Week 2 key matchups: Spillane faces ultimate test in Jackson

Going to be a tough one as the Raiders need to play a near perfect game

With both clubs dropping their season-opening matchups last week, a lot is riding on the line between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens. Historically, teams who begin the year 0-2 have a low probability of making the playoffs, so the Raiders will need to win the key matchups below to help keep their postseason hopes alive.

Robert Spillane vs. Lamar Jackson

It’s not exactly breaking news that the reigning MVP is the key to the Ravens’ offense. Jackson’s ability to make plays with his legs is what keeps defensive coordinators up at night. That was the most effective part of Baltimore’s offense against Kansas City as he totaled 16 rushing attempts for 122 yards and a touchdown.

What makes the quarterback tough to defend is he’s very effective when scrambling as he left the pocket nine times and picked up 70 rushing yards last week, per Pro Football Focus, accounting for about 7.8 yards per attempt and 57.4 percent of his rushing yards. One way to defend that is to have a linebacker spy the QB, which will put a lot of weight on Spillane’s shoulders.

Jackson is known for being elusive, forcing 38 missed tackles (MTF) as a runner during the regular season in 2023, 12 more than any non-running back. That figure also ranked 20th in the league regardless of position, and he managed to have four MTF last week.

So, Spillane’s tackling skills will be put to the test. He didn’t have any misses against the Chargers and had just a 10.8 percent MTF rate a year ago, meaning he should be up for the challenge.

Also, what can’t be forgotten is the Ravens like to call designed runs for Jackson, and he picked up 52 yards on seven carries for an average of 7.4 ypc in Week 1. Especially with the use of read options, Spillane must bring his ‘A-game’.

Offensive Line vs. Nnamdi Madubuike

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Nnamdi (formerly Justin) Madubuike received a nearly $100 million contract in the offseason primarily because he had a breakout campaign as a pass-rusher last year. He racked up 65 pressures during the regular season, per PFF, which tied for the fourth-most among defensive tackles, trailing only Aaron Donald, Chris Jones and Quinnen Williams. Not bad company to be in.

The Chiefs have the best interior offensive line in the NFL and Madubuike still managed to get three pressures—one sack, one QB hit and a hurry—in the season opener. Part of what makes him tough to keep in check is he lines up on both sides of the center and all over the defensive line.

For example, PFF charted the 2023 second-team All-Pro at six different positions in his 40 snaps last week; 15 as a right defensive tackle, 10 at left end, eight at right end, five left defensive tackle and one each as a REO and LEO. In other words, it will take the Raiders’ entire offensive line to keep him in check.

The problem is Las Vegas’ line surrendered the second-most sacks (four) and fifth-most pressures (15) of any unit in Week 1 to earn the fourth-worst PFF efficiency rating (76.2). The biggest culprits were Andre James—three pressures, one sack—and Cody Whitehair—five pressures.

So, if any of Las Vegas’ linemen are having a bad day on Sunday, you can take one guess who Madubuike will spend most of his time lining up across from. All five guys need to be on top of their games and help each other out to keep him away from the quarterback.

Michael Mayer vs. Roquan Smith

Smith has become one of the best linebackers in the league over the last several years. He has a streak of four straight All-Pro selections; earning second-team honors in 2020 and 2021 and was a first-team selection during the two previous campaigns. That’s a result of his well-rounded game, recording an 83.2 grade with 27 defensive stops in coverage and a 72.0 grade with 27 stops against the run, per PFF.

However, despite coming down with an interception, Smith had a tough 2024 debut in Kansas City last week.

He posted an ugly 44.7 mark against the run and was targeted six times in coverage, allowing five receptions for 69 yards and four first downs. Chiefs tight end Noah Gray gave the linebacker some trouble, catching two of two targets for receptions of 13 and 11 yards (24 yards total), according to PFF, against Smith.

It’s worth noting Gray lined up as an in-line tight end on nearly 60 percent of the pass-play snaps he participated in, which should excite Mayer.

Outside of one contested catch for a third-down conversion, the second-year pro wasn’t a factor as a receiver in the season opener with only two catches for three yards. But he should see more passes come his way this Sunday.

Also, he was known for being a solid run blocker coming out of Notre Dame, so the Raiders will need him to step up in that department to help keep Smith away from Zamir White and Alexander Mattison.