That and other questions about the Raiders and their playoff hopes are answered by beat writer Vinny Bonsignore in this week’s mailbag
Vincent Bonsignore
Vinny has covered the Raiders extensively in the past, breaking news on their eventual move to Las Vegas and their thwarted return to Los Angeles. Before joining the Review-Journal, he covered the Rams for The Athletic and the Los Angeles Daily News.
As Darren Waller showed against the Jets, he can pretty much do anything. But his main value to the Raiders over their last four games will be as a playmaker.
Coach Jon Gruden has indicated playing time and game status will come down to who practices best among the defensive linemen.
By snatching victory from what appeared to be a near certain defeat against the New York Jets, the Raiders preserved control of their playoff destiny.
Derek Carr’s 46-yard touchdown pass with five seconds left gave the Raiders the victory and kept alive their playoff hopes.
The Raiders announced their inactive players for Sunday’s game against the Jets, and Vic Beasley is set to make his Raiders debut.
Vontaze Burfict, who played four games with the Raiders last year, was arrested early Saturday morning in Nevada.
The Raiders face a must-win situation on Sunday against the Jets, and there are a handful of individual matchups they need to handle to leave New Jersey with a victory.
In this week’s Raiders mailbag, readers have questions about whether a new defensive end can provide pass rush and why the increased penalties the last few weeks?
Derek Carr said he probably could have worded things better about the Raiders’ recent work habits. But at the end of the day, he says the point still stands.
The Raiders are different teams in their wins and losses, with a productive run game typically powering the victories. They have gotten away from that recently, though.
Derek Carr expressed disappointment over the Raiders’ week of practice leading up to the embarrassing loss to the Falcons and knows they can’t afford a similar effort this week.
Derek Carr and his wife, Heather Neel, welcomed their baby daughter into the world on Monday night.
The Raiders (6-5) committed five turnovers and 11 penalties for 141 yards against the Falcons (4-7).
Raiders defensive end Cle Ferrell will miss his second consecutive game.