Welcome in to the full recap of Week 2. The Raiders open up their first home game in Alllegiant Stadium and it'll be one to remember for Sin City. After a 10-0 start by Drew Brees and the Saints, Derek Carr and the Raiders roared back with 31 unanswered en route to an eventual 24-34 win to start 2-0.
Great win for the Raiders. You can't ask for a challenging matchup in your first home game at your new digs. The Saints without question are a juggernaut on offense. This was gonna be a test for the Raider D that had too many new parts. And it looked the part at the start. Drew Brees started off hot. Alvin Kamara was making people miss tackles in the open field. Tay Train got some hard runs in. The Saints looked sharp on their opening drive.
Yet astonishingly, the defense held them to 10 points in the 1st quarter. The defense is still a work-in-progress. I would like to see some pass rush generated since they upgraded the D-line. But after that 1st quarter, the defense adjusted to get more pressure. They put Brees under duress for the duration of the game. the young secondary took the top off to force the Saints to throw under or check down. The absence of Michael Thomas was big and it made the passing defense's job a lot easier to take out the big play.
Despite the lack of sacks, the Raiders did force one INT. I think Nicholas Morrow's INT was the momentum-changing play of the game. The Raiders offense was already regaining some rhythm at that time. But Morrow's INT helped stall the Saints' two-minute drive with a possible score in the first half and allowed the Raiders to tie at 17 all, heading into the 2nd half. Some may argue Gruden's aggressive 4th down TD call in the 3rd as the momentum-shifting play, but Morrow's INT gave the defense a lot of confidence to hang with one of the best offenses in the league.
Offensively, there were some jitters at the opening drive. Carr was under durress from the Saints' pass rush. There was a missed golden opportunity with a deep ball TD to Henry Ruggs, but Carr just overshot him by a few yards. It was a forgettable 1st quarter.
However 2nd quarter onwards, it was a different story. The running game behind Josh Jacobs got better. Darren Waller came alive as Gruden moved him around, exploiting mismatches with the Saints' linebackers and secondary. Waller was hands down the MVP in the passing game with 12 receptions, 103 yards, and 1 TD. The Saints had no answer for him in coverage.
While Waller gains all the glory, Derek Carr did a solid job distributing the ball around to accumulate for his stats with a 74% completion rate, 282 yards, and 3 TDs. He found 11 different receivers with Waller being the big one. But he tossed some TDs to Alec Ingold and Zay Jones for the Raiders' first 14 points. He also targeted Bryan Edwards early on for 2 receptions for 42 yards. I'm excited on the upside for this rookie. While Ruggs, Waller, and Renfrow get the attention, Edwards has a lot of potential as that 50/50 ball getter.
Other positives, I should note: kudos to the shorthanded offensive line. Denzelle Good filled in for Trent Brown. Incognito got hurt this game, allowing opportunity for rookie John Simpson out of Clemson. They stepped up in the run blocking. Despite the two key linemen absent, this O-line was able to open big running lanes for Josh Jacobs and Jalen Richard. Richard stays burning the Saints. He had that fumble off a high pitch from Carr since 2016. But he redeemed himself with a 20 yard rushing TD off a toss play.
Overall, this was an impressive for the Raiders. The Saints are an NFC South favorite with an elite offense and a middle-of-the-pack defense and the made the statement win. I liked that the team and the coaching staff stayed aggressive this game. Jon Gruden deserves some credit for trusting Carr and the offense on 4th and goal and Daniel Carlson to kick away the Saints' hopes of a comeback. Talk about a 180 for Carlson? He struggled last year. This year, he's making 50+ yarders with ease. 2-0, but this team is still working on some things? They might exceed expectations. The Patriots are next. That team may not be dead from Super Bowl contention. Containing Cam Newton will be a must. If they can do that, the Raiders can end years of misery vs. the Pats in Foxborough. I'll see you guys next week for that game.
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