Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 9 review: Studs and Duds

Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 9 review: Studs and Duds

Studs – Offense

Derek Carr

Another week where the stats don’t look great for Derek Carr but he made the plays necessary to help his team win the game. Raider Nation thought it might be a little easier on Carr once Joey Bosa was ruled out but Kolton Miller was ruled out shortly after and suddenly there was trouble. The Raider offensive line had trouble with pass protection, especially RT Sam Young who continues to struggle, but Carr made plays with what little time he had.

There were several plays that stood out above the rest in the game for Carr. On third and 10 on the Raiders’ opening drive, Carr dropped back and launched a perfect throw to Nelson Agholor for a 45-yard touchdown. Agholor continues to be a deep threat for the Raiders and his connection with Carr has been special.

The next play was on the Raiders’ next drive where Carr, on third and four, rolled out to his right after feeling pressure from Melvin Ingram and threw 53-yard dime to Hunter Renfrow. That throw set up the next play that stood out as the Raiders faced a third and 10 from the Charger 12 and Carr took off running in the middle of the field.

It looked as if he would get stopped short and the Raiders would face a tough decision on going for it or not but instead he leapt over the Charger defender and got the first down. Darren Waller would score two plays later to give the Raiders a two-score lead.

Carr did not have the eye-popping numbers we would have hoped to see against a leaky Chargers pass defense but as we said earlier, he did what was necessary to get his team the win.

Josh Jacobs and Devontae Booker

With the two top tackles out, the Raiders knew they would not have much time to throw the ball so they decided to lean on their pair of stud running backs. Josh Jacobs was questionable coming in with a knee issue and illness so rather than wear him down further, Devontae Booker was asked to step up and did a masterful job for his team.

Booker ran for 68 yards on just 8 carries and scored on the Raiders’ opening drive, going 23 yards off the right end completely untouched. Jacobs wouldn’t let his backfield mate have all the fun as he pitched in 65 yards on 14 carries and added his own touchdown off the right end though he had plenty of contact on his score.

It was a fantastic performance from the Raider running backs as they carried their team to yet another victory and will be crucial as they face another talented defense in the Denver Broncos next week.

The offensive line

The Raiders have had to make do this year with a patchwork offensive line as RT Trent Brown has dealt with injury and COVID-19 and several others have been in and out of the lineup with their own injury issues. On Sunday the Raiders were down to just two starters from the preseason and still manhandled the Chargers defense in the run game to the tune of 160 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Pass protection was a struggle initially as the offensive line gave up a strip sack to close out the first half but Carr was hit just twice other than that play. He did not have all day to throw on most plays but they did just enough to allow Carr to make a few plays downfield and did plenty of damage in the running game.