Las Vegas Raiders

Week 4 Notes and Observations: Oakland Raiders at Baltimore Ravens

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Miscellaneous scouting notes and observations following the Oakland Raiders’ Week 4 road victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

In Week 4, the Oakland Raiders traveled to the east coast — their third trip in the first four weeks, and each trip has been two or more time zones away.

The Raiders entered Baltimore with a 2-1 record, squaring off with the previously undefeated Ravens. Oakland returned home on a celebratory flight for the third time in as many chances, with a thrilling 28-27 win.

Despite playing the stingiest defense by yardage in the NFL through four games, the Raiders were able to accumulate the required 28 points to win, all via the air. While the defense continued to yield big yardage (412 yards allowed), the defense firmed up at key times. Most critically, all three phases came through with big plays when it mattered.

Despite an imperfect performance, the team showed, again, that they could pull out an edge-of-the-seat victory. This sort of nail biting road win has certainly become an early theme for the 2016 Silver & Black.

Here are various notes and observations from the second road win of the year, including all areas of the game — offense, defense, and special teams.

Sep 20, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders punter Marquette King (7) punts the ball against the Baltimore Ravens at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Excellent – Special Teams

1. The Punt King

Marquette King is quickly becoming recognized as the most dangerous punting weapon in the game.

The King dominated the field position battle for the Raiders. With a long of 62 and four punts inside the 20, King consistently put the Ravens at a disadvantage to start drives. He even did the Ray Lewis dance on the middle of the field after a particularly dominant punt inside the 10.

King is a stud for this team.

2. Punt Return

Early in the game, there was a defensive back-and-forth. While the Raiders rode King’s punts to the field position advantage, the offensive breakthrough started at the end of the first quarter on a Ravens punt.

Special teams ace Brynden Trawick got a slight tip on the ball and rookie Jalen Richard caught the punt on the left sideline and wiggled 47 yards down the field all the way to the 6-yard line. The Raiders would break the scoring seal on the next play with a Carr-to-Roberts TD. The punt return was a huge play to goose the game in the Raiders’ favor.

3. Janikowski

Oakland continued a strong streak of scoring TDs in the red zone. They are now 10-of-11 in trips to the red zone resulting in a TD, after finishing 4-for-4 in that area Sunday.

The TDs left Seabass on the sideline with no 3-point kicks. However, the game winning PAT is no longer a gimme at 33 yards out. Janikowski was money on the clutch winner — and 4-for-4 on the day — as he continues to be very reliable thus far in 2016.

Oct 2, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) pressured by Oakland Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack (52) at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Just Enough – Defense

1. D-Line/Edge

The Raiders have been waiting for the “return of the Mack” to lead their defense. On Sunday, they finally got a break through from All-Pro Khalil Mack, as he secured his first sack of 2016, forced multiple holding penalties (finally called), and put enough pressure on Joe Flacco to unnerve the veteran.

Mack played 75 of an insane 89 total defensive snaps for the Raiders. Along with the sack, Mack tallied 6 total tackles and 3 QB hits. It was the type of performance for Mack we have been waiting on.

The other half of the “Slash Brothers” — veteran OLB/DE Bruce Irvin — continued his strong play in the early going. Similar to Week 1 on Drew Brees, Irvin swooped his way to another strip-sack of a former Super Bowl winning QB, this time getting to Flacco in the 4th quarter and directly setting up the Raiders’ 3rd TD of the afternoon.

Irvin totaled 2 QB hits on the opposite edge of Mack. With these two getting loose on the edge, it is definitely setting up a nightmare for opposing QBs as everyone in Raider Nation hoped when the pair was put together. Like Mack, Irvin notched 75 of the 89 snaps on D.

The interior continued to feature a rotation vs. the balanced Baltimore offense. Denico Autry, who recovered the Irvin strip-sack, led interior defenders with 53 snaps on D. Rookie Jihad Ward logged 48 snaps and got a hit on Flacco. Stacy McGee, Darius Latham, Dan Williams and Jelly Ellis rotated on the interior with 40, 23, 21 and 17 snaps, respectively.

It is notable that the fourth-year man McGee has worked his way to the top of the interior DL rotation while prior stalwarts Williams and Ellis have seen lighter snap counts. How this rotation shakes out continues to be something to keep an eye on.

