Now that the dust has settled a bit on the Las Vegas Raiders' brutal loss to the San Francisco 49ers, more perspective can be gained. It does no good to stew in misery, even though Sunday's defeat was embarrassing and the emotions were heightened due to the nature of the rivalry game.
But as Klint Kubiak reminded Raider Nation through his defense of Rob Leonard, this is a young staff and team. The people in the building believe in one another, and they are not throwing in the towel with their record sitting at 4-5. They're not playing the blame game or giving up.
They're lacing their shoes up and getting back to work.
In an attempt to do the same, I'd like to highlight five bright spots from Las Vegas' loss to San Francisco, even if the overall effort was uninspiring. And it should make the fanbase feel good that each of these players is on their rookie deals, with several years still to play for the Silver and Black.
5 bright spots from Raiders' dismal loss to the 49ers
Dylan Laube
Laube continues to make game-altering plays as a kick returner, and it stands to reason that he would as a punt returner, too, if the Raiders' defense ever got a stop. But he had another explosive kick return, taking one 54 yards to the San Francisco 42-yard line. The offense settled for a field goal, but...
It's safe to say that Laube did his job. And with the running back room failing to produce much, I wonder if Laube starts to get more run on offense as a pass-catcher, and if Kubiak would maybe give him a few carries in outside zone, just to see what he can do with it. He's got the juice right now.
Ashton Jeanty
Please don't claw my eyeballs out for praising Jeanty, but I thought he ran well on Sunday, at least better than he has in some time. Stats-wise, his six carries for 25 yards were his best single-game average of the season (4.2), and on plays that weren't blown up, Jeanty looked fairly improved.
He was more decisive, got downhill quicker, saw the lanes that were available to him, and scraped out yards by falling forward and keeping his legs moving. It was a small sample size, given the game script, but Sunday showed that he is probably still the Raiders' RB1.
Jermod McCoy
McCoy continues to ascend the ranks in Las Vegas, as he's out-snapped Zeke Masses for the second game in a row. In 14 run defense snaps, McCoy logged two tackles, and in 11 coverage snaps, he was thrown at twice and broke up both passes. That is some very good football from the rookie.
He still has plenty of room to improve, but Kubiak seems happy with McCoy's progress and where he is right now. And while he still has work to do to carve out a starting role, the youngster appears to be well on his way.
Brock Bowers
Bowers, not Kirk Cousins, is keeping this offense afloat. He is a free completion when you throw at him, as there is nothing that Bowers can't do on the field and nobody that he can't wriggle free from. He got peanut-punched by Fred Warner, which happens, but Bowers is an otherworldly talent.
His seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown don't begin to tell the story of his impact on this game.
Treydan Stukes
Stukes is going to be the Raiders' starting free safety for a long time if he stays healthy.
The first-year stud is already mastering advanced concepts and holding together the back end of a putrid Raiders defense as best he can, and Stukes finally popped again with a nice interception in Week 9. He's a help against the run, too, and as he keeps polishing his game, Stukes can be special.
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