the goal line and they scored the TD on the next play.

Following a turnover that gave the Raiders the ball at the New York 30-yard-line, Jacobs picked up 21 yards on two plays to put the Raiders in first and goal at the nine. They would get a field goal out of it to take a 10-7 lead.

Early in the third quarter, he had two of his best runs of the day. The first he laid a wicked stiff arm to pick up 14 yards. The second juked a defender in the open field to go for 18 yards. The Raiders got a field goal out of it to pull to within one point, down 17-16.

Jacobs finished with a season-high 76 yards on 13 carries and added 19 yards on four catches.

DE Yannick Ngakoue

After the Raiders tied up the game at 7-7 in the first quarter, Ngakoue got the edge and sacked Daniel Jones, stripping the ball where it was recovered by Darius Philon to give the Raiders the ball at the New York 30-yard-line. The Raiders were able to score a field goal to take a 10-7 lead.

In the second quarter, the Giants went on a long drive, looking to retake the lead. Ngakoue again sacked Jones to assure they would settle for a field goal to tie.

It was Ngakoue’s third multiple sack game of the season, giving him six on the season and moving him past teammate Maxx Crosby (five) for the team lead.

TE Darren Waller

With the receiving corps struggling to get open without a deep threat, it was Waller time. He was targeted 11 times and caught seven passes for 92 yards, which is his best numbers since the season opener.

The real shame is that Waller should have had a much better day. At least four times Carr missed him in the end zone. Three of those were off-target passes. The other he didn’t even throw it. Even with those misses, Waller had a good day. It was just a day of missed opportunities.

He had a 19-yard catch that put them in scoring range at the end of the first half. He opened the fourth quarter with a 25-yard catch on a drive that ended in a missed field goal. His next catch went for 12 yards on a drive that ended in an interception. And he had a 19-yard catch and an eight-yard catch on the final drive that ended in a fumble.

TE Foster Moreau

No catches? No targets? No problem. Moreau was doing work as a blocker in this one. He cleared the way on a Jacobs 18-yard run in the first quarter, another 18-yard run in the third quarter that was wiped away by an illegal formation penalty (thanks Dillon Stoner!), and a 21-yard run by Kenyan Drake in the fourth. Just to name a few.

RB Kenyan Drake

Drake was churning out the yards and finished with 100 yards from scrimmage on ten touches. His big drive came to open the fourth quarter where he had a 21-yard run followed by a 22-yard catch and run, and then an 11-yard catch to put the Raiders in the red zone.

Then on the final drive, Drake had a nine-yard catch and picked up 17 yards on a screen play.

Honorable Mention

S Dallin Leavitt — Had a solid tackle on a return to stop it inside the 20, recovered a Hunter Renfrow fumble on a return, and made a tackle short of the sticks on third down. Well rounded day for the special teams maven.

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Raiders 2021 midseason Ballers & Busters

We are seven games in and the Raiders are coming off their bye week, so it’s a good time to check in to see who is making some noise for the team over the first part. Both in a positive and a negative way.

Currently, the Raiders sit at 5-2, leading the AFC West. A great place to be. The all-important second half awaits. But they have set themselves up in a good place record-wise in order to try and make a run at the playoffs.

It wasn’t all good, but let’s start there.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 7 vs Eagles

For the second week in a row, the Raiders dominated their opponent and looked better than they have at just about any point over the past four years. This dominating performance had them outscore the Eagles 30-0 over two quarters. There are a lot of heroes in such a performance, so let’s get to it.

Ballers

QB Derek Carr

He went 31 of 34 (91.2%) for 323 yards and two touchdowns. The second-highest completion percentage on over 30 attempts in the modern era. Not much more needs to be said than that, honestly. He had a pick on the first drive, shook it off and lit up the Eagles with just two incompletions the rest of the way. Just a nice, easy game of pitch and catch for Carr and his receivers. Or at least that’s how he made it look.

