Las Vegas Raiders Wild Card vs Cincinnati Bengals: 3 things to watch

Nov 21, 2021; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Foster Moreau (87) celebrates a second half touchdown with teammate Darren Waller (83) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2021; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Foster Moreau (87) celebrates a second half touchdown with teammate Darren Waller (83) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 4, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller (83) celebrates after catching a pass for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Las Vegas Raiders Wild Card vs Cincinnati Bengals: 3 things to watch

The real return of Darren Waller

Although technically the return was in the Week 18 game against the Chargers — Waller will look to fully shake the rust off this weekend in Cincinnati.

After missing five weeks due to injury and a recent stop on the COVID-19 list, Waller made his much-anticipated return in the season finale. Although the two-catch, 22-yard performance was not stellar by any means, Waller looked a bit off, which was expected after such a long period away.

What we were able to see was his breakaway speed and ability to find space even when being constantly watched and double-teamed. These things were promising, as the quarterback Derek Carr finally gets his receiving unit back together heading into the playoffs.

The return of Waller will not only give Carr another target, and possibly his best one, but it also eases the pressure off of Hunter Renfrow. The third-year slot receiver Renfrow, has become the most consistent staple in the receiving unit, and now with Waller added back into the mix, it will ease the pressure off Renfrow to constantly perform, as no other receiver outside of the former Clemson product has done enough to stamp trust from Carr, at least from a consistent basis.

With a fully healthy Waller, this Raider offense may start to click at the perfect time as it searches for an upset over the Bengals, and hopefully, move on to the next round of the playoffs. Either way, the return of Waller will be huge for this Raider offense, and the best chance to pull out a victory on Saturday.