On Monday night football the Oakland Raiders beat the Denver Broncos 24-16. Raiders dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Oakland had a fantastic game plan, running the ball and quick passes. The Raiders went 10-14 on third down conversions, most of them were third and short due to early-down success. Here are some other takeaways from the Monday night win.
Raiders pass-catchers step up
Antonio Brown was released on Saturday, and it left everybody wondering how the receiving core would do. Tyrell Williams takes over as the number one receiver, and he had an excellent game. Williams caught six passes for 105 yards and one touchdown. Williams is 6'4 and is a big target for Carr, even when he is covered with his size he can make plays.
Also, tight end Darren Waller played well; he caught seven passes for 70 yards. Waller is a fast, athletic tight end; i expect big things from him this season. He can create a lot of mismatches for opposing teams.
Offensive Line Played Great
Coming into the game the Raiders had to worry about Nick Chubb and Von Miller. Raiders offensive tackles Kolton Miller and Trent Brown played a great game, along with the other offensive lineman. The line kept Derek Carr clean all night, there were no quarterback hits, and you did not hear Miller and Chubb name all night. They also opened up some running back Josh jacobs who had 85 yards rushing with two touchdowns. Keep in mind that the Raider was without starting guards Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito.
Derek Carr Flawless
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 22 of 26 passes for 249 yards and one touchdown in the Raiders win. His passing rating was 121.0, he threw the ball accurate all night and made smart decisions with the football. Carr looked focus from the time he walked into the stadium. He did a beautiful job changing the plays at the line of scrimmage and getting the Raiders offense into successful plays. If Carr can keep this up, the Raiders can win more games than expected.
Defense Looked Better
I know its just one game, but the defense for the Raiders looks a lot better. The Raiders defense looks much faster than last year and more physical. Last season they only had 13 sacks as a team. In week one they had there, defensive end Benson Mayowa had two sacks, and rookie Clelin Ferrell had one sack. The first half, the defense did an excellent job in stopping the run; in the second half, they struggled a bit.
The Raiders secondary played well too, especially in man to man situations. The Secondary had a few lapses win it came to a zone defense. Safety Johnathan Abram is going to make sure people feel him when it comes to tackling. He did get a penalty for lowering his head in the game, but he is a physical player the Raiders need. One cause for concern is cornerback Gareon Conley; he got kicked in the head accidentally by his teammate. He got carted off the field, but coach Jon Gruden said he was going to be ok.
It was a good showing for the Raiders; it was good gameplan put together by the coaches and the players executed well for the Raiders win. Now it's on to week two, a home game against the Kansas City Chiefs, let's see what they can put together Sunday.
