The Raiders got a real taste of what their offense can be when things are clicking in Week 1. Now comes the harder part: proving it can hold up when an opponent starts taking pieces away.
Las Vegas leaned on a few different strengths against the Dolphins, and the early returns were encouraging. The offensive line, a problem area last season, got a boost from offseason additions Tyler Linderbaum and Spencer Burford. Head coach Klint Kubiak said Linderbaum made an immediate impact.
“He's [Tyler Linderbaum's] a really good athlete. He's a premier athlete at his position, and then to play center, you got to be smartest guy on the field.
So, he gets everybody on the same page. He plays with great effort, plays with great athleticism, and he's played one game.
He's got to play a whole season, so still expecting more out of him,” Kubiak said earlier this week.
Special teams also swung the game in Las Vegas’ favor. The kickoff return unit piled up almost 100 return yards, while the punt return group averaged nearly 20 yards per return against Miami. That kind of hidden-yardage production gave the Raiders an edge, and special teams coach Joe DeCamillis liked what he saw from Dylan Laube and Malik Benson.
"I thought he did an excellent job for us. He'll be a captain for us this week.
Did a great job in the return game, but also very, very productive in the coverage game too. So, did an excellent job,” DeCamillis said before practice on Friday.
"You want to have guys that are going to make great decisions. I thought Malik [Benson] did a good job right there, but then we used Dylan [Laube] back there really on kind of a defense stay situation. But that may not be the case every single week."
Then there was the run game, which did more than just move the ball. The Raiders rushed for over 100 total yards in Week 1, but the bigger point was how they used those carries to control the pace and drain the clock. That kind of possession control has not been common for Las Vegas in recent seasons, and it mattered against Miami.
Offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko said the staff was focused on squeezing every bit of value out of those possessions once the ground game started working.
“That's one of the things that we always talk about is being able to maximize our possessions, maximize the time that we have the ball in our hands. I thought our coaches did a great job with the planning purposes, executing the planning, having our guys on point, letting our guys execute so that we were able to stay on the field,” Janocko said before practice on Wednesday.
Week 2 brings a different challenge against the Chargers, who will be intent on forcing Las Vegas into tougher answers. The Raiders’ offense is still defining itself, but the contours are already visible. Los Angeles will try to slow Ashton Jeanty, make Kirk Cousins operate under pressure, and, if Brock Bowers is out, force Michael Mayer out of the picture and ask the Raiders to beat them through the air.
That means the wide receivers are in line for a bigger test, too. If Las Vegas is going to keep building off its opening performance, it will need to show it can stay productive, score, and win when the game does not break cleanly in its favor.
In Other News...
Raiders Win Still Exposed A Problem Fans Know Too Well
The Raiders left Week 2 with a win over the Chargers, and there was enough good in it to make the result feel meaningful. The defense held up well against Los Angeles passing game, and the offense got a major lift from wide receiver Tucker, who piled up more than 100 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Even so, the performance looked a lot like what showed up in training camp and the preseason, with flashes of upside mixed with the same familiar issues.
Las Vegas still had trouble getting the run game going and converting on third down, which kept the offense from ever fully settling in. There were also some questionable play calls along the way, the sort of details that can get buried in a win but tend to linger when a team is trying to prove it can be more than just competitive. The Raiders have the kind of result they needed, but the way they got there left a problem fans know all too well still hanging around. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Suddenly Have A Cody White Decision They Can't Ignore
Cody White went from a roster afterthought to one of the more interesting names in the Raiders early-season picture in a hurry. After being signed to the practice squad and elevated for the first two weeks, the receiver made his case in Las Vegas Week 2 win over the Chargers, finishing with two touchdown catches and showing enough to make the conversation around him much more serious than a temporary fill-in.
Now the Raiders have a real personnel choice on their hands. Keeping White on the 53-man roster would reward the kind of production teams are always chasing, while sending him back to the practice squad would leave him exposed to other clubs looking for a receiver who has already proven he can help right away. For a team trying to sort out its depth and identify who belongs in the long-term mix, White has become a decision they cant afford to brush aside. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Get An Early Opening Against A Shorthanded Chargers Defense
The Chargers are already juggling lineup changes before they even get to Sunday, and that gives Las Vegas a chance to press an edge early in the week. Ladd McConkey and Trey Pipkins are among the names dealing with injury concerns, and the reshuffling has pushed Kayode Awosika into the left guard spot while Tony Jefferson is expected to start at safety. For a Raiders offense looking to settle in against AFC West competition, any uncertainty on the other side only adds to the leverage.
Defensively, Los Angeles is trying to clean up after a rough Week 1 showing, but the personnel picture is still unsettled. The secondary is a particular area to watch, with changes possible as the Chargers sort through their matchups and availability. For the Raiders, that creates an opening to test a defense that is still searching for answers, even before the game plan really gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]