TE Foster Moreau

Moreau stepped up big time in the absence of Darren Waller. Playing every snap, Moreau made huge contributions everywhere he played. He caught six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown — a new career-high. His fourth catch of the day was the Raiders’ first touchdown in which he made an incredible grab, reaching around the defender’s helmet to secure it.

He also was outstanding as a blocker including laying a big block on Josh Jacobs’s 20-yard screen play to set up their second touchdown near the end of the first half. He then began the third quarter with a 21-yard catch before making a key block on an 11-yard Kenyan Drake run to put the Raiders in first and goal. They scored on the next play to go up 24-7.

Moreau added a ten-yard catch on the next drive which also went for a touchdown and had key blocks on consecutive seven-yard runs on their final scoring drive to put the Raiders up by three scores midway through the fourth quarter.

If that score didn’t ice the game, Moreau recovering the onside kick with under four minutes remaining did. From there it was clock draining time.

DE Yannick Ngakoue

It was Yan’s turn to terrorize the opposing quarter. His cohort Maxx Crosby has had two multi-sack games, so Ngakoue was due for his second multi-sack day. And he didn’t just have a couple of sacks and that was it. He did a lot more.

Yannick ended the Eagles’ second drive with a QB hit that nearly led to a pick followed by rushing at Jalen Hurts and batting down his pass attempt. Yan ended the next drive with his first sack. He got his second sack on the second to last play of the game for the Eagles. He had two sacks, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, and two pass breakups. I’m sensing a pattern here.

RB Kenyan Drake, FB Alec Ingold, LG John Simpson, C Andre James, RG Alex Leatherwood

A few weeks ago, I never would’ve imagined this group all being named Ballers together. Especially not James and Leatherwood. But here we are. This dominating performance on the ground was undeniable and they earn heavy praise for it.

Leatherwood laid a key block on a 23-yard run by Drake on the Raiders’ first scoring drive. On the next play, James and Ingold helped open up a hole for Drake to run for another nine yards to put the Raiders in scoring range. Three plays later, they were in the end zone.

James had two big blocks on the Raiders’ second scoring drive, one on an eight-yard Josh Jacobs run and the other on Jacobs’s 20-yard screen play. Next play Jacobs scored the TD.

Ingold started the second half by recovering an onside kick attempt that started the Raiders’ possession at the Philadelphia 42-yard-line. A few plays later, Drake broke off 11 yards behind a group of blockers that featured James, Simpson, and Ingold. Then Drake finished it off with a four-yard touchdown run behind a wicked Leatherwood block along with Simpson and James leading the way into the end zone.

On the Raiders’ final scoring drive, the interior trio of Simpson, James, and Leatherwood opened up holes on consecutive seven-yard runs by Drake that put the Raiders in field goal range. Capping off unquestionably the best game for the Raiders interior offensive line this season. Not to mention Ingold on clean-up and Drake taking advantage of their efforts to run for 69 yards and a TD on 14 carries.

OC Greg Olson

Olson has cracked the code for this offense. He and Derek Carr work together better than Jon Gruden ever did. In fact, it’s looking like it was Gruden’s playcalling that was holding them back.

You see evidence of Olson playing to the defense’s assumptions about this offense in several key instances. First of all, a second week with a perfectly times and executed screen play. The second time was how they got their final score of the game.

The fourth quarter began with the Eagles getting their second touchdown to pull to within two scores. So, it was up to the Raiders to score one more time to put the game out of reach. This is also when you would have seen Gruden start trying to bleed the clock, even though it was too early for that.

Olson leaned into that assumption by the Eagles’ defense and gouged them. Carr handed it off to Drake on first down and it was clear the Eagles were ready for it, stopping him for a short gain.

On second down, the Raiders lined up as if it was another run up the middle. Ingold made like he was the lead blocker, Carr faked it to Drake, then Ingold kept running where he was wide open. Carr lofted a balloon right into his waiting arms for a 29-yard pickup. Then with the Eagles realizing the Raiders were not going conservative, and thus they would have to protect against the pass, the Raiders put it back on the ground to pick up a couple of chunk plays and put the game away. Masterful.

