It's no secret, the Oakland Raiders Sunday night game against the Washington Redskins didn't go according to plan, as the team fell on primetime television 27-10. After entering the matchup 2-0, and one of 10 teams to remain undefeated, the Silver and Black now sit at 2-1 headed into Week 4.
Under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football, Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins led his team up and down the field, with some help from Redskins running back Chris Thompson. Next week the Silver and Black will travel to Denver to face off against a division rival in the Broncos, but before we get too ahead of ourselves, here's a look at how the snap counts break down from the matchup with the Redskins.
Offense
Derek Carr was brought down a few times –The Raiders have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and allowed the least amount of sacks last year, but Sunday night the former Fresno State Bulldog was brought down quite a bit. All five of the Raiders offensive linemen played 100 percent of the snaps, and the group allowed four sacks by games end. There should be no cause for concern though, because as mentioned previously, the Raiders have one of the best fronts in football, and I'm confident Offensive Line Coach Mike Tice will have them ready to go come next week.
DeAndré Washington leads all running backs in snaps – Marshawn Lynch is considered the feature back among the Raiders trio of rushers, but Washington found himself lining up with Carr in the backfield the most Sunday night. In the 16 snaps No. 33 played (31 percent), he totaled 24 receiving yards, which was the second most on the team.
Jared Cook finds the end zone –During the offseason, General Manager Reggie McKenzie gifted Carr with a couple of new weapons to his arsenal, one of them being the big 6'5", 254-pound tight end. Through training camp, the connection between Carr and Cook didn't take long to manifest, as No. 4 targeted him often. Sunday, the pair hooked up for their first touchdown together, and in his 41 snaps (80 percent), Cook led all Raiders receivers with 43 yards. We'll see if the duo can continue to build a rapport next week against a tough Denver defense.
Defense
Cory James goes the distance – The second-year linebacker played every snap on defense (68), and made the most of his reps. James led all Raiders defenders with 12 tackles, and two tackles for loss. Unfortunately, Cousins was efficient in his passing and spread the ball around quite a bit. Next week, James and the rest of the defense will face Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian, who threw two interceptions in the Broncos loss to the Buffalo Bills Sunday.
Photos from the Raiders Week 3 match-up against the Washington Redskins.
Gareon Conley continues to see quality playing time – After missing training camp, as he recuperated from an injury, it was assumed the Raiders would bring their first-round pick along in strides. Last week, the former Ohio State Buckeye played 46 snaps (82 percent), and saw 46 snaps (68 percent) Sunday night against the Redskins. In his NFL debut, Conley showed good awareness and ball skills when defending his opposition, we'll see if he can do the same against a solid wide receiver group in Denver.
David Amerson totals three passes defensed against former team – Prior to joining the Silver and Black in 2015, Amerson was drafted by the Redskins in the second-round and spent a couple years there before being waived. As he headed into this week's matchup to face the organization that drafted him, No. 29 was looking at it as just another game, but there's always a little extra motivation when playing your former team. Amerson played 66 snaps (97 percent), and added six tackles to his three passes defensed. With that being said, I'm sure he would've preferred a different outcome against his former club.
