The Las Vegas Raiders cruised to a victory on Sunday afternoon 33-22 when they hosted the Philadelphia Eagles.
This was the second game of the season for the Raiders with interim head coach Rich Bisaccia in charge. Las Vegas came into this game after a much-needed win on the road in Denver last week for many reasons.
“Congratulations to the men in the locker room,” Bisaccia said after the game. “I thought they competed with relentless effort throughout the entire game. I thought it was a complete team effort from start to finish.”
The 11-point win was the largest margin of victory for the Raiders this season. After back-to-back touchdown drives to open up the third quarter, the Raiders stretched their lead all the way to 23 points, which is their largest lead in a game since having a 24-point lead in week 10 against the Broncos in the 2020 season.
Quarterback Derek Carr finished with a game-high 323 passing yards and his fifth game of the season with over 300 passing yards. Carr also finished the day with two touchdown passes and one interception. Carr currently sits at 2,269 passing yards, which is just six yards behind Tom Brady (2,275) for first place.
Running back Kenyon Drake led the Raiders’ rushing attack after Josh Jacobs was injured during play in the second quarter. Jacobs had six rushing attempts for 29 yards and one touchdown before he left the game due to a chest injury.
Drake picked up right where Jacobs left off, finishing the day with 69 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown. After the game, Drake gave a lot of praise to the offensive line.
“It starts with them,” Drake said. “The O-Line, you can only go as far as they go. That group has just continued to jell as the season has gone on. Just kinda looking forward to continue to use this momentum as the season goes on.”
With Las Vegas starting tight end Darren Waller out with an injury, back-up tight end Foster Moreau stepped in to fill some big shoes and fill those shoes he did. Moreau caught all six of his targets and finished with a team-high 60 receiving yards, including an 18-yard pass from Carr in the second quarter.
“He just preached confidence and gave me a lot of wisdom,” Moreau said of Waller’s support. “Told me it was going to be a dog fight. The guy is a warrior. Being able to learn and grow and mature with him, one of my pivotal role models, there’s truly nothing better. The guy’s the model of excellence, absolutely what it means to be a champion.”
The Eagles offense couldn’t get anything going against the Las Vegas defense all day. Philadelphia had just seven points entering the fourth quarter, where they scored 15 of the team’s 22 points. Quarterback Jalen Hurts finished the day with 236 passing yards with two touchdowns and also chipped in 61 yards on the ground.
This win put the Raiders in sole possession of first place in the AFC West division and they are tied in first place with the Bengals, Titans and Ravens for first place in the AFC Conference standings. Las Vegas heads into the bye week with a record of 5-2.
Their next game will be on Sunday, Nov. 7, when they travel to New York to take on the Giants. Kickoff for that game is currently scheduled for 10 a.m.
Contact Sports Editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com