CB Brandon Facyson, CB Nate Hobbs

Facyson led the team in tackles (8) and pass breakups. He even had a special teams tackle. Not sure what else he would need to do. And Nate Hobbs simply didn’t give up a catch. Ballers.

LT Kolton Miller

Didn’t draw a flag. Didn’t give up a sack. Didn’t give up a hit. Didn’t give up a sniff on Derek Carr’s blindside. 91.2% completions. Any questions?

LB Denzel Perryman

Perryman tied for the team lead in tackles (8). He upended the Eagles’ second drive with a badass tackle for loss on a screen play. The next possession took the Eagles to have to go for it on fourth down with Perryman making the first tackle for a one-yard gain and the tackle short of the sticks on third down.

A three-and-out to start the third quarter started with Perryman’s man grabbing his facemask to try and keep him from making the tackle. Then Perryman made the stop on the next play.

DT Quinton Jefferson, DT Solomon Thomas, S Johnathan Abram

It was a game of you set ’em up, I knock ’em down with these three. Just after the Raiders scored near the end of the second quarter to go up 14-7, the Eagles’ possession lasted one play. Quinton Jefferson hit the running back on his way up the middle, knocking the ball out and Abram pounced on it to give the Raiders the ball right back and leading to another score before the half.

The Raiders would make it a three-for by driving for a second-half opening touchdown. The ensuing possession for the Eagles ended with Thomas laying a hit on Jalen Hurts as he threw and Abram nailing the receiver to break up up the pass and force a punt. The Raiders would then drive for another touchdown to take a commanding 30-7 lead.

These guys weren’t done, though. Thomas had a run stuff for no gain and Jefferson had a QB hit on third and ten on the next drive. On the final two drives of the game for the Eagles, Jefferson had two QB hits and Thomas had one as well. the second Jefferson QB hit came on fourth down to end the Eagles’ day officially.

Honorable Mention

Bryan Edwards — Three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Hunter Renfrow — Seven catches for 58 yards.

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Baller & Busters for Raiders Week 6 vs Broncos

It was a statement game for the Raiders in Denver. With Gruden out and Rich Bisaccia in place as interim head coach, no one really knew how the Raiders would respond. They could collapse monumentally or they could come together and play inspired football. It was very much the latter.

The team had their first opening-drive score since week 11 of last season. It was a touchdown too. Then they kept it going to stop their trend of slow starts this season. They scored 17 in the first half and 17 in the second half, while the defense ensured the Broncos couldn’t close the gap.

They finished by scoring their most points of the season (34) and had the game iced midway through the fourth quarter.

Plenty of credit to go around for this dominant performance.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

Five sacks. That’s how many the Raiders had. And Crosby was in on all of them. He shared a sack with Quinton Jefferson on the first drive and added a QB hit that forced a bad pass. His second sack was all his and led to a stalled drive. Then he and Jefferson teamed up again to end the first half with the Raiders taking a 17-7 lead into the locker room.

The first play of the second half was Crosby being held on a play he would have stuffed in the backfield otherwise. The next drive he teamed up with Cory Littleton for his third sack. That drive stalled for a field goal. The next drive ended with Crosby pressuring Bridgewater who tried to scramble and fumbled it away.

On the first drive of the fourth quarter, he batted a pass down at the line to set up third and 20. But the Broncos would end up converting on fourth down and finish with a touchdown to pull within two scores. The Raiders brought it back to a three-score game with eight minutes left. on the second play of the Broncos’ attempt to respond, Crosby stuffed a run for a loss. Two plays later, on third and 11, Bridgewater was picked off to put this one on ice.

Crosby finished with six tackles, 3.0 sacks, one tackle for loss, and one pass breakup. The five sacks he was in on were reminiscent of a former Raiders great on a trip to Denver.

QB Derek Carr, OC Greg Olson, Henry Ruggs III

Carr had to execute this offense without Gruden. And Olson had to step into play-calling duties for the first time in five years. And they killed it. The offense opened up and worked like a well-oiled machine from start to finish for the first time this season.

