Raiders Top West

The Raiders have taken the AFC West lead, and who would’ve thunk it.

Derek Carr couldn’t be stopped as the Las Vegas Raiders are off to their best start in five years. Carr finished an astonishing 31 of 34 for 323 yards with two touchdowns as the Raiders obliterated the Philadelphia Eagles 33-22 to advance to 5-2 on the season — 2-0 in the post-Jon Gruden era. The Raiders scored 30 unanswered points in the blowout victory, a dominating effort on both sides of the ball. 

The Raiders’ offensive side set the tone early in the game, allowing Josh Jacobs to be the difference-maker in the opening half. Jacobs had six carries for 29 yards and a touchdown, along with three carries for 39 yards in the first half. He capped a 10-play, 96-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to give Vegas its first lead of the game with 1:38 remaining in the second quarter, a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

After a Kenny Gainwell fumble on Philadelphia’s first offensive play following the Jacobs score, Carr led Vegas on a 7-play, 19-yard drive that resulted in a Daniel Carlson field goal to put the Raiders up 17-7 at the half. The bleeding would only get worse from there as the Raiders recovered an onside kick attempt to give them a short field, resulting in a Kenyan Drake touchdown to get the rout going at 24-7. Bryan Edwards had a touchdown catch on Vegas’ next possession to make it 30-7. 

Carr was 21 of 23 for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the opening 30 minutes, his lone blemish on a tipped pass that landed into the hands of Avonte Maddox. He completed 16 straight passes in the first half, showcasing how good he was throughout the game. 

The Eagles were able to take the early lead on their opening possession, as Jalen Hurts completed a 13-yard strike to Gainwell to give Philadelphia a 7-0 advantage. Miles Sanders had five carries for 25 yards on the opening drive, one in which Philadelphia used a different look on offense with Hurts coming out of the huddle under center and a newfound commitment to run the ball. 

Sanders left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury and was ruled out later in the contest. Gainwell and Boston Scott took the reps at running back, but the Eagles weren’t able to get anything going offensively. Scott rushed for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter when the game was out of hand. Hurts also threw a touchdown pass to Jalen Reagor late in the game. He finished 18 of 34 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for 61 yards. — the majority of those yards coming with the game out of reach.