3 takeaways from Raiders’ win: Davante Adams, Chandler Jones star
Three takeaways from the Raiders’ 27-20 victory over the Chargers on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium:
1. Three straight
The Raiders got big contributions from their offseason acquisitions and overcame another slow start to win their third straight game.
Wide receiver Davante Adams had another big game, and defensive end Chandler Jones was the force the Raiders envisioned when they signed him as a free agent.
The Raiders quickly erased a 13-10 halftime deficit when Derek Carr found Adams for a 31-yard touchdown on the first play after a Chargers turnover. Another long touchdown from Carr to Adams on a flea-flicker on the next series gave the Raiders a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Justin Herbert’s pass to DeAndre Carter on fourth down with 2:48 to play fell incomplete for the Chargers, and a desperation drive reached midfield before time expired.
The Raiders have a short week to prepare for a Thursday night road game against the Rams.
2. Adams does it again
Adams continues to rewrite his own record book on a weekly basis.
He finished another monster game with eight catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns, threatening his career-high of 206 yards.
It was his seventh game this season with more than 100 receiving yards, which he also did in each of the past two seasons with the Packers.
He’s the first player in NFL history to record at least seven 100-yard games in three consecutive seasons.
No player in Raiders history has more than seven 100-yard games in a season.
Adams became the seventh player in NFL history to record 12 touchdowns in five of his first nine seasons. Only Jerry Rice, who did it six times in his first nine years, has more.
Adam’s best catch might have been one that didn’t count. He hauled in a one-handed catch on the sideline through contact that would have given the Raiders a first down. The catch was overturned on replay, but it was another example of his immense talents.
3. Jones feasts
Teammates and coaches have been saying for weeks that Jones has been playing well even if he wasn’t making much of an impact in the box score.
He finally put up big numbers.
Jones had three sacks and impacted the Chargers’ offense on several other occasions.
The three sacks were the most by a Raiders player this season. Jones entered the game with a half-sack.
Jones now has three sacks in a game five times in his career, tied for the fifth-most of any player in the league since 2012.
He also made several stops in the run game, batted down a pass and pressured Herbert on multiple occasions to make life difficult on the talented Chargers quarterback.
Jones proved to be a nightmare matchup for rookie sixth-round pick Jamaree Salyer, who was often isolated on Jones.
There were signals of the emergence of Jones last week when he had a season-high eight pressures against the Seahawks.
His efforts Sunday also helped create opportunities for teammates. The Raiders had five sacks and limited the Chargers to 72 rushing yards.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