The first drive was capped by a 48-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Ruggs on a deep post. The next drive ended in a score as well, highlighted by a 25-yard hookup with Hunter Renfrow and ended with a 50-yard field goal. And the final drive of the first half saw Carr throw a majestic perfect strike to Kenyan Drake for a 31-yard touchdown.

Carr and Olson kept it going on the first possession of the third quarter. On the second play, Olson made the perfect call for a screen — something we didn’t much of under Gruden. The Broncos brought the house just as the Raiders wanted, Carr dropped it over them to Josh Jacobs and he had an entourage of blockers for a 29-yard screen play. Two plays later the Raiders scored.

At the end of the third quarter, the Raiders capitalized on a turnover. Carr dropped back on third and 12 under pressure and launched a rainbow. It wasn’t a great pass, but at worst it gets picked, which would have been the equivalent of a punt. But it wasn’t picked. Ruggs tracked it down, and even tripped over the defender, and still managed to catch it for a 40-yard completion. Two plays later, they punched it in for another touchdown to take a 31-10 lead.

31 points were already more than the Raiders had scored in regulation all season. And it was still the third quarter.

With the Broncos scoring again, the Raiders needed just one score to put the game away. On third and six, Carr threw a perfect pass to Bryan Edwards along the left sideline and he streaked up the sideline for 51 yards. That put the team inside the 20 and a few plays later a short field goal put the Raiders back at a three-score lead while setting a new high for points scored on the season. And that includes the OT games.

Carr finished with 341 yards passing on 18 completions, which is an incredible 18.9 yards per completion. Ruggs had three catches for 97 yards, two of which were huge completions leading to two touchdowns.

DT Solomon Thomas, DT Quinton Jefferson, DT Damion Square

Jefferson teamed up with Crosby on two sacks. He led the interior Dline with four tackles and had two QB hits. Square shared a sack with Crosby as well and had three QB hits and two tackles. Thomas had three QB hits and forced a fumble.

Jefferson’s second shared sack ended the first half. One of Thomas’s QB hits ended their first possession of the third quarter and nearly led to an interception. His forced fumble was recovered by the Raiders and they started their drive at the Denver 42 and took advantage with a touchdown.

RB Kenyan Drake

Quite an efficient day for Drake. He played just 12 snaps and touched the ball six times. Those touches were a six-yard run, a nine-yard run, an 8-yard catch, a 31-yard TD catch, an 18-yard TD run, and a one-yard run after the game was in hand. That’s 73 yards and two touchdowns. Have yourself a day, Kenyan.

LB Cory Littleton

Tied for the team lead with 11 tackles. He started a three-and-out by the Broncos in the second quarter with an open-field tackle to stop a catch for one yard. And he teamed up with Crosby for a sack that stalled a Broncos drive in the third quarter. On the Broncos’ final scoring drive, Littleton did his part. He made the stop on third and 20, but they converted on fourth down. On the next play, he batted down in the end zone on the next play.

CB Brandon Facyson, DB Roderic Teamer

Less than two weeks since joining the team, and on his fourth defensive snap, Facyson had an interception. It was the first of his career and just the second interception by the Raiders this season.

That turnover was made possible because Teamer made the stop short on the sticks on third down the play before. At the end of the second quarter, Teamer made the tackle on a catch well short of the first down on third and 16 to force a punt. The Raiders got the ball back with just over a minute and drove for a touchdown before the half.

In the third quarter, Teamer had tight coverage to force an incompletion in the back of the end zone and force the Broncos to settle for a field goal. And after the Raiders went up 34-17, Facyson knocked down a pass to set up third and 11. Bridgewater was picked by Tre’von Moehrig on his ensuing desperation throw.

Honorable Mention

S Tre’von Moehrig — Had the first interception of his career. Nearly had two, but the first was knocked out of his hands. Also didn’t give up any catches and had three tackles.

CB Casy Hayward — Continued to prove he’s the best cornerback on this team. He had a pass breakup on a deep pass and gave up just two catches for 24 yards. Also forced a couple of penalties on a push-off and a blindside block.

