As it turns out, a lightning delay before the Raiders’ Monday night game against the Chargers was indeed a bad omen for Las Vegas.
After sitting in the locker room longer than anticipated, coach Jon Gruden’s offense was a no-show in the first half, earning just one first down, and the Raiders fell behind 21-0 by halftime at SoFi Stadium. A third-quarter comeback made the game interesting, but Las Vegas came up short on a few big plays in crunch time and lost its first game of the season, 28-14.
Some Raiders performed better than others, however. Here are this week’s winners and losers after the Chargers pulled even with the Raiders at 3-1 in the AFC West.
Winners
Hunter Renfrow
In the first half, there wasn’t much to cheer about for any of the Raiders’ playmakers. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow had to make his impact felt on special teams, at least initially.
With the Raiders down 7-0 in the first quarter, the Raiders defense forced a punt. The Chargers opted for a fake, but Renfrow was ready to stop the effort dead in its tracks.
Hit Power: ⬆️⬆️@renfrowhunter #Madden22 pic.twitter.com/sA1EDaROl2
— Madden NFL 22 (@EAMaddenNFL) October 5, 2021
That’s impressive stuff from the Raiders’ slot receiver. Plus, Renfrow caught quarterback Derek Carr’s first touchdown of the day. Renfrow ran his patented custom “flat-china” route, adding to its growing legend before a national audience. Despite the Raiders’ loss, Renfrow is more of a household name than ever.
Needed that.@derekcarrqb to @renfrowhunter for the clutch TD.
Watch #LVvsLAC live on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Gbnx22FCFC
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 5, 2021
Darius Philon
The Raiders’ prolific pass rush took a while to make an impact in the game, but as the night wore on, Chargers QB Justin Herbert felt the heat. Defensive tackle Darius Philon turned up the temperature first, with a first-quarter sack that set up Renfrow’s big hit on special teams.
Philon ended up with two sacks on the evening, earning his second QB take-down in crunch time. He also had two quarterback hits, adding to a total of seven for the Raiders defense. All in all, It was an impressive showing for the first-year Raiders lineman, and Philon probably didn’t mind that his big day came against his former team.
Amik Robertson
Cornerback Amik Robertson was pressed into duty after multiple Raiders cornerbacks were ruled out due to injury. The Chargers didn’t challenge him much, but Robertson didn’t get embarrassed on the evening against Los Angeles’ potent WR group.
What’s more, he looked as comfortable as one could expect from a second-year pro who lacks quality experience. Robertson had seven tackles, including six solo stops after cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen and Damon Arnette went down. Nickel corner Nate Hobbs was also evaluated for a concussion, and CB Casey Hayward Jr. missed time on the field, too.
Losers
Damon Arnette
Arnette didn’t fare quite as well as Robertson. Though it was an incomplete pass, Arnette was roasted by Chargers WR Mike Williams in the first half.
Alex Leatherwood gets beat for a strip-sack, Clelin Ferrell isn’t starting and Damon Arnette gets absolutely COOKED here.
Would say it’s a burn-the-tape game for Mike Mayock as a drafting GM, but that’s almost every week at this point. pic.twitter.com/512Qa9hfXy
— Max Chadwick (@Chad_Maxwick) October 5, 2021
The play was a perfect example of why I used the word “embarrassed” when talking about Robertson.
With the nation watching, Arnette had a nightmare of a snap. Somehow, Williams only had 11 yards on a single catch on the evening. The Chargers didn’t need him. They were persistent with the running game all night, totaling 168 yards on the ground, and LA also completed some huge plays to their tight ends at crucial moments.
Denzel Perryman
No catch in the game was larger than a haul by Chargers TE Jared Cook on 4th-and-2 in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Denzel Perryman tried to stop it, but he came up short.
Jared Cook cooks Perriman on 4th down on the rub route. pic.twitter.com/LzNLehjj8L
— The 60FPS & GIF Guy (@IHaveFourBalls) October 5, 2021
Perryman actually had fairly tight coverage on the play, but he took the loss on this crucial snap. It was the play that finally broke the back of the Raiders’ defense, allowing the Chargers to keep marching for the game’s final score, an Austin Ekeler rushing touchdown.
The Raiders’ new LB is a beast in the run game and had 12 tackles on the night, but teams appear to be targeting him in the passing game now. It’s possible he’ll lose some snaps going forward because of that.
Alex Leatherwood
The Raiders defense had a decent game compared to the offense, however, and the No. 1 reason for that was poor play from their offensive line. Rookie Alex Leatherwood had the unfortunate task of blocking Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, and Bosa got home for a strip-sack in the first half, with the Raiders recovering Carr’s fumble.
The rookie right tackle also had two false starts before halftime. In the second half, his play steadied somewhat, but much of the credit for the Raiders’ success in the third quarter (when they scored all of their 14 points, including a Darren Waller TD) goes to Carr, who had to run for his life and make off-script plays, which he did several times.
The Raiders were humbled on national television on Monday night against a division rival, but all is not lost. With a 3-1 record, there’s a lot to play for in Las Vegas. And clearly, there’s plenty of room to improve as the season progresses.
