The Las Vegas Raiders cleaned house on the back half of their defense this offseason under the guidance of new general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll. The lone holdover of any significance was safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, a former undrafted free agent.
Pola-Mao blossomed last season, however, in the absence of starter Marcus Epps, who was sidelined for the season after getting injured in Week 3. Pola-Mao had a career year, and the new regime rewarded him with a two-year, $7.45 million deal, worth up to $8.45 million.
This vote of confidence paid dividends for Pola-Mao early, as he recorded a highlight-reel interception during the preseason and carried that momentum into a strong showing in Week 1 of the regular season against the New England Patriots.
Raiders' Isaiah Pola-Mao primed for Week 3 bounce-back vs. Commanders
In the season opener, Pola-Mao collected seven tackles, five of which were solo and one of which was for a loss, an interception and a pass breakup. He allowed just one reception for -1 yard on three targets, which was a stellar performance to kick off the year.
However, he stumbled quite a bit in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. In fact, Justin Herbert and Co. torched him. Pola-Mao was targeted five times in the contest and gave up four receptions for 52 yards, including a touchdown to Keenan Allen.
There was another play where he and cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly miscommunicated and gave up a score to Quentin Johnston. While that did not factor into the aforementioned stats, he is not fully absolved of blame for that miscue either.
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He also got a personal foul for hitting Herbert as he was sliding. Regardless of whether or not the call was merited in the eyes of Raider Nation is neither here nor there, because the yards were tacked on anyway.
This week, however, Las Vegas has a more favorable matchup against the Washington Commanders, at least as far as Pola-Mao is concerned. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is a great thrower of the ball in the deep and intermediate areas of the field, but he is dealing with a knee injury.
It is unlikely that the team will ask him to sit in the pocket or extend plays to make throws downfield, so the Commanders could do a bit more dinking and dunking on Sunday. If Daniels does not play due to his injury, then things may be even more favorable against backup Marcus Mariota.
Herbert and the Chargers' offense are among the best in the league, but through two games this season, Washington has looked far from it. Pola-Mao should be able to rebound from his team-worst 24.6 Pro Football Focus grade in Week 2 and right the ship against the Commanders.