Busters

CB Amik Robertson

Robertson got the start again with Trayvon Mullen and Damon Arnette both injured. He lasted nine snaps before he was pulled in favor of Brandon Facyson.

Yes, nine snaps. That’s because in those nine snaps, he gave up a seven-yard catch, a 14-yard catch on third and 12, a 23-yard touchdown catch, and missed a tackle on a ten-yard run.

Those nine snaps weren’t the end of his day. He played four more snaps over the remainder of the game. And on one of those four snaps, he missed another tackle to give up a 30-yard run that set up the Broncos’ second score. Being almost wholly responsible for two scores — the only two scores the Broncos had over the first three quarters — is a brutal 13 snaps.

SS Johnathan Abram

The interception was cool and all. Though it was a desperation heave with the game already out of reach, so it was just window dressing. What was not nice was the five catches for 63 yards he gave up. Those included a 14-yard catch on the Broncos’ second scoring drive and a 26-yard catch on their third scoring drive.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 5 vs Bears

On Sunday, the Raiders were six days removed from being the last remaining undefeated team in the AFC. Based on that. they seemed like they had no business losing this game. Then they went out and lost this game by two scores, going down 20-9 to the visiting Bears.

Ballers

LB Denzel Perryman

Perryman led the Raiders in tackles by a wide margin. Leading the team in tackles is not new for Perryman, he’s been doing it much of the season. This time most of those tackles came at or near the line of scrimmage and on a couple of occasions had a play get by him.

He made a run stuff on the second play of the game to help lead to a three-and-out by the Bears. The Bears would go on a touchdown drive late in the first, but Perryman did his part to try and stop it with two run stuffs for no gain, both in goal-to-go situations.

In the second quarter the Bears went on another TD drive, and again Perryman did his part to try and keep it from happening with three tackles and a pressure resulting in an incompletion. One of his tackles was for no gain in first and goal from the four-yard line.

The Raiders’ defense stopped the Bears on their first three drives of the second half and Perryman had a run stuff at or near the line on each of them. Their next drive in the fourth quarter ended with Perryman flying out into the left flat to fight through several blocks and blow up Justin Fields’s scramble attempt for minimal gain.

After the Raiders turned the ball over on downs, setting the Bears up in scoring range, Perryman made the last two tackles to hold them at one total yard and force them to win on a 46-yard field goal.

SS Johnathan Abram

Abram caused Justin Fields a great deal of pain in this game. The hard-hitting safety made the play on third down to stop the Bears on each of their first two possessions. The first was a hit on Fields on the blitz to force an incompletion and the second way coming up to lay a big hit on Fields to stop him short of the first down on a scramble attempt.

The third drive went for a TD, but not until after Abram made a run stuff for no gain on first and goal from the two. He added two more QB hits in the game to finish with three and his six combined tackles tied for third on the team.

RB Josh Jacobs

Averaging just 3.2 yards per carry isn’t a great day at face value. But Jacobs was doing a lot of heavy lifting to get to that number. On the Raiders’ first scoring drive, he had four touches for 28 yards and looked for a moment to have the touchdown if it weren’t for the line having to hold in order to get it. They would get a field goal out of it though.

Later, Jacobs would score the team’s only TD on a one-yard dive.

CB Casey Hayward

Hayward gave up just one catch in this game. Unfortunately, it went for eight yards on third and seven on the Bears’ second scoring drive, but still. Overall great game for the Raiders’ top cornerback. He also had one pass breakup and three tackles.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 4 matchup with Chargers

It was a fourth straight slow start to a game for the Raiders on the season. Only this time, the start was too slow. They were down 21-0 at the half with just one first down to their names.

They looked like they might make a game of it early in the third with consecutive TD drives to pull it to 21-14. But they were unable to score again and the Chargers added a late TD to seal it.

Let’s look at the best and worst performances in the Raiders’ first loss of the season.

Ballers

WR Hunter Renfrow

Just like last week, everyone is talking about Hunter Renfrow. Last week it was for a filthy triple move he made on All-Pro Xavien Howard to catch a TD on him. This week, it’s Renfrow’s crazy play on special teams that has everyone buzzing.

Late in the first quarter, Renfrow was sitting back to field a punt from the Chargers. But just as it was to be punted away, Renfrow sensed something was up. He was right, it was a fake. And the moment he saw the punter square up to throw, he took off and got to the receiver the moment the ball arrived and blew him up, knocking the ball out of his arms.

Renfrow was the only one who could’ve stopped that play from turning into a touchdown. And he did that and a whole lot more. Check out how far he had to run to make that play.

Hunter Renfrow’s hit/pass breakup on the fake punt is even more amazing when you realize how much ground he had to cover after realizing what was happening. Everything about this is awesome. #Raiders pic.twitter.com/QXWh3qh8Yv

— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) October 6, 2021

That play was so awesome, no one is talking about the fact that Renfrow pulled that triple move again. And it was for a touchdown again. The Raiders’ first TD of the day from 13 yards out. The DB simply doesn’t know what to do with that move.

Renfrow finished with the team lead in receptions (6) for 45 yards and the TD. He also saved a TD and had a 17-yard punt return with a horsecollar tackle that tacked on 15 yards that put the Raiders in scoring position in the first half, but they opted to go for it on fourth down instead and didn’t pick it up.

CB Casey Hayward

Hayward had some things for his former team to make them regret letting him go. On the opening drive alone, Hayward made a tackle on a short catch, a tackle for loss on an end-around and cut off the outside on a run that resulted in a tackle for loss. They didn’t test him much the rest of the day. And the few times they did, led to incompletions.

DE Maxx Crosby

Most of Crosby’s work didn’t show up in the stat column. But his presence was felt.

The first Chargers’ possession of the second quarter ended with a three-and-out. On third down, Crosby put on a bull rush that drove RT Storm Norton into Justin Herbert’s lap and caused him to overthrow a wide-open Mike Williams on a deep route that would have been an easy touchdown.

On three consecutive drives starting in the late second quarter and going through the third quarter, Crosby had a QB hit to force an incompletion, a batted pass at the line to put the Chargers in third and long and was held on a third-down rush (it was declined). He also added a run stuff in there.

DT Darius Philon

It was apparently Philon’s turn to put up multiple sacks in a game. Certainly, it was no coincidence it was against his former team. The first came late in the first quarter. The Chargers got things moving on a 21-yard end-around that put them at the Las Vegas 39-yard-line. Then Philon came flying into the backfield to sack Herbert for a five-yard loss. That would ultimately lead to the fake punt that Renfrow blew up.

After the Raiders scored to open the third quarter, the Chargers were trying to answer. They converted on a fourth and two, but three plays later found themselves in third and ten. Philon blew past his man into the backfield again to sack Herbert for the second time. The Raiders got the ball back and drove for their second score to pull it to a one-score game.

T Kolton Miller

While the rest of the Raiders’ offensive line is a gaping wound, Miller is the lone bright spot. He didn’t give up even a pressure in this game that I saw. Certainly no sacks of QB hits. In fact, he hasn’t given up a sack this season. Miller had one bad play and it was a run stop. He’s allowed one bad block on. run. Especially considering how he’s been lights out in pass protection.

LB Cory Littleton

Littleton tied for the team lead with 12 tackles (eight solo) in this game. He even added a couple of special teams tackles. His first tackle was for a loss on the opening drive. The next possession, he came flying in on the blitz to force an incompletion to start a three-and-out. He ended the next possession with a tackle on a four-yard catch on third-and-15 to force another punt.

Littleton’s worst drive was the Chargers’ final drive of the first half. He gave up a nine-yard catch and missed a tackle on a 13-yard catch and run that put the Chargers at the 25-yard-line. They scored two plays later.

He would recover in the third quarter to make a run stuff for no gain on third-and-two. He would give up one more first down catch in the game, and none on the ground. Two first downs allowed is a solid performance.

