The Las Vegas Raiders’ offense appears to be in its annual second half of the season slump.
After spending most of the season completing deep passes and putting up points, the production has grinded to a halt. Derek Carr and company will look to turn things around in a must-win match against the Denver Broncos tomorrow. One thing’s for sure, if their last showing against the Cleveland Browns in Week 15 is a precursor, it’s going to be a long afternoon in Allegiant Stadium.
Quarterbacks: B
This grade was salvaged by yet another game-winning drive by DC4, albeit after throwing a potentially game-ending interception just one drive prior. Carr would start the game by completing all of his first nine passes, but would finish the day with a pedestrian line of 25 of 38 for 236 yards and a touchdown. This is the first win of the season for the Raiders that did not include a 300-yard passing performance from Carr. Backup Marcus Mariota would get a few looks, including at the goal line, but that was the usual RPO keeper that everyone, including the Browns defense, saw coming a mile away.
Running Backs: C
The combination of Josh Jacobs and Peyton Barber would finish the day with a total of 86 yards on the ground against a stout Browns front. Peyton Barber would only get five carries but made the most of them by racking up 34 yards, including a 19-yard scamper that was the longest of the day for Las Vegas. Jacobs continues to struggle to find consistent running lanes behind the Raiders line, but with Barber seeing success in small doses, it begs the question of whether Jacobs is truly the bellcow that the Raiders and he believe himself to be.
Offensive Line: B
I almost wanted to give them an A solely based on the fact that first round pick Alex Leatherwood finally went four quarters without surrendering a penalty, but I had to be objective. The Browns boast one of the very best rushers in football in Myles Garrett, but the Raiders’ front did a serviceable job of keeping him away from Carr. Granted, Cleveland was missing Garrett’s tag team partner Jadeveon Clowney, and while Carr did feel the heat on a few occasions, they never outright folded. This gave the offense time to move the ball the way they hoped to… For the most part, anyway. They were also able to open up some quality holes in the ground game to keep the defense honest.
Tight Ends: B
Foster Moreau has not had an easy task to handle since All-Pro starter Darren Waller went down with an injury. The LSU product went from an inline blocker primarily to a guy Carr is gunning for over the middle. While there have been some fairly large bumps in the road, Moreau had arguably his best game of the season on Monday, finishing with seven catches for 65 yards on nine targets. It would appear Carr is becoming even more comfortable looking 87’s way, so that number of targets should become steady over the last few weeks and, Lord willing, in the playoffs as well.
Wide Receivers: C
When Carr connected with wide receiver Bryan Edwards in the end zone on a fade route for the first score of Monday’s game, I was certain the South Carolina product was about to torch a depleted Browns secondary. When the game was over, Edwards had only two more catches for eight total yards and a very ugly, drive-killing fumble on the docket. Hunter Renfrow got a ton of attention from the Browns secondary, but Las Vegas still found a way to get disappointing production from its pass catchers. For the love of God, can we not see another game where Zay Jones gets nine targets with numerous deep shots? DeSean Jackson would once again be a non-factor as his biggest play would be a wide open drop. The Raiders need to get this problem figured out quickly, especially with Waller’s return during the season looking less likely.
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*Top Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images