The Raiders had a homecoming after almost two months on the road. They celebrated with a massive victory over the Detroit Lions with a nail-biting 31- 24 win at the rowdy Oakland Coliseum. A phenomenal victory that keeps the Raiders in the playoff race and now faces an easy schedule going forward
The Raiders were active on offense averaging a high 6.6 yards per play and were rolling from the beginning of the game. The Raiders didn’t punt until the fourth quarter and were able to build a lead and receive late-game heroics to help pull this victory out late. The Raiders continue to be one of the hottest offenses in the whole NFL.
The defense, on the other hand, still had serious issues but made key stops when the team needed it. They helped save Jon Gruden from a terrible time-out call with eight seconds left with a vast pass break to stop Matthew Stafford and Lions offense. However, the defense gave up 7.5 yards per play, which is horrendous and has to be worked out going forward.
Who shined and who was a dud for the Raiders? Let’s take a look at the winners and Losers Week 9 against the Lions.
Winner: WR Hunter Renfrow
The Raiders needed a receiver to step up against the Lions press coverage after struggling to separate last week against the Texans. The player who raised his hand and had a terrific game was the fifth-round rookie Hunter Renfrow with his second week in a row of top-notch play.
Renfrow was open all game and made big catches when the Raiders needed him on third down. He started with the big slant play on third down on the Raiders’ first drive of the game. Renfrow ran an excellent corner route on the Raiders’ big drive before their second score of the game.
Then, of course, he finished it off on the scramble drill scoring the game-winning touchdown displaying his toe-drag swag keeping his feet inbounds.
His stat sheet doesn’t look too impressive with six catches for 54 yards, but he is exhibiting he is a receiver Carr can lean on during third-down situations. Carr is accurate in the middle of the field, and him having a slot receiver who can win easily on third down is a blessing for this offense in the future.
Winner: QB Derek Carr
After receiving slander from a Hall of Famer earlier in the week, the Raiders starting quarterback knew it was a big game. Derek Carr delivered with his best performance of the season out-dueling Matthew Stafford to victory, keeping them in the playoff hunt.
Carr finished the game 20-31 for 285 yards and a passer rating of 116.2. He had two considerable drives in the second half, where he was making big-time throws downfield and fitting the ball into extremely tight windows. Nothing was better than his throw to Jalen Richard off his back foot that landed right in the breadbasket displaying his clutch ability that showed up all over 2016.
Carr is one of the most underrated quarterbacks this season, and Raiders fans screaming at people that his second season in an offense would be special are starting to look smart. Josh Jacobs gets all the love and deservingly so, but when your quarterback is as hot as Carr, the sky is the limit for this Raiders team as the season closes.
Winner: CB Trayvon Mullen
After trading away, a starting cornerback Trayvon Mullen was expected to step up and make a difference in the secondary. Even though they gave up a ton of yards, Mullen continues to display promise with another strong performer playing coverage outside.
The best thing about Mullen on his college tape was his tackling ability, and he did not disappoint. He collected 6 tackles and was active in his cover 2 coverage to come up and make plays on the ball to secure small gains.
In coverage, he was solid as well playing good coverage against Golladay late in the game and added a pass breakup that didn’t count after a lousy penalty by the Raiders defensive line.
Raiders need steady play from their corners, and Mullen’s first two games have shown a ton of promise. He needs to build on his effectiveness and finish off plays when he has a chance at interceptions.
Mullen is making the Raiders forget about Conley quickly, and that is a remarkable outlook for the Raiders defense.
Loser FS Erik Harris
The Raiders safety play has not been up to par all season with them only displaying flashes of top-notch play. This week the player who struggled the most was Erik Harris, who allowed big plays to become even more massive with missed tackles.
Harris’s biggest blunder was on the Lions’ second touchdown of the game, where he allowed Kenny Golladay to be wide open, leaving his cover 2 responsibilities. Marvin Jones was having a beautiful first quarter, and Harris was watching him in the slot and didn’t realize Golladay was running wide open. He then put on an awful tackle attempt leading to a touchdown.
The box score might say Harris had a good game finishing with 9 tackles, but he has to help out his corners in cover 2 by being in his correct position.
He allowed another big catch in his zone to Marvin Jones, where he thought he had the interception on the play. Raiders need all their safeties to play better, not just Harris. He is just the one getting called out after Sunday’s game.
Loser: DE Benson Mayowa
Benson Mayowa has been the Raiders best pass rusher all season leading the team in sacks with 5.5 on the season. Against the Lions, he was a complete no show with him only putting up an assisted tackle on the stat sheet.
Mayowa was quiet all game and had a penalty that allowed the Lions to keep a drive going. He jumped offsides, and the Lions were able to convert on the next play. These types of penalties have killed the Raiders all season, and Mayowa has to be disciplined enough to not commit bad penalties in close games when the team needs him.
If Mayowa continues to fade as the season goes along, it puts even more pressure on players like Arden Key and Clelin Ferrell to step up and create plays for the pass rush. The Raiders need Mayowa to have a better performance than what he put on the field Sunday if they want to be able to beat the Chargers on Thursday.
