Oakland Raiders: Top 4 takeaways from Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings
2. Darren Waller was a bright spot, but with a catch
Only one player on the Oakland Raiders had 45 or more all-purpose yards this week against the Minnesota Vikings, and it probably wasn’t a name you would have bet on last week.
While the offense as a whole struggled mightily for the silver and black, Darren Waller had 13 receptions for 134 yards on the day. This included a 30-yard catch in the third, when the rest of the team had only put together a total of 21 yards.
Waller was a one-man show while everyone else remained relatively quiet.
The running game was fairly quiet — Josh Jacobs was held to 44 yards on ten carries for the day. J.J. Nelson was able to put together a total of 36 yards thanks to the 29-yard flea-flicker touchdown, but that was pretty much it for him.
Raider Nation should be glad to see that there was anything at all to be excited to see coming from the stat sheet this week.
And Waller should be credited as well. He had good hands throughout the game and consistently looked like a piece who could get just enough separation for Derek Carr to thread the needle.
He seemed like one of the few targets Carr felt someone comfortable aiming for.
The bad news here is that the bulk of Waller’s yardage came when the game was very far out of reach. If someone were to tune in during the end of the game and saw the Raiders’ drive up the field, they probably would have thought they were hanging in there.
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But the game was too far gone. Cousins had already logged more yards scrambling than all but two receivers on the Raiders had receiving.
Jon Gruden continues to struggle with his chemistry with the offense despite being anointed an offensive mastermind. The pressure that comes in the form of pass-rushing and fake blitzes are a testament to a capable Vikings defense, but the Raiders have to be better.
Gruden has to be better. The communication with receivers needs to be better.
Waller’s lone missed catch on the day came from an errant throw from Carr. He did his best to lay out for it on a twisting attempt at the grab, but it seemed to be a slight miscommunication that led to the missed opportunity.
Still, Waller saved Carr by helping him fill out his stats.
If the Raiders could get these kinds of numbers out of Waller each week, then it’d certainly be welcomed. But the offense is going to have to come from elsewhere if the Raiders want to have a legitimate shot to hit that 5-11 benchmark.
Padding stats in garbage time isn’t going to get it done.