Holding Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to zero combined points on the final three drives of a neck-and-neck game at M&T Bank Stadium is as close to unrealistic as it gets. Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders didn’t get that memo, however.
No, Raider Nation; yesterday wasn’t a dream. Against all odds, Antonio Pierce marched the Silver and Black into Baltimore and took a win away from the AFC’s top seed in 2023. After keeping the Ravens off of the scoreboard for the game’s final three drives, in addition to scoring on each of their final four drives in the meantime, the Las Vegas Raiders walked away with a 26-23 victory in Week 2.
Who saw that coming? None of the 10 NFL Network staffers who gave their pre-game prediction, as the Raiders social media team reminded everyone.
Changing the narrative #RaiderNation CBS pic.twitter.com/PcN3AWRTrJ
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 15, 2024
It was a night where history was made.
Rookie tight end Brock Bowers logged nine receptions, putting him at 15 through two games. This marks the most receptions by a rookie tight end through their first two NFL games, beating the old record of 12 by a sizable margin. Bowers also passed Amari Cooper for most receptions by a Raiders rookie through their first two games, regardless of position.
Robert Spillane totaled double-digit tackles for the second-straight week, becoming just the third player in Raiders’ history to record 10+ tackles in Weeks 1 and 2 of any season. Daniel Carlson hit his 174th field goal since 2018, catapulting himself to third on the made field goals list since becoming a pro.
And, best of all, the Raiders won their first game when trailing by double-digits in the fourth-quarter since Week 1 of 2016.
Las Vegas Raiders make a powerful statement with their Week 2 win on the road vs Baltimore Ravens
It’s impossible to talk about Sin City’s Week 2 win without bringing up Maxx Crosby – over and over again. Crosby, a two-time second-team All-Pro, showed everyone exactly why he’s a multi-time All-Pro.
Each sack Las Vegas recorded was at the hands of Maxx Crosby who finished the day with two. Crosby’s five stops tied for first among all edge rushers across the National Football League and ranked second among all Raiders defenders, trailing only Robert Spillane who totaled six.
The three-time Pro Bowler was given a grade of 81.7 against the run via Pro Football Focus; the highest grade given out to an edge rusher who tallied at least 10 run-defense snaps.
For the second week in a row, Crosby played 100% of defensive snaps for the Raiders. It’s not much of a surprise for Crosby; he achieved this feat in 10-of-17 games last season. For all other defensive linemen, however, it’s simply not a thing. While Crosby played 100% of defensive snaps on 10 occasions in 2023, each and every D-lineman in the National Football League combined for five 100% defensive snap-count games.
Maxx Crosby just isn’t human. Neither is Davante Adams.
Davante Adams is still ‘him’
Adam is approaching 32 years of age, but you’d never know that watching him play. On Sunday, the three-time first-team All-Pro hauled in nine passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.
The Raiders scored on all four of their final four drives, and Davante Adams was the biggest reason why. Las Vegas totaled four 20+ yard passes during these drives. Davante Adams was responsible for three of these four plays in addition to one of the two touchdowns scored.
Oh, and this:
WHAT. A. CATCH. #LVvsBAL | @ParamountPlus pic.twitter.com/67OiCsDrEX
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 15, 2024
Adams ended his day tied with San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel for eighth-most receiving yards of the week.
However, Adams did look human as he dropped an eight-yarder on second down at the line of scrimmage with nobody around him. It was all forgiven when Brock Bowers moved the chains with a catch on third, though.
Bowers, like Adams, finished the game with nine catches as he caught all nine throws his way. The rookie totaled 98 yards and was an inch away from adding a touchdown to his day as well. He ended Week 2 as the highest-graded Raider with a mark of 83.1.
The Raiders’ ferocious defense
For the second week in a row, Las Vegas’ defensive unit was brilliant.
Against the Chargers in Week 1, the team allowed just three first downs on seven drives in the first half. None of the seven drives lasted longer than four plays. Maxx Crosby and company picked right back up where they left off entering Week 2.
