The Las Vegas Raiders are riding high after ten weeks of football. They had their first home game in two weeks and put a beatdown on the Denver Broncos 37-12 with their biggest win since Week 2, 2017. The win has the Raiders at 6-3 going into a big divisional matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Raiders offense continues to cruise as the running game comes back to the forefront of the offense. The Raiders ran the football for 203 yards on 41 carries, which led to four rushing touchdowns. The passing offense struggled to move the ball with three drops on the day that could have led to touchdowns. However, there were no turnovers from the offense, and Derek Carr continued to use his legs to make plays.
The defense had its performance of the season, holding the Broncos to 4.6 yards per play. They also created 5 turnovers matching the total they had all season, and pressure on the quarterback, creating turnovers with two sacks on the day. The Raiders forced Drew Lock to throw four interceptions on the day and forced a fumble that led to a touchdown that blew the game wide open. If the Raiders can have this type of defensive performance as we advance, they truly can be a playoff contender.
Who were the winners and losers for Week 10? Let us check it out
Winner: RB Josh Jacobs
The running game was the focal point of this offense as the Raiders dominated on the ground. One of the main players who contributed to this was second-year stud Josh Jacobs, who finished with his best game of the season. We are starting to see the running back from 2019.
Jacobs finished the game with 21 carries, 112 yards, and two touchdowns on the day. He had his longest run of the year at 24 yards and looked elusive breaking tackles. He displayed a mean stiff arm on the day and always contributed to the passing game, with four catches for 24 yards.
Jacobs coming on right now is very key to the playoff push as the Raiders can lean on him late in the game. He has 306 yards in the last three games and is starting to have the hot hand in this offense. Raiders run game looks potent going into the game against the Chiefs.
Winner: FS Jeff Heath
Raiders fans have been looking for competent safety play all season, with only Abram being the consistent player in the back end. Sunday ended up being a different look as the Raiders got a huge day from Jeff Heath with his two interceptions. Heath has been a surprise with his ability to create turnovers.
In the first quarter, Heath started with a pick on an errant pass from Lock that went right into his hands. He then followed it up with a massive interception right before the half that kept the Broncos from scoring in the red zone. He read the slant well perfectly and broke on the football to pick off the pass and help the Raiders keep them to 12 points on the day.
Hopefully, this can be duplicated throughout the season as the Raiders need more of these performances from the back end. Heath has been up and down, but he understands the system and could be vital as a playmaker down the stretch.
Winner: RB Devontae Booker
The running game was dominant all game, and it wasn’t just Josh Jacobs being successful on the ground. Devontae Booker came to play against his former team, and he is starting to form a formidable tandem with Jacobs in the backfield.
Booker was tremendous in his limited duties with 15 carries and 81 yards plus adding two touchdowns on the day. Booker has been decisive in the hole all season and displays great vision as a power back. He is helping take this offense to another level with his performances in the last two games.
If Jacobs and Booker and dominant on the ground when it is playoff time, this offense could really make some noise. The passing game hasn’t been as explosive as possible but with this running pushing itself as one of the best in the league.
Loser: Raiders’ Receivers
While the game was out of hand and the offense put up 37 points, it was not a great all-around performance. The Raider wide receivers left a ton of yards on the field with huge drops that kept this game closer than it should have been from the start. This led to them only having 164 yards passing on the day.
The first big drop was from Henry Ruggs, who was screaming down the sideline wide open when Carr dropped a dime that went right through his hands. The next one was in the red zone that could have been a touchdown to Nelson Agholar and went right through his hands. The last one was an egregious drop by Darren Waller on another wide-open deep route that Waller would walk into the end zone for six.
The passing game has been slow the past three weeks, with teams seemingly locking up the Raiders on the back end. The drops are not helping when Carr does find people open downfield for big plays. The receivers need to get it together with the Chiefs coming into town to 4-0 in the division.
