Though the Raiders came out with the win in the end, they didn't exactly cruise to victory. In fact, they were still very much in danger of losing this one in the final four minutes. And when that happens, there are typically a few performances or crucial mistakes that were the reason why. These are their stories.
Busters
RB Ashton Jeanty
Last week the big story was about how good his hands are. Then he goes out in this one and had four drops. FOUR. That along with his 2.3 yards per carry average and it was a very different day than he had in the opener. Upside down, in fact, considering he was Top Baller for that game and now he's Top Buster.
Two of the Raiders' three possessions in the first quarter stalled because of Jeanty. Their second possession, he dropped the ball
on a short cross on third and three. The next possession came off an interception. First play was an 18-yard completion that put the Raiders in first and goal from the four-yard-line. And four consecutive plays, all to Jeanty yielded a total of two yards. He was stopped for a loss of two on first down, picked up three yards on second down, and one yard on third down to bring of fourth and goal from the two. Then he took the direct snap, and bobbled it, leading to him getting stuffed at the line for the turnover on downs.
Just before the half, the Raiders got a big completion from Kirk Cousins to Tre Tucker to put them at the LA 42-yard-line. Jeanty got one yard on first down, dropped another pass on second down, and got nothing on third down, which mean Matt Gay would have to come out and hit a career-long 59-yard field goal to get points on the drive. Luckily, he nailed it. Otherwise the Jeanty would have felt a lot of heat for that.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Jeanty had his biggest drop of all. The Raiders lined up in third and one needing to keep a drive alive to preserve their three-point lead. Jeanty came out of the backfield and was open just past the line to gain. Cousins threw a nice, easy ball right into his hands and...clank.
The Chargers got the ball back and began moving down the field on what was looking like potentially a game-winning drive. It was only by the grace of a fumble and recovery that it didn't. Otherwise everyone would be looking back at that fourth drop of his as what led to it. But even still, he was by far the biggest Buster in this game for the Raiders. Hopefully this fall to earth helps him in the long run.
T DJ Glaze
Now here's a familiar sight. At least it was last season. Glaze held up well in the opener. The same can't be said for this one. He gave up his first sack in the first quarter that started a three-and-out. Then a possession stalled in the second quarter, beginning with him being flagged for holding and then ending with him just getting easily worked by Khalil Mack to give up the sack.
In the third quarter, he gave up a run stuff for no gain that nearly killed a drive, but the Raiders were able to pick up the third and long on the next play. Overall the Raiders line took a big step back in this one, but none moreso than Glaze.
C Tyler Linderbaum
Now, this one I was not expecting. Not after the utterly dominant performance by Linderbaum in the opener. He lost his block to get Jeanty tackled for a short gain and missed another block later that got Cousins smacked on a short completion. Then he had a false start on third and five that led to the Raiders having to go for it on fourth and one at their own 35. The next drive, he got beat to give up a tackle for a loss of four. And it was only because of an illegal hands to the face penalty that they were able to pick up the resulting third-and-long.
WR Jalen Nailor
He was targeted three times and had just one catch for nine yards. He didn't even see a pass in the first half. Which is not a great sign for a guy who was supposed to be one of the Raiders' top free agent additions this season. Even worse is he dropped that first pass. The second, he just couldn't get open and the ball was knocked down. He actually caught the third pass at the end of the third quarter. And then didn't see a pass in the fourth.
Nailor is currently fifth on the Raiders in receptions. And that's with Brock Bowers not in the lineup. Nailor's four catches for 36 yards through two games puts him on pace for 34 catches for 252 yards on the season. That's even well below his career average, which isn't great.
See the Raiders Week 2 Ballers
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Busters for Raiders Week 2 vs Chargers
