Sure, the Oakland Raiders were embarrassed by the Chiefs on Sunday. But it wasn’t all bad. Believe it or not, there were some players who stood out and had good games despite the overall failure of the team. This is noteworthy because in years past when the Raiders got blown out, it was difficult if not impossible to write a post like this.
So here’s a look at three guys who stepped up to the plate and played well as others withered around them:
Benson Mayowa
Another game, another sack for Benson Mayowa. Two games into the season and Mayowa has 3.5 sacks. That’s more than 1/4 of what the Raiders managed as a team for all of 2018. Add on top of that the two forced fumbles he has and he’s one of the most impressive early stories this season.
Tahir Whitehead
Whitehead is clearly a leader of this team in the locker room and on Sunday, he was a leader on the field. While things crumbled around him, Whitehead continued to play strong. He ended the day tied for the team lead in tackles and led the team with three tackles for a loss. For a long time the Raiders have gone without good linebacker play but Whitehead appears intent on changing that.
Josh Jacobs
It’s still early but it’s still fair to say that Jacobs is in the conversation for best skill player on the Raiders offense. Two weeks in a row he’s shown that he has what it takes to be a very good back in the NFL. And this week we saw that he has the ability to break off big runs as well as earn tough yards. It’s a shame he only received12 touches on Sunday. Had he gotten closer to the 24 touches he had in week one, things may have gone differently.
no replies