Another week, another loss and another miserable performance from the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense on Thursday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. With the Raiders putting up just seven points in Week 10, it’s only right to begin the winners and losers column by calling out the offensive coordinator.
LOSER: Chip Kelly
While the Broncos have an elite defense, the Raiders easily could have won this game had they scored more than seven points all night. The offense accounted for just 188 yards, while the unit’s best player, Brock Bowers, received just three targets. It’s even more frustrating that Bowers was coming off a career game just five days prior, and Kelly still couldn’t find a way to get him the ball more often. That’s coaching malpractice.
The Silver and Black’s offense has now been held below double-digits more often than it has scored 21 points or more: four games to three. I recently said that I think Kelly will get the entire season to prove himself. However, I no longer believe that, as he’s deservedly on the host seat, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Las Vegas change offensive coordinators by Monday morning.
WINNER: Kyu Blu Kelly
After getting benched in favor of rookie Darien Porter last week, Kelly managed to come down with the first two interceptions of his career. He and Porter rotated throughout the night, and the three-year pro only gave up one catch for 14 yards on three targets, according to Pro Football Focus. Like it or not, that could mean the veteran gets his spot back during next week’s Monday Night Football matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
LOSER: Dont’e Thornton Jr.
After being a healthy scratch on Sunday, Thornton got another chance to prove himself as a starter on Thursday after the Jakobi Meyers trade. However, the rookie squandered the opportunity. It started with an offensive pass interfernce penalty that took a Tre Tucker touchdown off the board, and then he had a huge drop that would have been a big gain and at least set the Raiders up in scoring position.
While the rookie is still learning, making two momentum-changing mistakes while only recording one catch for four yards makes it difficult for the coaching staff to justify keeping him on the field.
WINNER: Jeremy Chinn
Chinn was flying around Mile High Stadium, leading the Silver and Black with nine total tackles, recording a tackle for loss in the process. According to Pro Football Focus, he logged two more high-quality tackles to finish with three defensive stops and his best performance of the season in coverage. The safety was targeted four times, allowing just two completions for two yards to earn an 80.7 coverage grade, and the latter was the highest on the team.
LOSER: Dylan Parham
Granted, Parham’s injury played a factor and prevented him from finishing the game, but he wasn’t playing well before the abrupt exit. He gave up two pressures, including a sack, on just 19 opportunities to earn the lowest PFF pass-blocking grade (30.3) he’s had this season. The running game wasn’t much better for the four-year pro with a 49.3 mark, as he continues to struggle against high-quality defensive linemen.
WINNER: Charles Snowden
Snowden only participated in 27 defensive snaps, but he made just about all of them count. The outside linebacker led the defense with five defensive stops and recorded a pressure on all three of his pass-rushes, including a sack on a trick play from the Broncos.
It looks like Snowden has overtaken Malcolm Koonce on the depth chart, as Koonce was on the field for just 20 plays and recorded the team’s second-lowest defensive grade at 37.5.
LOSER: Tom McMahon
Las Vegas’ special teams has been a mess this season, and the unit gave up another blocked punt on Thursday. That gave the Broncos the ball on the Raiders’ 12-yard line and led to what ended up being the game-winning field goal. On top of that, they were flagged five times on special teams, which has been an issue all year.
The club currently owns the lowest PFF special teams grade (44.1) in the league, so McMahon should join Kelly on the hot seat moving forward.
[Editor’s note: The Raiders fired special teams coach Tom McMahon on Friday afternoon.]
WINNER: AJ Cole
Somewhat contradictory to the section above, Cole was the Raiders’ offensive MVP in Denver. He landed three punts inside the 20-yard line, one that pinned the Broncos inside their own two and another that was at the one-yard line.
That helped Las Vegas win the field position battle, though they couldn’t do much with the advantage. The punter being one of the most impressive players on the field tells you all you need to know about the Silver and Black’s offensive performance.
LOSER: Daniel Carlson
For the second week in a row, Carlson lands on the losers’ list after costing the Raiders a chance to win the game. This time, it was a 48-year field goal (a chip shot in today’s NFL) that flew wide right and cost the team the opportunity to tie the contest at 10-10 with 4:30 to play. That puts him at a career-low 75 field goal percentage for the campaign, which isn’t ideal during a contract year.
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