Raiders special teams: AJ Cole, Daniel Carlson make most of their limited opportunities in Week 8 defeat

Las Vegas punter, kicker duo remaining consistent despite losing skid

When a team is in the midst of a four-game losing skid, there’s not much said group can hang their hat on. With the 27-20 defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders dropped to 2-6 overall.

It was the fourth-straight defeat and the loss to an AFC West foe secures the Silver & Black’s spot in the cellar. The Raiders are the lone team in the division with a losing record as the Chiefs are unbeaten at 7-0, Denver Broncos are second at 5-3, and the Los Angeles Chargers closely trailing at 4-3.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you view it) for Las Vegas, there’s a constant despite the losing: Punter AJ Cole III and kicker Daniel Carlson are making the most of opportunities given to them. The duo is continuing the tradition of punter and kicker being some of the best players the Raiders field.

Unlike the opportunity-filled Week 7, this past week was slow going for the dynamic duo.

Cole only got two shots to punt this past Sunday but boomed the ball when given the chance. The 28-year-old blasted his first punt 68 yards that eventually bounced into the end zone for the touchback, just before halftime. His second boot came on Las Vegas’ first drive to start the third quarter that traveled 60 yards to Kansas City’s nine-yard line. While Mecole Hardman did return the punt 21 yards, an illegal block in the back brought the ball back to the 15 yard line.

The 68-yard punt becomes Cole’s longest of the year so far and the 64-yard average between the two blasts gave him a the edge of Chiefs punter Matt Araiza who sent two boots into the air for 93 yards (a long of 51).

Carlson Connects

Like Cole, Carlson got to showcase his talents only twice against the Chiefs.

The Raiders placekicker started with a 54-yard field goal that sailed true to cap a 10-play, 50-yard drive that gave Las Vegas a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

The 29-year-old’s second field goal arrived in the third quarter as the Raiders’ drive struggled mightily with Carlson sending a 32-yard boot through the uprights to trim the Chiefs’ lead to 17-13.

That was all she wrote for Las Vegas’ kicker as the following Raiders drives resulted in: Turn over on downs (despite an interception return giving the team the ball at Kansas City’s three-yard line), fumble, and a touchdown (13 plays, 70 yards).

Where They Stand

Thanks to his punts of 68 and 60 yards, Cole finds himself in the league lead in terms of average per punt: 52.9. He’s followed by the Detroit Lions’ Jack Fox (52.5), the Cleveland Browns’ Corey Bojorquez (51.9), and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Braden Mann (51.6), and Ariaza (51.6).

In terms of net average (return yards and touchback yardage accounted for), Cole is eighth in the league at 43.3. Fox tops the league in that category at 46.4 while The Jacksonville Jaguars’ Logan Cooke is right behind at 45.6.

Cole is 13th in attempts with 31 and 10 in yards at 1,641. He leads the league in touchbacks with five and is 14th in terms of boots downed or landing inside the opponent’s 20-yard line with 12.

The Raiders overall punt coverage unit allows the 10th most return yards at 155.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Carlson, on the other hand, sits at eighth in both field goal attempts with 17 total and makes at 15. His 88.2 percent hit rate on kicks is good for 17th in the NFL. In terms of extra points, Carlson is at the mercy of the Raiders’ ability to get into the end zone and as such, he’s 27th in attempts with 11 and 26th in terms of makes at 11.

Looking at field goal distance, Carlson is fifth in the league with six attempts and fourth in the league with six makes from distances of 30 to 39 yards out.

Up Next: The travel to face the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday. Cole has three career games against the Bengals under his belt — two regular season clashes and one playoff game. In the regular season games, Cole has nine total punts for 402 yards (44.67 average per boot) with three dropping inside the Bengals’ 20-yard line and two being touchbacks. In the postseason game, Cole had two punts for 99 yards (49.5 average). Carlson, on the other hand, has three regular season tilts and the playoff game against Cincinnati on his resume. He is 6-for-6 on field goal attempts and 4-for-4 on extra points in the season games. He’s also 4-for-4 on field goals and 1-for-1 in the playoff clash.

Extra Points: A trio of linebackers were core special teamers in the Raiders’ loss to the Chiefs this past Sunday: Rookies Tommy Eichenberg and Amari Gainer, and second-year Amari Burney each logged 20 snaps on special teams (83 percent of the unit’s total). Rookie cornerback Decamerion Richardson and second-year safety Chris Smith II both earned 15 snaps on special teams (62 percent). Rookie free safety Thomas Harper, rookie strong safety Trey Taylor, and veteran running back Ameer Abdullah also got healthy snaps on special teams with 13 apiece (54 percent).