The Raider nation was due for a good week, and they got it with a 31-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts on the road. The win was Jon Gruden’s second on the road in his Raiders tenure and was the perfect bounce back the Raiders needed after a horrific loss in Minnesota.
The Raiders started out fast scoring on their first two possessions with a massive play for Trevor Davis on the reverse. Those points were enough to hold off a beat-up Colts team that was missing their best player in T.Y. Hilton and faced a high amount of dropped passes.
The Raiders were able to hold them to field goals and created turnovers on the day after having none during the first three games.
The winners and losers are always more manageable after a win. Who shined and who was a dud on Sunday? Here are the winners and losers for Week 4 against the Colts.
Winner: FS Erik Harris
After two awful weeks with Curtis Riley being a liability in the back end, the Raiders finally went to the veteran Erik Harris. The safety came up big in the back end of the defense and helped the Raiders secure a win against the Colts in Indianapolis.
Harris finished the game with six tackles, pass defense and the game-clinching pick-six to seal the victory. He displayed his veteran presence always being in the right position in Paul Guenther’s defense and indeed exhibited why he should have been on the field from the beginning when Johnathan Abram went down.
Hopefully, Curtis Riley never sees the field again for the Raiders and Harris can continue to be a leader in the defensive backfield for the defense.
Winner: DB Lamarcus Joyner
After struggling to start the season many in Raider nation were wondering if the Raiders wasted a free agent signing on Lamarcus Joyner. He made those doubters eat their words with an excellent performance against the Colts where he was all over the field.
Joyner had seven tackles and one pass defense, making his presence felt all over the field almost catching an interception early in the first quarter. He had a big defensive stop when the Colts were driving in the third quarter that was a significant loss and left the Colts without points.
The Raiders can’t just limit Joyner to the slot position and have to continue to play him all over the field going forward.
Winner: WR Trevor Davis
With Dwayne Harris out with an injury, the Raiders traded for a replacement by acquiring Trevor Davis from the Green Bay Packers. Davis sat out last week, but introduced himself to Raider nation in a big way with stand out performance in return game and running the football.
Davis’s biggest play was his 60-yard reverse touchdown early in the first quarter. That play gave the Raiders enough cushion they needed to hold on to the 31-24 win. He was excellent on special teams as well having a significant return helping the Raiders get good field position on their drives.
Another unique play was when he reversed field when the offense went to him again in the run game. He was able to turn a dead play into a first down being dynamic with the ball in his hands. Davis was definitely worth the seventh-round pick the Raiders sent to the Packers.
Loser: LB Vonteze Burfict
The Raiders took a chance on a troubled player when they signed Vonteze Burfict in the offseason. He was a leader on the defense and was displaying those traits early on in the season. Week 4, however, was a different story with us seeing the same old Burfict from before he joined the Raiders.
Burfict had one of the dirtiest hits you will see when he went helmet to helmet with Colts tight end Jack Doyle. Doyle was on his knees, and there was no need for him to go for the kill shot and attempt to hurt the player.
This cost the Raiders 15 yards and hurt the team since they are very short on linebacker depth going into this game.
The Colts ended up getting a field goal out of that drive, and now Burfict can be suspended and very well should be for the egregious hit he put on Doyle. The NFL will for sure let Burfict know they didn’t like the hit and the Raiders are going to down linebackers for the foreseeable future.
Loser: WR Tyrell Williams
Tyrell Williams set a Raiders record by becoming the only player to score a touchdown in his first four games of the season. While that was fine and dandy, Williams biggest issue of the day was his huge drops that could have made this game more of a blow out instead of the seven-point win to end the game.
Williams had three huge drops during the game. The first one came on a slant on third down where Derek Carr hit the receiver right in his chest for a first down. The second one was a deep ball throw from Carr that was right on the money and Williams had the pass go right through his hands even with the missed pass interference call.
Another drop that would have sealed the game was in the red zone after a long drive by the Raiders. While the ball was thrown a little behind it still hit Williams in the chest, and he has to come down with that football. If he does, it’s a three-score game, and the Raiders are cruising to a win.
If Williams wants to be the number one receiver on this football team, he has to come down with the tough catches when the team needs them.
