Jayden Daniels out, Marcus Mariota in. And will Ashton Jeanty’s workload truly increase?
Those are the top headlines for the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders matchup this Sunday.
Mariota steps in for the injured Daniels (knee sprain) as the Commanders starting quarterback. And the No. 2 overall pick in the2015 NFL Draft is more than capable of captaining Washington’s offense. Both Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly — who was Mariota’s head coach at Oregon — and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson — who was the offensive coordinator in name only during Mariota’s time in Las Vegas in 2021 — can provide some inside insight on the replacement signal caller.
Flip it to the Silver & Black, from head coach Pete Carroll to quarterback Geno Smith, the Raiders want to get Jeanty — the sixth overall pick from the 2025 draft — more involved in the offense. Balance and involvement dominated the media sessions this week so it’ll be interesting to see if the want become reality.
While the prime skill positions of quarterback and running back are integral to a team’s operation, what’s also key in the Raiders-Commanders matchup: Third down and red zone success.
Both Las Vegas (1-1) and Washington (1-1) are coming off disappointing defeats — the Raiders got dropped 20-9 by the Los Angeles Chargers and the Commanders got rocked 27-18 by the Green Bay Packers — but boast stingy defensive units, particularly, on third down.
Patrick Graham’s Raiders defense limited opposing offenses to eight third-down conversions on 25 attempts and that 32 percent rate gives the Silver & Black the third stingiest in the league. Joe Whitt Jr’s Commanders defense, on the other hand, allowed just nine third-down conversions on 28 attempts and the 32.1 percent rate ranks fourth best in the NFL.
Scoring red zone touchdowns on Las Vegas is equally as difficult.
Through two games, opponents have made it to the Raiders’ 20-yard line six times, and only twice have the opposition visited the end zone in those instances. That 33.3 percent clip gives Graham’s unit the fifth-best rank in the league. The Commanders, meanwhile, allowed three end zone visits on the six occasions teams made it to the red zone and that 50 percent clip gives Washington the 11th-best ranking.
What helps both Graham and Whitt in this regard are having veteran defenders to provide the on-field mentorship and leadership. And it shouldn’t surprise you that the veteran presences on both teams are former Seattle Seahawks who excelled under Pete Carroll in the Pacific Northwest: Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams.
Wagner leads Washington with a team-high 21 total tackles while playing 100 percent of the defensive snaps through two contests. Even at age 35, Wagner hasn’t slowed down a bit since being the 47th overall pick by the Seahawks back int he 2012 draft. Adams, meanwhile, plays with a frenetic energy that’s visible to the naked eye. And while his snap count isn’t as lofty as Wagner (44 to the Commanders linebacker’s 136 count), Adams has six total tackles but brings a ferocity and physicality to the Raiders defense when called upon.
It’s vital for both veterans to lead by example again this Sunday.
Graham again highlighted how vital communications is to his defensive group. And that along with physicality and violence is creating a unit that’s limited the opposition to three points in the second half of the team’s first two games of the season.
“One thing, the guys are doing a good job at halftime, coming in recognizing what the team is trying to do in the first half,” Graham said. “And really, they and the coaches have done a great job of adjusting the game plan to attack whatever strengths they had in the beginning part of the game, and the guys have had the discipline to stay with it throughout the second half. So, that’s been a positive, something to grow off of.”
“There’s a lot of feedback that goes on, like, ‘Hey, what are you seeing? Do you remember this formation?’ Just a lot of communication between myself, the coaches and the players,” Graham continued when asked about communication. “So, whether it’s a veteran, I mean, some of the younger linebackers, you talk about the Patriots game, Tommy (Eichenberg) came in. He’s a young linebacker. So, it’s really what they’re seeing, and then, ‘Can we get to what we want to get to? Can we take this away?’ It’s just all about communication. Doesn’t matter age or experience, it’s just about communication.”
Sunday’s game marks the 15th meeting between the two teams. The Raiders hold the slight edge in all-time meetings with an 8-7 win-loss record. In regular season play, however, it’s all knotted up at seven games, apiece. That 1-0 mark for the Silver & Black in postseason play was the 38-9 shellacking the Raiders handed the then-Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII. That all noted, it’s Washington that rides a four-game winning streak into this matchup, the most recent of which was a 17-15 win back in December of 2021. The last time the Raiders beat the Commanders: November of 2005 — a 16-13 victory.
Quote of Note
“Yeah, he’s a stud football player and an even better human. I mean, he’s one of the more special people I’ve had an opportunity to meet in my life. He’s a class act. He’s a hell of a player, and he’s also a class act. And if Jayden (Daniels) can’t play and Marcus can, then these guys know him. He was here. Greg Olson coached him and knows him really well. Oly [Greg Olson] has coached him at the professional level. I had him at the collegiate level, so we got the utmost respect. And I think Jayden is an unbelievable player. I saw Jayden play in high school and I played against him in college too, and he’s an amazing player. You’re talking about two guys that were both Heisman Trophy winners, two guys that were both the second pick in the draft. And there’s a reason for that. So, it’s something for our defensive guys that they are very conscious of.”
—Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly on Washington Commanders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota
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