Official Las Vegas Raiders Thread

Reports that Bridgewater not playing Sunday...

 

We just gotta win, baby.

 

I figured I'd try to focus on some positives, too.

First, let's hope Abram is okay. He was lighting dudes up early.

Renfrow's big punt return put him into 13th all-time in Raiders history with 504 yards on punts.

His 89 receptions are tied for the most by a Raiders' receiver since Tim Brown in 1993 and 1996. He has a shot at the team record (104 for a WR, 107 for anyone).

Frustrating season for Jacobs. He simply doesn't trust the line right now. And that hurts him. But there's a bright spot. After posting 506 yards fro scrimmage in his first 8 games of the season (63.3 per game), he has totaled 366 in his next four (91.5 per game). I'd love to see him hit the hole and run with his explosiveness, but I'll take the work he's done in the passing game.

The Raiders went 6/13 on third downs. Prior to last night, they were 49/150 on the season - 33%. Part of that is due to Carr's third down play. He stepped up in the pocket twice on their opening drive, hit Jackson and then hit Edwards for a TD.

Zay Jones had a Ruggs like game. 6 catches, 67 yards, but it was the 46-yard PI early that was one of his biggest plays of the game. When you target a guy 7 or 8 times and yield more than 110 yards, he's doing work.

Refreshing to have a RB hit the hole and run hard even when the play doesn't go his way. That's why Barber, running behind the same line as Jacobs, is averaging more than half a yard more per carry (44-187 on the season).

Solomon Thomas made a few big plays. Stuffed a run, sniffed out a screen.

Carr made some bad decisions. One of his decisions I can't fault him for was his run on third and goal. He didn't score, but he didn't turn it over and got half a dozen yards. Loved seeing him step up in the pocket. Now, we just have to work on his work at the LOS. You don't need an audible every play, man.

Facyson played reasonably well in a spot start. He had a PI that gave the Browns a FG opportunity, but he had 4 tackles and defended a game-high 3 passes.

Here's a microcosm of the team's struggles. They think they converted on a Jacobs run on 2nd. So they take too long and try a sneak on third down. Love the call. But Carr bobbles the snap and doesn't get the first (I actually think he did; bad spot). Then they have to run a fake to convert. Just shows how many mistakes and problems the Raiders have to overcome. The game is not coming easy to them.

Linemen just standing around on Carr's sack - but Carr loses another fumble. That's 35 in his Raiders career, I believe.

I don't know what happened to Cory Littleton when he left the Rams, but he's not the player he was there.

Carr's INT with 2:47 left was bad for a few reasons. With a safety over the top, that was a dangerous throw. But he also had open receivers. It's hard to fault someone for scoring too quickly, but that would have given Cleveland a lot of time anyway.

Defense stands strong (sloppy tackling, Maxx).

2:00 drill
Zay Jones coverts a third and seven. Miller's hold negates another conversion from Jones. Big penalty. Moreau's most important play of the night gets the Raiders a first with 22 seconds left at the Cleveland 45.

Zay Jones does it again. Carlson makes the kick twice just to let them know.

 

s***. Abram with a dislocated shoulder.

 

A look at the LBs...

Denzel Perryman
707 Snaps, 66 targets, 120.1 passer rating when targeted, 8.9% missed tackles, 0.8 relentless pass rush, 58.9 PFF
-Perryman is a Pro Bowler, but most of his stats are unremarkable - until you realize that he has 11 stuffs and 133 tackles on the season. He's been a huge lift to the defense.

Cory Littleton
656 Snaps, 56 targets, 95.1 passer rating when targeted, 7.6% missed tackles, 0.8 relentless pass rush, 47.1 PFF
-A Pro Bowler before coming to the Raiders, Littleton is a solid cover LB, but he seems lost on the field. He's either injured or has no passion for this team.

KJ Wright
363 Snaps, 16 targets, 118.5 passer rating when targeted, 6.4% missed tackles, 0.3 relentless pass rush, 59.3 PFF
-Wright is not a good cover LB, but he's been otherwise steady.

Divine Deablo
150 Snaps, 5 targets, 118.7 passer rating when targeted, 0.0% missed tackles, 0.0 relentless pass rush, 65.0 PFF
-Dude gets it done in the run game. He has 25 tackles and 2 stuffs in the last three games as his snaps increase. He'll take some lumps as a rookie, but he looks to be figuring things out. He has supplanted Littleton in the starting lineup, it seems.

