In a game that is 20-3 at the half, there is going to be some poor performances that contributed to that.
Busters
LB Cody Lindenberg
It was trial by fire for Lindenberg going against the Texans‘ starting offense. But if he ever hopes to be more than a backup, he’s got to hold up against such competition. And he did not. On that first drive alone, he was blocked on third-and-one to give up an eight-yard run, gave up a five-yard catch on third-and-four, and was the first to miss the tackle on Woody Marks’ 20-yard touchdown run.
He played the third most snaps among Raiders defenders (41) and managed just one tackle. That was on the ten-yard catch he allowed. He later gave up a 22-yard catch too.
DT Treven Ma’ae
The very first play of the game, he was blown up so bad, he was thrown into Lindenberg’s lap as the back picked up nine yards. Ma’ae didn’t record a stat in 18 snaps in the game.
QB Fernando Mendoza
I realize many people want to look at his play through the lens of how he’s progressing in certain key areas. And if that’s how you want to judge him, don’t let me stop you. But those hopeful glimpses aside, he did have a bad game.
Mendoza played the entire first half and I could really only point to two passes he made that were especially good. The first, of course, being the 22-yard completion to Jalen Nailor in which he read the linebacker facing the sideline and delivered a strike that got right by him and into Nailor’s hands. But to focus on that play alone — as I have seen several analysts do — is quite the bit of cherry-picking. Especially considering every other pass he made around that one wasn’t so great.
The first pass he delivered just a bit early and Nailor couldn’t get his hands on it. The one after the 22-yard completion was a pass he rushed over the middle to that went to the spot Mike Washington had left and right into the arms of the linebacker who returned it for a touchdown. The next pass after that was an off-target pass for Nailor on third down. And by the time Mendoza has his second completion of the game, the Raiders were down 17-0. Mendoza finished 8/15 for 86 yards and an interception with a 42.6 passer rating.
RT Trey Zuhn III, LT Charles Grant
The starting tackles in this game. On Mendoza’s pick six, one of the reasons his throw was rushed was because he had pressure coming around the left side because Grant had been beaten. It also may have contributed to his inability to throw it to where Washington was headed as opposed to the spot he just left.
The second possession ended with an incompletion with Mendoza getting lit up after his release. That rusher got by Zuhn. The next drive, Grant gave up a pressure that again got Mendoza smacked after he threw the ball. Next drive it was Zuhn again giving up a hit on Mendoza. And Zuhn gave up another pressure in the third quarter that led to an errant pass.
WR Malik Benson
The pleasant surprise of camp as well as the first preseason game. He had one catch in this game that was what we’ve come to expect from him. The rest was bad. He led the team with five targets. Four of those were incomplete, with one being a flat drop and the other getting punched out right as the ball got there.
QB Aidan O’Connell
Ask me if I care that he drove for a game-winning touchdown against practice squad players. Prior to that drive, he had thrown 17 passes and only five of those were completed to wide receivers for a total of 36 yards.
His day began with a five-play possession followed by a three-and-out. The next possession started in scoring range off a turnover and he nearly threw an interception on the first play. Then Dylan Laube did all the heavy lifting to get it into the end zone. That was followed up by a four-play possession that ended with consecutive overthrows.
Come the fourth quarter, the Raiders leaned into the ground game, with 8 of the 11 plays on the drive being runs, including the 19-yard touchdown run to finish it off. This was followed by another three-and-out. And it was only a big time defensive stop on third-and-one that got the Raiders the ball back for one last gasp at the end.
K Kansei Matsuzawa
This man’s head is swimming. He missed both extra point attempts he had in this game. After missing his only field goal attempt last week from 38 yards out. That means he still has yet to kick a ball through the uprights in a Raiders uniform. It must feel like an impossible task at this point. Meanwhile Matt Gay hit a 52-yard field goal.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire:Busters for Raiders preseason Week 2 vs Texans
Source: sports.yahoo.com
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