Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce calls a timeout to get his defense set on third down, but the Minnesota Vikings convert anyway to set up a game-winning field goal kick.
Saturday marked the day Raider Nation had been waiting for – the day the Las Vegas Raiders take the field for the first time this season. It didn’t matter that it was preseason football; fans just wanted to see their team in action again. More importantly, Raider Nation wanted to see the team’s quarterback situation for themselves.
After four quarters of football, the Raiders walked away with a 23-24 loss against the Minnesota Vikings.
But the final score isn’t what matters in preseason contests.
The preseason gives coaches a chance to see how players perform in certain roles during actual football games, without the final score impacting their season in any way. What matters most is how your team and players look during a contest, not the result of the match up.
For the Raiders, both their first and second units on both sides of the ball looked dialed in and ready to compete. Several individual players who played on Saturday made their presence known in a big way.
Stars of Las Vegas Raiders Week 1 preseason vs Minnesota Vikings, via the analytics
The analytics compiled by Pro Football Focus gives a more detailed view of which players in particular had the most impact on Saturday.
Here are the stars of Week 1, preseason:
Gardner Minshew
Minshew ended his day with a passing grade of 84.3, which ranked third-highest among all quarterbacks who tossed at least five passes in Week 1. His 112.2 quarterback rating stood as the ninth-highest mark among quarterbacks with at least five attempts. 50% of Minshew’s 12 throws were hauled in for 117 yards and a touchdown. Five of these completions moved the chains, with Minshew picking up an additional first via his legs.
Jordan Meredith
No offensive lineman for the Silver and Black performed better than Meredith on Saturday. With an 85.4 pass blocking grade, only eight guards earned a higher grade than Meredith in Week 1 of preseason. The 26-year-old didn’t allow any pressures or hurries against the Vikings.
Amari Gainer
Gainer, an undrafted free agent, signed a three-year deal with the Raiders post-draft. In his first NFL contest, Gainer earned the 14th-highest coverage grade league-wide (90.1) on five targets. He allowed only 20% of passes in his direction to be completed while adding a pass breakup to his day.
Amari Burney
There was no better defender against the run on Saturday than Burney. The Raiders linebacker earned a grade of 83.0 against the run; the 13th-highest league-wide among all defenders with at least five snaps on running plays. More impressively, Burney recorded a stop rate of 33% against the run. That number ranked eighth-highest among all defenders who totaled at least five snaps on running downs.
Sin City defenders shine in Week 1 of preseason
Blitzing linebackers
Luke Masterson and Robert Spillane weren’t asked to blitz much on Saturday, but when they were, they succeeded. Masterson rushed the quarterback twice and beat his blocker both times to record a QB hurry. Spillane also rushed twice and beat his man once for one QB hurry. Divine Deablo totaled one blitz himself, making the most of it by earning an additional QB hurry. Altogether, these linebackers hurried the quarterback on 60% of their pass rushes. That’s going to get it done every time.
Jack Jones
Out of every defender in the National Football League to play in Week 1 of preseason, no player earned a higher coverage grade than Jack Jones (92.4). Jones allowed 50% of passes his way to be completed on four throws, posting an 18.8 quarterback rating when targeted. “74 overall though,” as Jones would say about his Madden rating.
Tre’von Moehrig
A staple to the Raiders’ defense for years now, Moehrig had a strong performance on Saturday. His 80.3 grade was the ninth-highest among all safeties and his six tackles stood as the fourth-most at his position. Moehrig missed zero tackles while recording two stops against the run; the second-most among all safeties.
Jakorian Bennett
Bennett was only targeted once, but the play was too big not to note. The Minnesota Vikings marched to the red zone on their first drive, but Las Vegas’ defense was able to put it together as they forced a fourth down. Minnesota went for it and Sam Darnold threw the ball to his man in the end zone. Bennett wasn’t going to let the Vikings score first, however, and instead broke up the touchdown to give his offense the ball back.
*Top Photo: Getty Images