P AJ Cole

As seems all too often, Cole was doing his part to make the Chargers earn their scoring drives. He had a 54-yard punt stopped at the 24, a 45-yard punt go out of bounds at the 40, a 49-yard punt fair caught at the ten, a 56-yard punt stopped at the 20, and a 52-yard punt fair caught at the 31. All in the first half to give him a 51.2-yard average and a 47.2-yard net. Only two punts were even returnable with the longest return going 11 yards.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders in Week 3 vs Dolphins

One thing you can say about the 2021 Raiders is they sure aren’t boring. For all three games this season they have started slow, had to come from behind and took it down to the wire. And for the second time this season, they had to win it in overtime.

After starting the game down 14-0, the Raiders went on a 25-0 run. But the Dolphins were able to tie it up at the end and send it to OT. This game even used the entire first overtime period with three more lead changes before the Raiders could put it away.

The 70 minutes of playing time led to a lot of heroes and a few goats. Making for a pretty long list of Ballers & Busters this week. So, let’s get started.

Ballers

DT Johnathan Hankins, DT Solomon Thomas, DT Darius Philon, DT Quinton Jefferson, DE Maxx Crosby, DE Yannick Ngakoue, DE Carl Nassib

The Raiders may have begun this game down 14-0, but it was no fault of the defense. The first TD was a pick-six and the second one came on a drive that started at the Las Vegas 34-yard-line after a turnover on downs. So, don’t let that early deficit fool you, the Raiders defensive line doing work in this game.

The first Dolphins’ possession ended with a Maxx Crosby QB hit followed by Darius Philon stopping Jacoby Brissett for two yards on a scramble to force a punt.

Once those two early gift-wrapped touchdowns, the defense stiffened up for two quarters. The first drive of the second quarter ended with Yannick Ngakoue getting pressure on Brissett to blow up a screen play on third and nine.

The other drive featured a shared sack between Solomon Thomas and Carl Nassib and ended with another Ngakoue pressure and a tackle short of the sticks to force a 48-yard field goal attempt that was no good off the upright.

The first possession of the third quarter ended with a three-and-out, starting with a Nassib run stuff and ending with Solomon Thomas making a forced fumble on third down. The Dolphins recovered and punted it away.

The next drive ended with a Hankins run stuff followed by a pass breakup on third down. But even if the pass had been complete, Thomas was held, so it would have come back anyway. The Raiders declined the penalty.

The next drive would go for a field goal but ended with Crosby getting pressure leading to a Quinton Jefferson sack. The next drive ended with a turnover on downs. The final three plays were a Ngakoue run stop, Hankins and Nassib teaming up for a run stuff for no gain on third and one, and Philon and Hankins teaming up for another run stuff for no gain on fourth and one.

The final drive of regulation had the Dolphins in first and goal at the one thanks to a Trayvon Mullen pass interference in the end zone. And had this not been for the game, the Dolphins would have been shut out of the end zone. Three straight plays were stopped in part by this Dline including Hankins, Philon, and Crosby all making key plays. But on fourth and goal, the Dolphins would finally breakthrough. Then they took to the air to pick up the two-point conversion to tie it.

The only Dolphins drive of the overtime period ended with Crosby and Thomas teaming up to make the stop on a toss play and the Dolphins tied it back up with a field goal, allowing the Raiders to drive for the game-winning score.

QB Derek Carr, WR Henry Ruggs III, WR Bryan Edwards, WR Hunter Renfrow

The first big completion of the day went for 24 yards to Hunter Renfrow. A few plays later on the same drive Edwards made a short catch and weaved through traffic to pick up 23 yards. Unfortunately, that drive ended with Carr making one of his biggest mistakes of the season. Foster Moreau stopped his route in the zone and Carr threw it ahead of him and right into the waiting arms of linebacker Elandon Roberts who returned it for the touchdown.

Renfrow would make another big grab on the next drive. Carr was under pressure and threw what looked like a dangerous high-arching pass, but somehow Renfrow had gotten his man turned around and ran under the pass, sliding on his knees to make the catch. That drive stalled due to an errant snap leading to an intentional grounding penalty.

