What Stood Out in Raiders' Statement Win Over Chargers

Sunday's win contained all of the positives and negatives the Raiders showed in training camp and the preseason. Below are the biggest winners and losers from Las Vegas' outing against the Chargers.

Risers

CB Hezekiah Masses/Raiders' Defensive Backfield

The Raiders knew going into the season that their defensive backfield was questionable, at best. However, they planned to generate enough pass rush to offset their inexperienced backfield. Las Vegas struggled to stop the run on Sunday, but their defensive backfield did their part.

Through nearly three quarters, the Chargers only had about 150 receiving yards. Through three quarters, no Chargers receiver had more than three receptions. Their tight end had more receptions than any other pass catcher through three quarters.

WR Tre Tucker

The Raiders have spent years trying, unsuccessfully, to get Tucker consistently involved. His first-half performance was all they needed from Tucker and all of their receivers. Tucker finished the first half with over 100 yards, which included two 40-plus-yard completions and a touchdown.

Tucker's second long catch led to a vital field goal for the Raiders right before halftime. Las Vegas plans to handle the wide receiver position by committee this season, but the offense will still depend on at least one of them stepping up. Tucker did just that.

Still Room for Improvement

The Raiders had an early chance to score either a field goal or a touchdown in the first quarter. Las Vegas had a 4th-and-goal, with the game tied at zero. I am okay with the decision to go for it, especially with how the defense was playing at the time. Las Vegas' defense did not give up a score.

All in all, the fact that Las Vegas failed to score any points or that they went for it at all was not a problem. However, it was the decision to put Cousins in motion and line him up as a wide receiver. The Raiders snapped the ball directly to Ashton Jeanty, and the play was stuffed.

The chances of Jeanty throwing the ball are slim to none. By putting Cousins in motion, it all but eliminated the chances that the Raiders would pass the ball. It made things easy on the Chargers' defense. In that situation, they could have made a better call.

It is early, and the Raiders are in the beginning stages of implementing their offense. Not every call and every play will be perfect. The decision to go for it on fourth down was the right call; it matched their Week 1 decision to go for it on a critical, early fourth down. Still, the call could have been better.

Raiders' First-Half Ground Game

The Raiders ran the ball for over 100 yards in Week 1. Against the Chargers, they struggled to get going on the ground, only registering 25 rushing yards in the first half. Ashton Jeanty ran the ball 10 times in the first half; Mike Washington only ran the ball once.

After their Week 1 win, it only made sense for the Chargers to go all out to stop the run and force Cousins to beat them. Cousins responded nicely, leading the Raiders to a halftime lead with timely completions and several big pass plays. Still, the lack of a ground game is far from ideal.

Raiders' Third-Down Offense

The Raiders struggled on third down, converting only one of their first six attempts. They converted more third-down attempts in the final two minutes of the third quarter than in the entire game up to that point. The lack of third-down conversions and a ground game kept the game close.

It was far from pretty, but Sunday was a game the Raiders have routinely found a way to lose in past seasons. For the first time in a while, the Raiders found a way to win ugly, which is just as critical as winning pretty, as they did in Week 1. As we said all offseason, these Raiders are different.