3 takeaways from Raiders victory over Giants
Three takeaways from the Raiders’ 30-6 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium:
1. Defense dominates
Aided by their opposition — the Giants are last in the NFL in points and yards per game — the Raiders blanked New York for the first three quarters and were 14:11 away from their first shutout victory since Dec. 16, 2012.
New York quarterback Daniel Jones left the game early in the second quarter with a knee injury, and with veteran backup Tyrod Taylor (ribs) on injured reserve, the Giants turned to undrafted and overmatched rookie Tommy DeVito.
The Raiders pounced, intercepting DeVito twice — courtesy of defensive backs Amik Robertson and Nate Hobbs — and pressuring him on seemingly every dropback.
Defensive end Maxx Crosby was again a menace, recording three sacks, three tackles for loss and three hits of the quarterback. Malcolm Koonce, Adam Butler, Bilal Nichols and Tre’von Moehrig each added a sack, and Tyree Wilson and Robert Spillane split one — giving the Raiders eight in a game for the first time since Oct. 31, 2010.
DeVito finished 15 of 20 for 176 yards and the two interceptions, adding an 8-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
2. Pound the rock
In his introductory news conference last week, interim coach Antonio Pierce implied he would feature running back Josh Jacobs despite the struggles the Raiders had rushing the first eight weeks.
Indeed, Jacobs was featured — responding with his most productive performance of the season.
The NFL’s defending rushing champion carried 26 times for a season-high 98 yards — adding first-half scoring runs of 2 yards and 1 yard and flashing the burst he had throughout the first four years of his career.
The Raiders, last in the NFL through eight weeks with 70 rushing yards per game, totaled 105 rushing yards in the first half. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers supplied a 17-yard rushing score, taking a jet sweep untouched around the left end in the first quarter.
The Raiders finished with 125 rushing yards, eclipsing their previous season high of 96 on Oct. 9 in a 17-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
3. Ride the rookie
Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell was poised and precise in his second start, completing 16 of 25 throws for 209 yards while staying upright against New York’s pesky defensive front.
The 25-year-old from Purdue wasn’t sacked while distributing passes quickly and decisively, mostly to targets within 10 to 20 yards from the line of scrimmage.
In the second quarter, though, he connected with fellow rookie Tre Tucker for 50 yards in a deep-ball display the Raiders have hardly had this season.
Tucker led the way with two catches for 52 yards.
Meyers had two catches for 38 yards, and Davante Adams finished with four receptions for 34 yards.
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.