The Las Vegas Raiders already bounced back from an up-and-down showing in their first preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks with a strong outing in joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers. On Saturday, the dueled the 49ers in another exhibition game at Allegiant Stadium.
Once again, it was a bit of a mixed bag for the Silver and Black, as they are still ironing out exactly who will play where and how much. Ashton Jeanty was an obvious winner for the Raiders, as he bounced back from an underwhelming debut.
Here are five winners from the Raiders' preseason 22-19 loss against the 49ers, as well as five losers.
5 winners and 5 losers from Raiders preseason loss
Winners
1. Offensive line
Las Vegas' offensive line was paving massive lanes for Jeanty all day, and they gave quarterback Geno Smith ample time to let plays develop and make decisions from the pocket. Jordan Meredith and Jackson Powers-Johnson were particularly impressive, and Laki Tasi had another good showing.
2. Geno Smith and the first-team offense
Smith and the offense were clicking on Saturday, and Raider Nation has to be excited. Outside of a few failed connections with Dont'e Thornton Jr., Smith was able to spread the ball around to multiple receivers and score on both drives. This included a touchdown following a 49ers interception.
3. Jeremy Chinn
Speaking of interceptions, Chinn hauled in the only Raiders interception of the day. Especially after a rough performance last week, it was great for the $16 million free agent signing to correct his mistakes and contribute in a major way for Las Vegas.
4. Run defense
After a brutal display of tackling against the Seahawks, the Raiders responded with an improvement against the 49ers on Saturday. The starting defense gave up -1 yards on six carries, and San Francisco averaged just 2.3 yards per carry on the day with just two runs of 10 or more yards.
5. Chris Smith
Smith was a bit hot and cold during the Raiders' first preseason game, but he really settled in against the 49ers. He led Las Vegas' defense with seven solo tackles, and he was solid as the second level of defense in pass coverage. Smith also had an impressive touchdown-saving tackle in open space.
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Losers
1. Pass defense
The Raiders' secondary is currently searching for answers, and the linebacker corps is not particularly strong in pass coverage either. Brock Purdy diced up Las Vegas' starting unit, and outside of Chinn's interception, the defense provided no real resistance through the air and made no plays on the ball.
2. Isaiah Pola-Mao
Pola-Mao had a highlight-reel interception last week against the Seahawks, so that masked a few of the issues he had in that game. His issues reared their ugly head against the 49ers once again, however, as he missed several tackles and gave up too much in the passing game.
3. Aidan O'Connell
O'Connell looked adequate for a solid portion of the game, but he was the same old player, lacking mobility to extend plays and taking too many sacks. He also made another bad decision that led to a brutal interception, and it continues to look like he has regressed from recent years.
4. Tommy Eichenberg
Eichenberg's numbers don't look too bad, as he tied for the team lead with seven total tackles. However, he gave up too much in coverage, got blocked out of several plays and got lost in the shuffle against the run multiple times. He played with the fourth-stringers in the fourth quarter.
5. Cam Miller
Miller had an incredible opportunity to push O'Connell in the backup quarterback competition once again, but he squandered it against the 49ers. While he still had some great moments and was put in a difficult situation late in the game, he made far too many mistakes, and his last drive was disastrous. He still has plenty of promise, but he clearly needs more time to develop.