At some point we should just call all these Raiders loss to Raiders. Because it doesn’t seem to matter the team in the other jersey, the Raiders real opponent each week is themselves.
That being said, there are a few players who stepped up and did their part to try and pull out the win. Even if their efforts fell short. As per usual, we will start with them before we feature the failures.
Ballers
S Tre’von Moehrig
Moehrig was sent on the blitz several times in this game. To great results. He was sent on third down on the Rams first drive and nailed Matt Stafford to force an incomplete pass. He would then assist on a run stuff for a three-and-out in the second quarter.
He got in the backfield again for a tackle for loss to end a drive early in the third quarter. Then on the Rams’ final two drives, he had a pressure on an incompletion and a run stuff, finishing second on the team with six combined tackles, one for a loss, a QB hit and a pass breakup.
RB Alexander Mattison
Consecutive runs of 13 and 12 yards led out the Raiders’ first scoring drive. He would add a five-yard run later in that drive to help the Raiders jump to a 3-0 lead to begin the second quarter.
After falling down 14-3 late in the second quarter, the Raiders needed to go on a drive. And they did that courtesy of Mattison, who had two runs for a first down and a 17-yard screen that put them in field goal range.
Four runs for 21 yards set the Raiders up for their third score of the game in the third quarter. Mattison had 92 yards on the ground and 123 yards from scrimmage on 26 touches.
CB Nate Hobbs, CB Jakorian Bennett
Tight coverage by Bennett set up a third and long that would lead to a punt on the Rams’ second drive. After the Raiders took a 3-0 lead early in the second, Hobbs’ run stuff on 4th and one gave the Raiders the ball back with a turnover on downs.
Bennett ended the Rams first possession of the third quarter with a three-and-out by breaking up the pass on third down.
With the fourth quarter looming, the Raiders needed a score to give them a chance. They got that score when Robert Spillane got a hand on a pass and Hobbs picked it off and returned it 35 yards to the LA 14-yard-line. That made it a one-score game at 20-12.
The following drive ended with Bennett in tight coverage in the end zone for an incompletion and the field goal missed off the upright. And the final Rams possession ended with Hobbs making the tackle short of the sticks on third down.
TE Brock Bowers
The first time the Raiders got in scoring position in the game was off of his 25-yard catch and run. Most of that was YAC; something he has become known for.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Bowers already had six catches for 64 yards and the Raiders were one score away. They looked to Bowers early and often on their drive to try and tie it up. He had three first down catches on the first five plays. Two plays later, he was the lead blocked on a first down run on fourth down.
He would finish the game with ten catches for 93 yards which was one catch shy of the entire total for the rest of the team (11).
DT Adam Butler
His first tackle was a run stuff at the line that ended the Rams’ second drive. He ended another Rams’ possession in the second quarter with another run stuff. He added another run stop in the fourth quarter to finished tied for second on the team in tackles (6).
K Daniel Carlson
Though it’s never a good thing when your kicker scores all your points, at least he was steady. Carlson made all five of his field goals in the game with the longest coming from 47 yards.
