Raiders report: Assistant coach, 2 players officially out Sunday

Raiders report

Schedule

All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:

■ Saturday — Off

■ Sunday — vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Allegiant Stadium, 1:05 p.m.

■ Monday — Off

■ Tuesday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.

■ Wednesday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.

■ Thursday — at Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, 1:30 p.m.

Quote of the day

Punter A.J. Cole had one of the only highlights of the game last week against the Chiefs when he made a big hit to cause a fumble and regain possession for the Raiders.

It was the kind of play that could make a coach wince nervously through the celebration waiting to see whether the punter got injured on the play.

That wasn’t the case with interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who doubles as the special teams coach.

He was far more anxious the previous week when Cole took a cheap shot that drew a flag.

“I held my breath a little bit more on the Giants play, when he didn’t see it coming,” Bisaccia said. “So, this was a particular situation where he got himself in the right place and he had an opportunity to make a tackle and he’s worked on tackling, and it ends up being a good play for us. But every play is a football play whether you are punting it, catching it or running it. He just had to make the play and if nothing else he gave us a chance for the guys to catch back up.”

Injury report

Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (ankle) and cornerback Keisean Nixon (ankle/foot) will both miss Sunday’s game.

Fullback Alec Ingold is also listed as out on the team’s official injury report because he is still on the active roster and has not yet been placed on injured reserve.

That move is expected to happen soon after he tore his ACL during the loss to the Chiefs.

All three players are key special teams performers in addition to their offensive and defensive duties.

Bisaccia, the special teams coach, hopes other players will step up and continue to make the unit perform at a high level because it’s so important.

“Special teams in this league really is personnel driven, and people talk about the bottom of your roster,” he said. “We really talk about the glue guys, the guys that kind of hold the offense and defense together. We like to think we’re the glue that kind of holds things together. We’re the infantry. We have to gain ground. It’s the glue and when it works well, it’s advantageous to you in a game, and when it doesn’t it puts you behind the eight ball.”

Cornerback Brandon Facyson (finger/hamstring) and running back Jalen Richard (ribs) are both questionable for Sunday’s game.

Both were limited participants in practice on Thursday and Friday.

“Some of the other guys have had some knick knacks and worked in different parts of practice,” Bisaccia said. “But hopefully we’ll have all those guys for the game, and I think something will get done here with Alec relatively soon.”

Cornerback Amik Robertson doesn’t carry an injury designation despite a hip injury after upgrading to a full practice on Friday.

Running back Josh Jacobs was limited in all three practice sessions this week with a knee issue, but will enter the game without a designation.

Coach to miss the game

Defensive backs coach Ron Milus will not attend Sunday’s game because of COVID protocols.

Addison Lynch, the assistant defensive backs coach, will handle the role against the Bengals.

Scouting the opponent

The Bengals come in looking fairly similar to the Raiders with a 5-4 record and barely on the outside looking in of the AFC playoff picture after a two-game losing streak.

Bisaccia believes they provide a tough test for his team.

“Obviously on offense, they are really playing well running the football,” he said. “They are chewing up the clock. They are playing physical up front on their offensive line and then what Joe Burrow has been able to do in play action with their young receiver and the way in which they are playing on the outside presents big problems to us.”

While Cincinnati’s defense has hit a rough patch, Bisaccia said they are still a capable group.

“They know what to do,” he said. “They do a good job lining up. They are playing physical, and they are playing fast, and they’ve become a little bit of a turnover bunch. I know early in the year when they had the three wins in a row, they’ve done a good job getting the ball out.”

Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal