The Raiders had to come back late to win it in New Orleans. And you don't have to do that if you didn't already find yourself in a hole. And this game looked for a minute in the third quarter like the Saints were going to win it. The Busters should help explain how they got there.
Busters
S Isaiah Pola-Mao
Pola-Mao was starting due to the injury to Treydan Stukes. And we saw why Stukes was drafted and won the job. Pola-Mao gave up each of the first two touchdown catches by the Saints.
Their third touchdown in the third quarter, he gave up a 17-yard catch to put them in first and goal and then gave up the next catch that put them at the goal line. And they scored from the one on the next play to go up 20-16.
Still down 27-22 in the fourth quarter, he was in position to make
the stop on a catch short of the sticks, but was pushed through to give up the first down at the 35. It was only due to the first takeaway that the Raiders didn’t fall behind by at least eight points.
RB/ST Dylan Laube
The moment in this game where the sense of ‘here we go again’ I have felt so many times in my years covering this team occurred. The Saint had taken the lead 20-16 in the third quarter. And on the ensuing kickoff, Laube fumbled it back to them. They got the ball at the Vegas 32-yard-line and in two plays they scored another touchdown to take a 27-16 lead.
That fumble by Laube could not have been more detrimental. And it looked for a moment like it would be the moment we would look back on as the one that lost this game for the Raiders. Lucky for him and his plane ride back, the Raiders turned it back around.
CB Hezekiah Masses
Masses had his third interception in two games. And for many, that forgives anything and everything else he may have done in this game. And I’d like that to have been the case, but it isn’t.
Notably, he had a tough assignment covering the Chris Olave who came into the game second in the NFL in receiving. And he put the rookie through a trial by fire.
The first scoring drive for the Saints, Masses gave up a 12-yard catch on third and 11 that put them in first and goal and the took a 6-3 lead (blocked PAT). The next scoring drive, he gave up a 16-yard catch that put them in scoring range and they tied it up at 13-13.
Masses gave up two more first down catches that went for 12 and 11 yards late in the third.
Then there was the interception, which he, of course, gets credit for making, but it was a gift of sorts thanks to Malcolm Koonce hitting the QB as he threw. Masses was there to pick it off and return it, but he fumbled it at the end, nearly giving it back to the Saints.
After the Raiders went up 35-27, the Saints went on a drive to try and tie it up. The biggest play on that drive was a 22-yard catch and run with Masses missing the tackle along the way.
DE Kwity Paye, DT Adam Butler
These two were nearly invisible in this game. For Paye, it may have been from suffering after effects of the illness he had this week, who knows. For Butler, that’s kind of been the case for him this season.
The Saints routinely ran right through their positions. Neither of them recorded a solo tackle, each putting up three assists. None of those assists were stops under three yards. Two of them were on first down runs and four of them were on runs of more than five yards.
The only time you noticed either of them was when Butler fell on the Masses fumble off the interception return.
See the BALLERS for the Raiders Week 3 vs Saints
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Busters for Raiders Week 3 vs Saints
