The Las Vegas Raiders beat the Baltimore Ravens in a way only they could, little to no offense, and domination on defense. They made Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense look bad at times, and pretty average all game long.
Lamar Jackson did find success in the intermediate passing game (10 to 19 air yards) in Week 2 against the Raiders, completing eight of 10 for 127 yards and a touchdown. Jackson was unable to complete either of his passes over 20 air yards on the day, because the secondary was so good, with standout games from Jakorian Bennett and Jack Jones.
Jackson was less successful on the ground than you would think, finishing with just four rushes for 20 yards, -9 rushing yards over expected, his fewest RYOE in a game in his career, per Next Gen Stats.
So, yeah, the Raiders locked up, and they did it just when they needed to. A lot of discussion, even about their defense, coming into this game was about the unit only playing bad offenses last year, including the Kansas City Chiefs who, yes, were a bad offense last year despite the Super Bowl win. Well, the Ravens are what's considered to be a good offense, and the Raiders made them try to win a rock fight.
The offense has heard all of the doubt all week. And, they showed up. The players hear this stuff, especially players on the Raiders, and they used that for this week.
"Yeah, last week we heard a lot of noise, and personally, I took a lot of things personal," Maxx Crosby said in the locker room. "I love that, that's how the great ones are built. I believe I'm one of the best in the world at what I do, and every day I show up with a purpose.
"I feel like we had a lot of doubters, I feel like this whole team was being disrespected, so, you have to respond. That's what we have to keep doing. We have to keep stacking days."
The Raiders defense, and Crosby, had a field day. Crosby had a Defensive Player of the Year type of performance, and the offense stepped up near the end of the game, as Gardner Minshew orchestrated a beautiful drive.
The Raiders heard all the chatter, and they responded. Let's see if they do the same against the Carolina Panthers.
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