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Week 1: Raiders at Chargers
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'We come here to sharpen iron': How the Raiders offense, defense have tested each other through the first week of camp

During one-on-one matchups in practice Friday morning, Jakobi Meyers lined up across from Jack Jones, each with the intent of being the one to win the rep.

Meyers had gotten the best of Jones and the Raiders secondary up to that point in practice, catching two touchdowns in red zone drills.

After staring at each other waiting for the whistle, Meyers hit a stutter step on Jones and gained enough space to hit a fade toward the end zone. Aidan O'Connell put the ball on the money to Meyers. As the receiver caught the ball, Jones simultaneously punched the ball out of his hands from behind while Meyers was coming down with possession.

Jones celebrated and hyped up his teammates believing he forced an incompletion. Meyers, however, thought otherwise and had a few words with his counterpart.

"I do a lot of talking but it's whispering mostly," Meyers joked of his friendly confrontation with Jones. "I'll quietly say something to you but I'm not going to say it too loud. But I had to make sure he knew that one, for sure."

Meyers vs. Jones is just one example of how the offense and defense are pushing each other, even this early in training camp. The Silver and Black defense has looked stacked, already working to build on the chemistry that made them one of the top ranked units in the league by the end of last season.

Facing such a competitive defense in practice should hopefully pay off for the offense once Week 1 rolls around.

"I think they play really well together," Meyers said. "The D-line is what the D-line is. They're dangerous. And everybody on the back end does a good job of fielding behind them. They come downhill and make plays on the ball. They really do fit well together and it's fun going against them because it just makes us better."

The offense hasn't made things easy on the defense either.

Along with Meyers, there's plenty on upside in matching up against All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, running back Zamir White and tight end duo Michael Mayer and Brock Bowers.

"We come here to sharpen iron," said Tyree Wilson. "They might win a play, and we might win a play, but you have to come back and ask them, 'Hey man, what'd you see right here?' And they might do the same thing. The whole offense, I feel like, has come in wanting to get better just like defense."

The competition and intensity will continue to ramp up next week when the Silver and Black put the pads. After the first three practices of training camp, Antonio Pierce is chomping at the bit for his team to keep getting after it.

"When we're out here with one another, we have an opportunity to face off against ourselves. But it's how we carry ourselves," Pierce said Friday.

"We talk about pride, poise, passion, and when we get pads on – being physical as hell with one another. ... As you've seen, they're going to talk the way they talk. I'm not going to kind of hold them back from doing it. You know, whenever it becomes detrimental, we'll talk about it. But at the end of the day, this is professional football. No matter what you say or do, it's all about the grass."

View the best photos from Friday's 2024 Training Camp practice.

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