Although the defense allowed nine first downs during the first half, Las Vegas kept Baltimore off the scoreboard on four-of-six drives. The Ravens totaled six points on their two first-half scoring drives.
While the Ravens managed to get into the end zone twice during the final half, it was ultimately the same result: The Silver and Black’s ferocious defense once again kept Baltimore scoreless on four-of-six drives.
Cornerbacks Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs and Jakorian Bennett, the only three Raiders corners to take the field on defense in Week 2, combined for five allowed receptions on 11 targets.
Both Jones and Bennett allowed 50% of passes their way to be completed while the only pass Hobbs’ way fell incomplete. Jones and Bennett broke up two passes each, giving Jones a forced incompletion percentage of 50% while Bennett earned a 33% forced incompletion percentage. These were the two highest forced incompletion percentages among all cornerbacks league-wide to be targeted at least three times in Week 2.
As a whole, the pass-rush will look to do better next week. Only seven pressures were totaled, between just three players, with Maxx Crosby being the only Raider to beat his blocker at least 10% of the time. The Ravens, in comparison, totaled 14 pressures between eight players while four beat their blocker at least 10% of the time.
Still, the Raiders’ pass-rush managed to come through in big moments.
Things to keep an eye on moving forward
Only one Raider found the end zone in Week 1, and it was the same player who scored the game’s first touchdown in Baltimore: Alexander Mattison, who has two of the team’s three touchdowns this season. Mattison had four carries for one yard during Sunday’s contest with zero targets in the passing game.
The usage of Mattison is noteworthy as he continues to compete with Zamir White for carries. Mattison, the hot hand in Week 1, was expected to be the main ball carrier in Baltimore on Sunday. Instead, White had more than double the carries of Mattison, adding three catches out of the backfield to his day. The lead-back job continues being White’s.
The team’s offensive line struggles is another thing to note.
Las Vegas ended Week 1 with the 29th-best pass-block efficiency rate per PFF. Week 2 wasn’t much better, either.
Guard Cody Whitehair was relieved by Andrus Peat after the first drive of the game while star left tackle Kolton Miller surrendered a team-high three sacks. Right tackle Thayer Munford was responsible for an additional two sacks himself.
Through two weeks, no team has allowed more sacks than the Raiders (9). Their run-blocking has been every bit as bad; Munford’s 37.5 run-block grade stands as the lowest among all tackles league-wide while Peat’s 39.0 run-block grade is the lowest among all guards. Keeping the trend rolling, Andre James’ 44.3 run-block grade is the lowest among each and every center league-wide.
Despite the offensive line’s struggles, Gardner Minshew has been able to pile up the stats. His completion percentage currently ranks first among quarterbacks to play both Weeks 1 and 2 (77.5%) while his passing yards are tied for second-most (533). Still, with two touchdowns and two interceptions to his name, there’s room for improvement.
Las Vegas Raiders Week 2 Win: The Bottom Line
The Raiders were able to walk away with a win solely because of their fourth-quarter heroics. Unbelievably, Las Vegas scored on each of their final four possessions to add 20 points at the game’s end. Defensively, they kept Baltimore off the board for their final three drives.
Everything had to be perfect in the fourth-quarter for the Raiders to win – and it was.
However, the team can’t expect things to play out like that each week. The chances of continuously scoring late while simultaneously keeping their opponents off the scoreboard seemed impossible against just the Ravens alone; never mind creating a trend of doing so.
The Raiders have to iron out their offense to truly be a threat this season. Defensively, Las Vegas allowed only six points in the first half of both Week 1 and Week 2, yet the offense was unable to capitalize. Neither game yielded more than seven points in the first half.
Sin City should celebrate what they did to close out Week 2, because it truly was a remarkable accomplishment. In the same breath, Antonio Pierce and company must understand doing nothing offensively for three quarters is not a recipe for success.
Hopefully things start to get figured out against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3.
*Top Photo: AP Photo/ Stephanie Scarbrough