With the start of the second quarter, the Raiders’ offense seemed to shake off the early struggles and finally get going. On third and 6, Ruggs got open along the left sideline and Carr threw his way and Ruggs made a brilliant leaping grab, tapping his toes inbounds for an 18-yard gain. It would lead to a field goal which was the first points on offense in the game.

The next Raiders drive featured Ruggs going up high over the top of All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard to make another incredible grab, this time for 23 yards. That put them in Miami territory. A few plays later, in third and three Carr found Ruggs on a cross and he took the pass and streaked up the left sideline for 21 yards to put the Raiders in first and goal. They punched it in for the touchdown two plays later.

To begin the third quarter, the Raiders were on the move again. To finish it off Renfrow put his man on a spin cycle with a wicked triple move to make the catch and finish it off for the score from 12 yards out.

The next drive, Carr threw a perfect pass to Darren Waller between defenders for a 23-yard gain to put the Raiders in the red zone. A connection with Kenyan Drake on third down for 16 yards would put the Raiders in first and goal at the one. They punched it in two plays later with Carr throwing for Alec Ingold on a Spider 2 Y Banana.

Perhaps Ruggs’s best catch — which is saying a lot — came in overtime when he made another catch along the sideline, this time with a defender nailing him as he made the catch. And yet he still managed to haul it in and tap his feet inbounds to make the grab for an 18-yard gain. Two plays later, Carr found Bryan Edwards for a 32-yard connection which set up a field goal.

The game-winning drive started with Carr finding Edwards with a dime of a pass and Edwards making a gorgeous over-the-shoulder grab for 34 yards. Edwards, Ruggs, and Renfrow had 89, 78, and 77 yards receiving respectively to lead the Raiders. Carr finished with 386 yards and two touchdowns to one interception.

RB Peyton Barber

The journeyman running back would put on his cape late in this game to help the Raiders seal the win. He started off a drive late in the third quarter with a 19-yard run. Two plays later he took a dump pass for 23 yards. He finished off that drive with a diving touchdown over the pile from one yard out.

His running was crucial in the overtime period. After the Dolphins tied things back up at 28-28, Barber broke off a 27-yard run to put the Raiders in field goal range at the 19-yard-line. On the next play, he ran for eight yards. And Daniel Carlson finally put the game away with a chip shot field goal.

Barber finished with a career-high 111 yards and a TD on 23 carries (4.8 ypc) and added three catches for 31 yards.

FB Alec Ingold

Barber wasn’t going at it alone. He had one of the best fullbacks in the business assisting in the effort. Ingold’s biggest play showcased his heads-up abilities and it may have saved the game for the Raiders.

The Raiders set up in first and goal from the four-yard-line, still looking for their first touchdown. Barber took the ball up the gut on second and goal from the one. The ball popped out of his arms on the tackle and Ingold caught in in the air and even picked up three yards on the play. The next play, he was rewarded with Spider 2 Y Banana. He caught the pass at the line and scored the touchdown.

On the final drive of the game, Ingold laid a key block on an eight-yard run all but cementing the win.

P AJ Cole

His first punt traveled 54 yards with just a six-yard return. His second punt was a moonshot that was downed at the two-yard line. A penalty put it at the one-yard line and on the first play, the Dolphins attempted a pass into the left flat at it was stopped for a safety to give the Raiders their first points of the game.

Cole launched a 67-yard punt late in the fourth quarter that would start the Dolphins’ drive at their own 18-yard-line after a 12-yard return. It gave him a 54-yard average with a 47.3-yard net on four punts, with two being downed inside the 20.

Honorable Mention

LB Denzel Perryman — Led the team with 14 tackles (10 solo)

CB Casey Hayward — Gave the Raiders their first points of the game on a safety.

WR Zay Jones — Made two nice plays on punts, one a tackle on a short return and downing a punt at the two. Also had a 15-yard catch.

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