The Las Vegas Raiders entered Week 1 with an all-new starting linebacker group that included veterans Devin White, Germaine Pratt and Elandon Roberts, the latter of whom was penciled in as the starting middle linebacker.
While White was on the field for all 71 defensive snaps and Pratt played 65 of those snaps, Roberts played just 11 downs after suddenly leaving the game with a sprained elbow near the end of the first quarter, and there is no real update on his injury at this point in time.
Backups Jamal Adams and Tommy Eichenberg played 25 and 14 snaps, respectively. Adams looked great in his new position after converting from safety in the offseason. Meanwhile, Eichenberg, who played a limited role on defense as a rookie, showed promise on Sunday.
Tommy Eichenberg outplayed Elandon Roberts in Raiders' season opener
While his box score stats -- one solo tackle and one assisted tackle -- are not much to write home about, a deeper dive shows that the former fifth-round pick played well. In fact, he significantly outplayed Roberts and could earn an extended look even if the starter is unable to return on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2.
Eichenberg was impressive in his limited role in Week 1, as he outplayed Roberts in every facet of the game. The second-year linebacker posted a Pro Football Focus grade of 66.7. His pass-rush grade was 54.6, however, his run defense grade and coverage grade were 63.7 and 66.0, respectively.
Roberts, on the other hand, struggled before leaving with an elbow injury. His overall PFF grade was just 49.9. While he did not record a pass-rush grade and had a run defense grade of 61.4, his 49.5 coverage grade left plenty to be desired.
RELATED: Raiders received bulletin board material being disrespected in latest power rankings
Although it is far too early in the season to make a meaningful change, particularly when both players were on the field for less than 15 defensive snaps, Eichenberg showed that he has the capability to step in if Roberts is out for an extended period. Carroll noted that in Monday's presser.
"I thought Tommy did a really good job of jumping out there, communicating, doing right, picking up, and not letting that be a factor," Carroll said. "I really credit Tommy with, you know, coming off the bench. It's hard to do that and play as actively as he did. So, it was really good."
If he continues to play well, or if Roberts has a stretch of poor games upon his return, then the former Big Ten Linebacker of the Year could find himself receiving more playing time as the season continues, and nobody could say that he didn't earn it.