Raiders report: Safety joins Hall of Famer in franchise record books

“Finally,” he said of his feeling.

Pola-Mao also could have been talking about his long wait to record the first forced fumble of his career, which came in the first half in his third NFL season.

He didn’t have to wait long for the next one. After stripping running back Tank Bigsby early in the second quarter, he knocked the ball from tight end Brenton Strange to prevent a possible field goal before halftime.

“It was just something we talked about a lot in practice and something we emphasize every week. We knew our team needed it, so we were looking at it and hunting for it today,” Pola-Mao said. “I’m always trying to go after the ball, but we talked about how Tank runs hard, but sometimes the ball is a little vulnerable, and we put an emphasis on it.”

Pola-Mao became the second defensive back in Raiders history and first since Hall of Famer Charles Woodson in 1999 to record two forced fumbles in a game, though the official stat only goes back to 1994.

“That’s pretty cool,” he said of joining Woodson, who did it three times. “But I’m just glad we got the win more than anything. It’s a sigh of relief, but it feels good to be part of the reason we got it done.”

Coach Antonio Pierce said Pola-Mao has been a steadying presence on defense since being called upon to fill in for an injured Marcus Epps early in the season.

“Today, it was the physicality,” Pierce said. “He put his hat on the ball. The way we talk about playing here with ill-intent and violence. That showed up today.”

That helped the Raiders continue a recent trend of forcing turnovers in bunches. The two takeaways Sunday brought their total to six in the past three games after they forced just five turnovers in the first 12 games.

Chaisson exacts revenge

Defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson didn’t want to admit leading up to the game how much it meant to him.

He allowed himself to talk more freely after helping his new team secure the win over the team that selected him in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft and let him go in the offseason.

“It was really important, but we wanted to make sure we stayed within the game plan,” Chaisson said. “We didn’t want to force anything, but I can definitely say I had it on my mind.”

Chaisson recorded the only sack for the Raiders when he brought down Mac Jones for a loss of 11 yards on a third-down play in the third quarter with Jacksonville on the fringe of field-goal range.

He now has four sacks this season after recording five in four seasons with the Jaguars. He has been heating up lately, tallying three sacks in the past four games. That’s tied for sixth in the NFL in that span.

Chaisson almost had an interception, but officials ruled he lost control as he started running upfield. The Raiders challenged, but the call was upheld.

”I definitely thought I had it, but I think (teammate Darnay Holmes) is the one who knocked it out of my hand,” he said. “We’ll look over the film and discuss it, but I definitely have to do some ball-carrying drills this week.”

Chaisson’s sack allowed the Raiders to extend their streak to 33 games with at least one, the third-longest run in the NFL. It’s also the third-longest streak in franchise history and the longest for the Raiders since a 58-game run from 1984 to 1987.

Quick turnaround

The Raiders had a much better day on special teams after what Pierce called a “bad day at the office” Monday against the Falcons.

Pierce said he went into a special teams meeting Wednesday and told the group it was better than it showed Monday.

“I believe in (special teams coach Tom McMahon), and we have some great specialists in (punter AJ Cole and kicker Daniel Carlson) and those guys,” he said. “You put it behind you, learn from it and move forward. Made some personnel changes … and they did a great job responding.”

Rejuvenated

Ameer Abdullah caught five passes for 47 yards and added 38 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

The veteran running back has 196 rushing yards this season, his most since gaining 552 in 2017 with the Detroit Lions.

“You’re older and known more as a special teams player on a young team, and you can kind of get lost in the shuffle,” Pierce said. “But he’s made the most of his opportunities, and I thought he’s come up huge for us.”

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