Raiders report: Defense ‘not surprised’ by Carolina QB’s performance

Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton didn’t do anything spectacular in his start for the Panthers on Sunday in relief of the benched Bryce Young.

He just did exactly what was needed.

“Honestly, it’s just what I expected out of him,” coach Dave Canales said after his first victory. “The receivers were in the right spots for him, and he took advantage when they gave us favorable coverages to hit those plays. He just continued drives so we could get in that striking zone and take those shots when they’re there.”

It all added up to a 319-yard and three-touchdown outburst to spark a struggling Panthers team to a 36-22 road win over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.

Canales turned to Dalton after Young, last year’s top overall draft pick, got off to a slow start in a pair of blowout losses to open the season.

Dalton called it a “heavy week” and elected to keep his conversations with Young about the situation private, but conceded he was excited for the chance to be a starter again.

“I mean, it felt great,” the 36-year-old said. “Obviously for me to get an opportunity to be out there and for it to go the way it did, I couldn’t have drawn it up any better. I thought our guys came out with the right attitude, the right mentality from the start, and we never slowed down.”

That was bad news for the Raiders, who entered riding an emotional high from an upset win at Baltimore last week and left the field Sunday licking their wounds after a loss to what had looked like the worst team in the league.

“I wasn’t surprised, honestly,” Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs said. “Andy Dalton is good. He’s a backup right now, but he’s a good player. He’s been a very good guy in this league, so I wasn’t surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised.”

Dalton was quick to deflect the notion that he single-handedly engineered the turnaround, but Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao said the veteran brought a “confidence” to the Panthers he hadn’t seen on tape.

Star defensive end Maxx Crosby said it was evident early the Raiders were up against a tough challenge as Dalton led Carolina to its first opening-drive touchdown in the past 28 games.

“They started the game early with a lot of quick-hitters,” he said. “They got the run going, and we didn’t do well enough there. That made it more manageable on third downs, which didn’t help us. There were a lot of things. They did a good job. Made some crazy catches. They made some plays, so you have to give them credit. (Dalton has) been a Pro Bowler in this league, and he played well.

“They came ready to play, so they got the win.”

Dalton has now won all four starts against the Raiders in his career and is 5-0 in games he has appeared in against the franchise.

“I wouldn’t say there’s one thing that has led to the success,” he said. “Obviously, I’m happy to have the success against this team. The Raiders have been good. They’ve got good players all over the field. So, shoot, I’m glad that we’re leaving today with another win for me.”

Crosby plays through pain

Crosby entered the game questionable to play because of a left ankle injury suffered on the second-to-last snap against the Ravens last week.

He said he made it through Sunday’s game without doing further damage — revealing that the injury is a high ankle sprain — but he did uncharacteristically miss a few early-down snaps in an effort by the team to manage the injury.

“It sucks,” Crosby said. “It’s unfortunate. Just part of the game, though. Every time I have a chance to go out there, I’m going to try to be out there with my teammates. Whether I’m 100 percent or 50 percent, it doesn’t matter.

“But it didn’t get any worse, so I’ll be good.”

Tucker stands out

Wide receiver Tre Tucker posted career-bests of seven catches and 96 yards while scoring his first touchdown of the season.

He would have traded it for a different outcome.

“We didn’t get the win, so it doesn’t matter what stats I had,” Tucker said. “I don’t know how many yards I had last week. I know it wasn’t much, but I do know we won and I enjoyed that. I like winning far more than stats.”

Among his highlights was a 54-yard reception in the first quarter that led to a game-tying touchdown. The Raiders, however, allowed 26 unanswered points after that to a team that had only scored 23 points all season.

“If anything, this reminds you this is the NFL,” Tucker said. “Everybody is good. You have to come prepared to play every week.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.