2. Secondary Rebirth Continues

The first two weeks, the Raiders were torched in the air vs. the Saints and Falcons. With both offenses continuing to march through the NFL, this may have been a bit of a scheduling issue rather than a true indictment of the Raiders’ 2016 pass D. Matt Ryan just put up 500+ yards through the air vs. 2015 Super Bowl runner-up Carolina.

The Raiders’ have shown showed a major improvement from the DB corps in the last two weeks, as the aerial competition has lessened and the rebuilt corps has had time to gel.

Free agent acquisitions FS Reggie Nelson and CB Sean Smith (all 89 defensive snaps each) are rounding into form. Both players defended two balls, while Nelson dislodged the final play of the game on a 4th down stop that sealed the win, and Smith intercepted a two-point conversion attempt that ended up being the difference in the game.

Seeing these acquisitions step up has been huge for the Raiders going forward.

Rookie first-round pick Karl Joseph got his second career start and continued to bring energy and physicality. Joseph played 88 of 89 snaps, secured 8 total tackles and a pass defended. The Raiders used Joseph on a variety of safety blitzes, which helped disrupt Flacco’s timing and comfort in the pocket. The rookie looks like the sort of contributor we anticipated upon his first-round selection.

The early DB star to this point, CB David Amerson, was possibly the least effective of the DB corps on this afternoon. While Amerson did not play poorly, he did give up a highlight reel 52-yard TD play to ageless wonder Steve Smith that got Baltimore back in the game. Smith stiff-armed Amerson BADLY on the play. Amerson played 88 snaps and will continue to be counted on going forward.

D.J. Hayden continued to show that he belongs in the slot CB role on this defense. Hayden played 62 defensive snaps in the slot and looked explosive and active. The former first-round pick accumulated 6 sound tackles and defended a pass. It has been a positive to see Hayden contribute in a role that fits his skill set. Hopefully this continues, as his emergence makes the five-man DB corps that much more of a potential strength.

In Week 5, the unit will face another test from Pro Bowl QB Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers. The DB corps is certainly being tested in the early going and hopefully that pays dividends over a competitive year.

3. Inside Backers

The Raiders’ inside backers are banged up. Opening day starters Malcolm Smith and Ben Heeney both may miss time. Heeney seems to clearly be out for an extended period with an ankle injury, while Smith strained his groin and is day-to-day. This was already an area of concern on the roster.

The good news is, Raiders sixth-round rookie Cory James continues to establish himself as a legitimate starting Mike backer. Starting for the second game in place of Heeney, who was benched due to ineffectiveness, not injury, James led the team with 15 combined tackles in an amazing 98 combined defensive and special teams snaps. James has been the surprise find of the season thus far, and it could not have come at a better time or position.

Smith played 58 snaps before leaving with injury while Heeney logged 8 of his own before giving way to special teamer Daren Bates. Bates logged his usual 28 special teams snaps, and also contributed 23 on defense in an unusual role for the former Ram.

With the LB corps thin and now banged up, it will be interesting to see if the Raiders acquire additional LB help in the coming days.

Editor’s Note: Good call, Kemp. After submitting this article for review, the Raiders announced the signing of LB Perry Riley Jr.

Oct 2, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree (15) reacts after scoring a touchdown in front of Baltimore Ravens safety Eric Weddle (32) in the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

“All he does is catch touchdowns” – Offense

1. Passing Targets

Before he cut the young WR, Buddy Ryan famously said of now-HOF WR Cris Carter “All he does is catch touchdowns.”

Sunday, Jack Del Rio appropriately compared Michael Crabtree to Carter. The quote would apply on this day, as Crabtree snared 3 touchdown grabs, including the clutch game winner on a stutter go in the back of the end zone to secure the 28-27 win.

The former 49er has been a revelation and is becoming the most reliable target on the team. Crab saw 46 of 60 offensive snaps and snared a total of 7 catches for 88 yards and the 3 key TDs.

As a whole, the Raiders put up199 yards through the air and all 4 scores.

Amari Cooper played 55 snaps, leading the WR corps, and settled in with 5 catches for 48 yards with no drops. It was clear the Ravens focused on shutting down Cooper in the game. With Crabtree getting more publicity, it will be interesting to see if game plans shift, allowing Cooper to see more single coverage.

Seth Roberts and Clive Walford played normal workloads of 41 and 44 snaps, respectively and contributed in the pass game, including the Roberts TD. (Note: the Raiders are 8-0 when Roberts scores a TD). The drops of the support WR corps were much improved as a whole, but Walford did drop another pass.

Walford took a nasty hit to the thigh late in the game and was helped off. Fortunately, it appears the Raiders dodged a bullet and Walford will be fine.

2. The Offensive Line

Before getting to the full line, it is sadly notable that honorary Big Ugly, Lee Smith, may be out for the year. The mauling “tight end” (really another proud lineman who catches a ball here and there), took an ugly low tackle on his lone catch of the day and broke his ankle. Del Rio indicated it may be a season-ending injury.

If Lee is out for the year, I will be pouring one out for him. He is a true impact player and will be missed.

In the other injury storyline of the day, the Raiders’ offensive line continued to deal with multiple injuries at right tackle. Rookie swingman Vadal Alexander drew his first career start, as Austin Howard, Menelik Watson and Matt McCants were all out with injury. Alexander played all 60 snaps and held his own aside from a pair of holding calls. The injury bug at RT continues to be an issue. OL coach Mike Tice has worked magic to keep the offensive production up despite the use of four right tackles in four games.

Despite the rookie RT, Derek Carr again was not sacked.

The four other OL stalwarts, LT Donald Penn, LG Kelechi Osemele, C Rodney Hudson and RG Gabe Jackson, logged all 60 offensive snaps. Overall, the run game was slowed by Baltimore’s very rugged defensive front to just 62 yards. The Chargers are a team this unit should be able to push around.

The Raiders’ OL is a team strength but the RT position and now blocking TE are question marks for both the run and pass game.

3. The Backfield

For the fourth consecutive week, Derek Carr showed leadership and poise from the QB position. He led the team to its third close road victory and is rightfully being lauded.

The expectation from these quarters is that Carr will continue to put the Raiders in position to win. After years of pure mess at the QB position, it is a joy to have a young face of the franchise at the position.

For the third time this season, Carr did not turn the ball over. He continued to work efficiently against a very good defense. Carr completed 25 of 35 passes and averaged 5.7 yards per pass attempt, as the Ravens made every effort to bottle up the deep passing game.

The backfield remains a full-on committee.

Latavius Murray remains the lead back, but his margin slips weekly. Murray played 34 of the 60 snaps and is being used for his very effective pass blocking. He only ran 8 times for 19 yards and did not score for the first time this year. He caught 2 passes for 5 yards.

At home against a less stout Chargers front, it will be interesting to see if the Tay Train gets back on track.

DeAndre Washington played 10 offensive snaps and touched the ball on 8 of those snaps for 46 yards from scrimmage. However, Washington gave up an almost deadly 4th quarter fumble that led to Baltimore scoring to take a 27-21 lead. Washington must not fumble or he will lose the high usage rate he is currently getting (8 touches in 10 snaps is major usage per snap).

Fellow-rookie Jalen Richard played 15 offensive snaps to go along with his return duties. Richard carried just 2 times for 15 yards and added 1 catch for 5 yards. He also had 2 drops on the day.

Jamize Olawale was stuffed on his one 3rd and short carry that resulted in a punt. Olawale saw 18 snaps in primarily blocking duty. One issue the Raiders are having is short yardage conversion. This must be cleaned up to maximize scoring opportunities going forward.

Overall, offensively, the team did just enough to win, with Crabtree being the clear offensive MVP with his huge grabs.

Oakland Raiders Week 4 Conclusion

The 2016 Oakland Raiders secured their third road win in as many chances. They did so in their third long distance trip in a hostile environment against a previously undefeated team, with a HC-QB combo who has won a Super Bowl. These are all serious notables in the accomplishment.

While all three phases performed well enough to win, there remains upside and the team now looks for a breakout home performance in front of the Black Hole. Playing a reeling Chargers team, the Raiders must look to play finisher and not let the Chargers believe they will have life.

Will the team be able to string together a three game win streak and get the home W?

See you here next Tuesday for notes on what is hopefully another W for the Silver & Black.