Denzelle Good arrived in Oakland on December 3, just two days removed from being waived by the Indianapolis Colts, and when the fourth-year offensive lineman looked around at the room he entered, truthfully, he didn't think he would see a whole lot of game action.
"This is a great group of guys; I had Gabe [Jackson] in there, and then KO [Kelechi Osemele], and I wasn't going to play center, but Rod, the two rookie tackles. I wasn't expecting to come in and play a lot," said Good. "I was just expecting to come in and be a backup, you know, insurance, but they had to cash in on that insurance a little early. I don't mind that though. It wasn't my expectation to come in and play right away, but I'm glad it happened, and I got the chance."
After playing just a single offensive snap in his Oakland Raiders debut – a Week 14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers – Good was forced into the starting lineup a week later, stepping in for an injured Gabe Jackson, and after playing all 59 offensive snaps at right guard against the Cincinnati Bengals, he did the same thing Monday night, going the distance on primetime against the Denver Broncos.
So, over the past three weeks in change, Good has gone from being claimed by a new team and not expecting to see much playing time, to a player who has been critical to the well-being of the Silver and Black's offensive line down the stretch.
Busy month for the former Mars Hill Lion, right?
"I don't even look at it like being thrown into the fire," Good explained. "When I got here, these guys welcomed me like I was family, like I've been here. They made me feel comfortable. I feel like Coach [Tom] Cable and Coach Lemuel [Jeanpierre], they really did a great job of just getting me up to speed on offense, and again, just trying to get me to feel as comfortable as possible, and I kind of felt like I hit the ground running, and I've been having fun, man. That's been the main difference."
Monday night in particular was fun for Good and the Raiders offensive line; not only did the Silver and Black tally north of 100 rushing yards, but the big fellas up front rendered the formidable tandem of Bradley Chubb and Von Miller essentially non-factors for 60 minutes.
"We kind of got off to a little slow start as an offense, but I feel like we never faltered in our faith of what we knew we can do, and I don't feel like the o-line came apart the whole game," Good said. "I feel like we were churning the whole game, and just doing what we were supposed to do."
Over their past six games the Raiders are playing .500 football, and while the 2018 season hasn't born the type of results the team wanted, a winning final seven weeks, punctuated by what would be an impressive win over the Kansas City Chiefs would no doubt give Good and his teammates some positive momentum headed into the postseason.
"I feel like everyone on this team just wants to finish strong, just finishing on a good note with some momentum going into the end of the season, giving everybody something to look forward to for next year," Good said.
Kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium is scheduled for 1:25 pm PT.
