Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 1 Review: 3 Studs and 3 Duds

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 13: Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders looks to pass under pressure from Brian Burns #53 of the Carolina Panthers in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

It was a successful Sunday on many levels for the Las Vegas Raiders, and we look at 3 studs and 3 duds from the win against the Carolina Panthers.

The Las Vegas Raiders went into Carolina and beat Christian McCaffrey and the Panthers for the rare East Coast win, with the final score of 34-30. Derek Carr had a solid game under center, but the real story was the play of second-year running back Josh Jacobs, who was a beast in the run and pass game.

Here are some studs and duds for the game.

Stars

No. 1: Running Back Josh Jacobs

Anytime you score three touchdowns in a game you’re going to be one of the stars, and Jacobs may be the Raiders brightest. Jacobs had 25 carries for 93 yards and four receptions for 46 yards, as he ended just 61 yards of my prediction of 200 all purpose yards, and showed the patience, explosiveness, and elusiveness that we all grew to love him for.

The running game did so well in this game overall i thought about including Devontae Booker to this list because he was better than advertised with his contribution Sunday.

No. 2 Safety Johnathan Abram

Just like the first game last season, Johnathan Abram was all over the field in this gam,e and led the entire Raiders defense with 13 tackles, nine of them solo, and one of the only tackles for a loss for the under performing defense today. Abram is the real deal, as he plays hard, but hits even harder.

Even though he did misplay a run by McCaffrey by the goal line, leading to a score, I cant wait to see him develop further into this season and expect him to make this list several more times as he makes a case for Defensive MVP of the Raiders.

No. 3: The Offensive Line

Starting right tackle Trent Brown missed pretty much all of training camp with a calf injury, but on the last injury report that came out, he was good to go and Las Vegas had a fully loaded offensive line. Flash to Sunday, and Brown leaves with a injury, then his backup Sam Young goes down with an injury, so that leaves Denzelle Good to play right tackle.

Must of been a disaster right? Wrong. The offensive line played well, kept Derek Carr clean with no sacks given up, and some good running lanes for the backs.

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