Nick Kwiatkoski
66 Snaps, 7 targets, 118.7 passer rating when targeted, 4.5% missed tackles, 0.0 relentless pass rush, 59.4 PFF
-Where is Kwiatkoski? He came back from an injury, played one game, and was put back on IR. He's every bit as good as Perryman and Wright, is a sure tackler, and had a knack for big plays.

Marquel Lee
33 Snaps, 1 targets, 91.7 passer rating when targeted, 8.3% missed tackles, 0.0 relentless pass rush, 50.3 PFF
-Saw some snaps against the Browns, picked up 5 tackles. Lee has had some success as a starter, in the run game, and in the pass game.

 

That's an epic present! Hope you'll bring the team good luck. And take pictures!

 

Broncos (7-7) head to Vegas to face the Raiders (7-7) on December 26th.
LV pulled out a 34-24 win in mid-October. They piled up 426 yards of offense but allowed 421. It was Denver's 4 TO that sealed the loss.

Drew Lock is expected to draw the start for the Broncos. That's probably good news for the Raiders. Lock has struggled this season, taking 5 sacks in 45 dropbacks, throwing 2 INTs, and posting a 4.4 QBR and 59.1 Passer Rating. In three career games against the Raiders, however, he has thrown for 4 TDs (and 4 INTs), averaging 258 yards passing per game. He beat the Raiders 16-15 in 2019, but they got the better of him twice in 2020.

Las Vegas opens as a 1.5 point favorite. It should be a good game, and it's worth checking the injury report as the week progresses.

Raiders
Waller Questionable
Perryman Questionable
Compton Questionable

Broncos
Bridgewater Questionable
Young (ILB) Questionable
Beck (TE) Out
Jones (DE) Questionable
Sterns (S) Questionable

What this game means
Tied at 7-7, this game is immediately for third place in the division. The winner will move to 8-7.

The Raiders are currently the 10th seed. The Steelers, 9th seed, play the Chiefs. So, a Raiders win and Pittburgh loss would move the Raiders ever closer to a playoff berth.

Long View
Several 8-6 teams could fall with a loss. The Raiders would be tied with those teams (if LV wins), and they might hold a tie-breaker vs. some of them.

Cincinnati plays the Ravens. Both are 8-6. Raiders hold tie-breaker over Ravens.
The Colts play the Cardinals. The Colts are 8-6. LV plays them next.
The Chargers are 8-6. They hold the tie-breaker over the Raiders, but the two teams meet in the final game of the season.
The Bills are 8-6. They play the Patriots.

KEY GAMES
Raiders now: 11% chance at the playoffs.

Raiders win: +10%
Steelers lose: +1%
Colts lose: +2%
Chargers lose: +1%
Bills lose: +1%

Everything goes LV's way this week: Raiders up to 30% chance.

 

Abram to IR. Season over. Damn.

 

This transaction list is a bit scary.

12/20
OUT Trayvon Mullen IR
OUT Nate Hobbs COVID

12/22
OUT Brandon Facyson COVID

Also, Zay Jones and Josh Jacobs didn't practice yesterday. We absolutely need those guys.

 

Injury Report
OUT Abram (successfuly surgery)
Questionable: Compton, Perryman, Hankins
Doubtful: Waller

 

Transactions
Raiders activate the following:
S Tyree Gillespie
-could see a ton of PT with Abram out

CB Nate Hobbs
-a crucial piece of the team; glad he's back.

G Lester Cotton
-hasn't seen the field since week 2.

DB Kavon Frazier
-hasn't seen the field for the Raiders

WR Tyron Johnson
-mostly a KR with LV. Wonder what this means for Zay Jones's toe.

DT Damion Square
-has done some good work, especially last time against Denver (3 QB hits, .5 sacks).

 

Raiders hit hard:
Raiders declared TE Darren Waller, DT Johnathan Hankins, DE Malcolm Koonce, LB Will Compton, DT Kendal Vickers, and OG Jordan Simmons inactive for Week 16 against the Broncos. (Rotoworld)

 

10 plays, 53 yards, 4:16 on the Raiders' first drive - but no points.

 

Two brutal penalties on this drive. Ferrell - weak call, it seems. Hayward - good penalty.

 

Denver with two drives that have spanned 17 plays but only 23 yards. Other than the penalties, they haven't had any success. Time to capitalize.

 

DC runs for a first down to convert a third down.

 

There's a lot to like about this quarter.
Defense keeping Denver from moving the ball.
Raiders' O is moving the ball.

But we need points!