After an ugly game, feels like the veteran got the job by default
The Dallas Cowboys rested most of their starters while the Las Vegas Raiders had plenty of first-stringers—including quarterback Gardner Minshew—in action on Saturday’s preseason game. However, that was hard to tell while watching the matchup unfold.
The Raiders lost 12-27 and the offense struggled to put points on the board in the first half as the team entered the locker room down 13-6. While the second half was better for Las Vegas, pulling within one point in the third quarter, Aidan O’Connell’s pick-six pretty much sealed the team’s fate.
That leads us to this week’s winners and losers for the Silver and Black as the quarterback situation is the primary focus.
LOSER: Raiders’ QB situation
While Minshew was named the starting quarterback after the game, it certainly feels like he backed into the job rather than earning it. Antonio Pierce even said during his post-game press conference, “I wish it had ended well for both gentlemen, and it just didn’t,” essentially stating that both quarterbacks were a disappointment.
Minshew might not have thrown an interception, but he had one pass bounce off the hands of a Cowboys’ defender for what should have been a pick-six and was widely inaccurate with a 57.9 adjusted completion percentage, per Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, O’Connell was much more efficient with a 73.7 adjusted completion percentage, but he had the big mistake mentioned above that seemingly put the nail in the Silver and Black’s coffin.
So, while a starter was named, anyone watching this weekend’s game has to be nervous about the Raiders’ quarterback situation heading into the regular season.
WINNER: Tre Tucker
Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images
Tucker was a silver lining in what was a lackluster performance for the offense as a whole. He caught three passes for 66 yards and proved to be the deep threat that Las Vegas is looking for with an impressive 48-yard catch to set up a field goal. Additionally, he made a nice grab toward the sideline to pick up a third-down conversion.
The second-year pro also might have become the team’s punt returner with a couple of nice runbacks. Granted, one was negated by a penalty but his 43-yard return wasn’t and helped set up another scoring opportunity, making Tucker responsible for all six of the Raiders’ points in the first half.
LOSER: Andrus Peat
For the second week in a row, Peat has struggled to stay in front of a rookie edge-rusher. This time Cowboys’ second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland beat him for a couple of pressures, and the veteran offensive tackle ended up surrendering three pressures on 15 opportunities in total, per PFF.
Also, Peat posted an ugly 41.5 PFF grade as a run-blocker on Saturday and hasn’t given much hope that he’s capable of backing up Kolton Miller at left tackle. It’s starting to feel like he might be on the roster bubble as rookie DJ Glaze—who showed improvement this past weekend—could be the better backup option at offensive tackle.
WINNER: Divine Deablo
Deablo could have gotten some love as a winner last week after posting a 71.2 run defense grade in Minnesota. He followed that up with another strong performance against the run with a 70.0 mark and six total tackles, including two defensive stops.
Additionally, the fourth-year pro only allowed 12 yards on two targets in coverage and one total yard after the catch to build some momentum heading into the regular season.
LOSER: M.J. Devonshire
It’s been a struggle for Devonshire during his first two NFL games. He landed on the ‘losers’ list last week after giving up a 45-yard touchdown and this past Saturday might have been even worse, allowing three catches on three targets for 54 yards.
That brings the seventh-round pick up to an 83.3 completion percentage and 104 yards allowed for a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted. Those are tough numbers for a guy who is fighting for a roster spot, especially since undrafted free agent Woo Governor has been playing well with just 27 yards and a 92.7 passer rating yielded so far.
WINNER: DJ Turner
Turner entered the game on the roster bubble and made a strong case to earn a spot. While he only had 31 yards on five grabs, 21 of those came after the catch and he forced three missed tackles, per PFF. Additionally, he picked up three first downs as a receiver and was credited with a contested catch on his lone contested target.
To make matters even better, the wideout recovered a fumble on special teams which helped set up a scoring opportunity, and had a solid 13-yard punt return. Moving the chains and contributing on special teams is a good way to earn a spot on the 53-man roster at the end of training camp.