The Las Vegas Raiders went connected the roadworthy to their home-away-from-home of SoFi Stadium successful Inglewood, Calif., and snapped a four-game losing streak to the Chargers with a 26-14 victory.
It was a overmuch person crippled than the people would indicate, but the Raiders did much than capable to adjacent the doorway down the agelong and propulsion retired the benignant of crippled they astir apt would person recovered a mode to suffer successful the past.
Here is simply a person look astatine what went down:
Putting it into perspective
It was casual to constitute disconnected the season-opening triumph by saying it was conscionable the Dolphins, a contender for worst squad successful the league.
But the Chargers had expectations. They were expected to beryllium good.
Now, it’s precise imaginable that by the extremity of the play this is the benignant of triumph that could beryllium dismissed as, “Yeah, but it was conscionable the Chargers.” They person a brutal agelong of games coming up and each of a abrupt whitethorn besides beryllium 1 of the much disappointing teams successful the league.
The Raiders, however, recovered a mode to triumph a crippled they weren’t expected to win. That is simply a large measurement successful the improvement of the civilization Klint Kubiak and John Spytek are trying to build.
Star of the game
There are respective possibilities here, but it’s hard not to prime cornerback Hezekiah Masses.
The rookie cornerback was pressed into a starting relation by the wounded to Darien Porter, with whom helium competed for the occupation each the mode done grooming camp.
Masses took afloat vantage of the accidental with a brace of interceptions.
The archetypal one, Masses admitted, was a spot fluky. He was beaten implicit the apical connected a play and Justin Herbert dropped a dime betwixt Masses and chap rookie Treydan Stukes into the hands of David Njoku for a large gain. But Masses didn’t springiness up connected the play and erstwhile the seasoned choky extremity bobbled the shot into the air, Masses was determination to haul it successful and spell the different way.
The 2nd 1 was precise impressive. Masses broke connected the way of Derius Davis earlier the receiver did and showed immoderate physicality contempt his tiny framework to combat to the ball. It was a precise awesome debut, but it wasn’t conscionable astir the interceptions.
Masses allowed conscionable 2 completions for 16 yards connected six targets successful his direction. He besides came up to the enactment of scrimmage for a tackle successful the backfield that helium says truly got him successful the travel of the crippled successful his archetypal start.
Play of the game
The Chargers were astatine midfield with a accidental to necktie oregon instrumentality the pb with conscionable little than 4 minutes to play erstwhile Nakobe Dean saved the day.
One of the team’s astir important free-agent signings this offseason showed wherefore helium was truthful coveted arsenic helium met Chargers moving backmost Omarion Hampton successful the spread and walloped him close connected the shot to unit it loose.
Safety Jeremy Chinn picked up the scraps and returned it wrong the 20-yard enactment arsenic the Raiders started the celebration.
It wasn’t conscionable the hit, however.
The Chargers utilized a choky extremity question to get Dean disconnected his spot astatine mediate linebacker, truthful helium had to widen with the motion. He was inactive capable to enactment connected to his tally acceptable work and erstwhile helium saw the spread unfastened up and Hampton instrumentality the handoff, determination was nary hesitation arsenic helium deed the spread similar a guided missile.
Dean has been fantastic the archetypal 2 weeks.
Drive of the game
The close reply is astir apt the 11-play, 79-yard touchdown thrust successful the 3rd 4th to instrumentality backmost the pb aft the Chargers had gone up for the lone clip successful the game, particularly due to the fact that the Raiders converted a fourth-and-1 successful their ain territory connected a Connor Heyward sneak and scored the touchdown connected a third-and-10 play.
But the overmuch shorter thrust aft Dean’s forced fumble should beryllium recognized.
The Raiders got the shot astatine the Chargers’ 16-yard enactment with 3:42 near and a 17-14 advantage. A tract extremity would person lone enactment them up six points.
After 2 tally plays, Kubiak called a play-action walk that had the full Chargers defence fooled. The Chargers were intelligibly reasoning they’d marque a tackle abbreviated of the sticks and usage up different timeout to unit a tract extremity and get the shot back.
But Cousins lone faked the springiness to Mike Washington Jr. Cody White further helped merchantability the fake by starting his way toward the mediate of the tract wherever helium could assistance block. Then arsenic the full defence collapsed the enactment of scrimmage, helium simply drifted to the extremity portion wide unfastened and waited connected the walk from Cousins for the casual touchdown that each but sealed the game.
What were they thinking?
The Raiders made the benignant of egregious mistake that has haunted them acold excessively often done each the losing seasons.
With the Chargers facing a fourth-and-1 astatine their ain 46 with 3:52 to spell and trailing by three, the Raiders called timeout to marque definite they were connected the aforesaid leafage for the biggest play of the crippled to that point.
Apparently, they didn’t sermon who would beryllium playing connected the 4th down try. The Raiders had 12 men connected the tract and gave the Chargers a escaped archetypal down.
Klint Kubiak precise appropriately called it “junk.”
The Raiders recovered a mode to flooded it erstwhile Dean forced the fumble connected the adjacent play. But that worldly can’t happen.
Observations
■ The peculiar teams person been mostly tremendous to commencement the year. While the Raiders gave up a large instrumentality successful the opener, they countered with a mates of their own.
Matt Gay booted a 59-yard tract extremity Sunday and has been precise bully connected kickoffs.
AJ Cole has been arsenic bully arsenic ever, landing 2 punts astatine the 10-yard enactment against the Chargers. Through 2 weeks, the Raiders fertile archetypal successful peculiar teams by EPA and 2nd by DVOA.
They person been bully by immoderate agelong and are a hidden origin successful the Raiders starting 2-0.
■ Rookie fourth-round prime Jermod McCoy saw his archetypal competitory crippled enactment since the 2024 College Football Playoffs.
He wasn’t cleanable and is not rather backmost to the subordinate who was a definite top-10 prime earlier his large genu injury, but determination are signs helium is coming connected strong.
McCoy besides showed helium was consenting to beryllium carnal arsenic helium stuck his caput successful connected respective tackles and was credited with solo and 1 assist.
“I thought helium had precise meaningful snaps successful the crippled yesterday,” Kubiak said Monday. “We’re going to support gathering him up, support gathering his confidence, and he’s fixed america assurance to play him more.
“Real recognition to … our full grooming unit for each they’ve done to get him acceptable to play. And for each Jermod has done to enactment himself successful presumption to play, it’s truly peculiar his enactment ethic and however it’s paying disconnected for him.”
■ Herbert’s 3rd fumble of the game, and the Chargers’ 5th of six total, was not a fumble. It was ruled arsenic specified by the officials and really benefitted the Chargers erstwhile they recovered inches from the marker to acceptable up fourth-and-short alternatively of fourth-and-6. Kubiak perfectly should person challenged the call, but did not. It would person astir surely been ruled an incomplete walk successful what was the archetypal existent trial of the team’s reappraisal process.
“It’s thing that we’re discussing however that each went down and what we could person done better, could person done differently,” Kubiak said. “But we made the determination that we made not to propulsion the flag.”
■ The antiaircraft enactment was ascendant again, taking vantage of the interior of the Chargers front. Defensive coordinator Rob Leonard had a large program to onslaught those weaknesses. Over and over, the Raiders were capable to overwhelm the Chargers close successful beforehand of Herbert.
According to NextGenStats, the Raiders person generated pressures connected 50 percent of hostile dropbacks done 2 weeks. That’s the champion complaint successful the league. The beingness of Maxx Crosby helps, but the strategy is truly putting players successful bully positions to get aft the quarterback.
The adjacent crippled against the Chargers could beryllium a large test. One happening that is evident connected portion is that they are obscurity adjacent a afloat knowing of the precise analyzable Mike McDaniel offense. The violative coordinator whitethorn request to simplify immoderate things, possibly erstwhile helium starts his adjacent job, due to the fact that they are truthful adjacent yet truthful acold distant connected immoderate of these plays that could beryllium precise effective.
■ The tally crippled was a problem, but the Raiders are surely facing stacked boxes.
Ashton Jeanty has seen 8 oregon much defenders successful the container connected 41 percent of his snaps, 2nd among each starting moving backs successful the league.
The enactment took a spot of a measurement backward against amended contention this week, but Jeanty besides isn’t creating connected his ain similar helium did past year. He’s presently astatine zero rushing yards astir anticipation according to NextGenStats, which means connected mean he’s picking up precisely what is blocked for him. Mike Washington Jr. is somewhat amended astatine .56 yards per effort implicit expectation.
It wasn’t a large portion for the violative line. But Jeanty has to bash more, too. And the 3 dropped passes weren’t ideal, though the archetypal 1 was thrown precise hard astatine a abbreviated distance.
Looking ahead
The Raiders caput to New Orleans to look the resurgent Saints (1-1), who are conscionable a missed 2-point conversion successful overtime distant from being unbeaten with roadworthy wins implicit Detroit and Baltimore.
Second-year backmost Tyler Shough is simply a large crushed for their aboriginal occurrence arsenic helium leads the squad successful passing yards.
It volition beryllium a reunion play for respective players arsenic longtime Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson is present kicking for the Saints. Former Raiders first-round prime Tyree Wilson is besides connected the roster, on with erstwhile fourth-round prime Decamerion Richardson.
Contact Adam Hill astatine ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ connected X.
Up next
Who: Raiders astatine New Orleans Saints
When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday
Where: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans
TV: CBS (Channel 8 successful Las Vegas)
Streaming: Paramount+
Radio: KOMP-FM (92.3)
Line: Saints -3; full 44½
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