Raiders report: Peaking offensive line building for future success

It has taken some time and a lot of hard work for the Raiders’ offensive linemen to get where they wanted to be this season.

But they are finally seeing the fruits of their labor.

The unit had perhaps its best game of the season Sunday in New Orleans. Ameer Abdullah had the team’s first 100-yard rushing game, and Aidan O’Connell was only sacked once, a negative play for which he placed the blame on himself.

“It felt good,” guard Dylan Parham said. “It felt like we were able to control the line of scrimmage the way we’ve wanted to all year. It felt like a complete game.”

Parham is kind of the middle man between veterans Kolton Miller and Andre James, who are joined on the line at the moment by rookies DJ Glaze and Jackson Powers-Johnson.

“You’ve got that energy and juice that Jack and DJ help bring and then Kolton and Dre have so much experience and passion,” Parham said. “It’s a great mix.”

The success has taken some time. For much of the year, the running game was stuck in neutral or worse, and pass protection has been inconsistent.

The linemen hope the late-season success will help serve as a springboard for a great offseason that will help them hit the ground running next year.

“It felt like our best game, and it’s big to see the results of the work we’ve put in all year,” Glaze said. “It hasn’t always been what we wanted, but we can see where we’ve gotten better and now we want to continue to build on it.”

The biggest reward was helping Abdullah get the first 100-yard game of his 10-year career.

Glaze’s face lit up talking about what it meant to him and his linemates to help make that happen.

“I’m so happy for him to be able to get it,” Glaze said. “It’s probably something he’s wanted for a long time, and he just does so much for our team, everything that’s asked of him. He shares knowledge about everything. It just truly feels so good to get that for him.”

Heartbroken

The Raiders’ locker room was just as fixated on the wild College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Texas and Arizona State as the rest of the country Saturday.

Players coming off the practice field gathered around a TV in the locker room to watch overtime and lived and died with each crazy play.

One player was more invested than the rest. Arizona State alum Jack Jones rooted passionately for the Sun Devils and hoped to celebrate a victory, particularly as Texas faced fourth-and-13 in the first overtime.

The Longhorns converted and eventually won 39-31 in the second overtime, leaving Jones “sick.”

He said he immediately needed to go back to the weight room and lift to get his frustrations out.

“Fourth-and-13?” he said as he went to lift. “That’s not sitting right with me. We’re supposed to win that. I’m so sick right now, bro.”

Injury report

Abdullah, fresh off his career game, was listed as a nonparticipant for Wednesday’s practice with a toe injury.

Guard Jordan Meredith also remains sidelined in practice as he continues to deal with an ankle injury that has forced him out of the past two games.

The only other offensive player on the injury report was Miller, who was limited with a wrist injury.

Defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson (ankle), defensive tackle John Jenkins (heel), safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (hip) and safety Trey Taylor (back) were all limited.

High praise

Coach Antonio Pierce said Wednesday there are a few players whose development this season will stick with him when he thinks back upon the 2024 campaign.

O’Connell is one, as Pierce lauded his consistency in the locker room between quarterback changes and a serious injury.

“Pola-Mao would be another,” Pierce said. “And (tight end Michael Mayer) because we lost him for a couple weeks, and I think he bounced back, had a great reception, some good blocks in the game on Sunday.”

Pierce also cited linebacker Robert Spillane and safety Tre’von Moehrig as players who excelled from the first day of camp all the way through.

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