The Las Vegas Raiders picked up their second win in a row on Sunday by beating the Chargers in Los Angeles. Here are some thoughts about the game.
Derek Carr is a BALLER
Do not let the stats fool you, he was a pedestrian 13-of-23 for 165 yards, two touchdowns, and two carries for 14 yards, but he played an awesome game. The first half was all about the ground game in a tight contest. Then, the second half came around and the Raiders quarterback took over the game.
Carr made several huge throws and made things happen with his legs. This allowed the Raiders to springboard into the lead in the third quarter. While the Jon Gruden offense makes it difficult to put up monster passing numbers, ‘4’ is low key looking better than ever.
Related:Â Raiders QB Derek Carr bounces back against the Chargers
The Raiders’ defense is still bad, but the effort is there
The secondary is borderline talentless outside of Mullen and Abram, cornerback Isaiah Johnson got big pass breakups despite being beaten twice. The revamped linebacker corps has been underwhelming (*cough* Littleton *cough*), but they have the grit king in Nick Kwiatkoski.
The defensive linemen are not going to rack up a bunch of sacks, but they have great motors. That has lead to good things. Maybe not sacks, but other good things nonetheless.
The receivers remain an enigma
Who are these guys? Are they good? Are they the weak link of the offense? Who knows? Henry Ruggs III shows flashes every now and then but he’s still clearly a work in progress. Nelson Agholor is the girlfriend that’s great until they cheat on you, and then you take them back anyway when you know they’re going to cheat again.
Hunter Renfrow is a discount Julian Edelman, which is not bad when you take into account how clutch the receiver is. Bryan Edwards has too small of a body of work to even talk about. Looking at their production, this group is alright. Long term, they will need to improve.
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Top Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports
