Raiders’ struggling offensive line takes big step forward

The touchdown connected which the Raiders blew the pb wide unfastened against the Denver Broncos connected Sunday wasn’t a peculiarly fancy oregon originative play. Facing a second-and-seven from the Broncos’ 18-yard line, Derek Carr handed the shot to moving backmost Kenyan Drake, who was operating retired of a single-back set.

Standard worldly these days successful the NFL.

It was the businesslike execution of the play that stood out. Particularly for a Raiders squad that has struggled to find consistency and accumulation on an violative enactment dealing with the learning curve of a rebuild and 2 large injuries to commencement the season.

That play, which resulted successful an 18-yard touchdown run, gives the Raiders anticipation that their violative enactment tin mature and make and go the plus they hoped it would beryllium coming into the season.

That each remains to beryllium seen, of course. But for 1 week, anyway, the Raiders’ violative enactment took a large measurement forward.

Among the highlights: Derek Carr had the clip to onslaught the Broncos downfield and averaged a season-high 18.9 yards per completion. Three plays successful peculiar — a 48-yard touchdown propulsion to Henry Ruggs, a 51-yard completion to Bryan Edwards and a 33-yard touchdown propulsion to Drake — were each slow-developing plays that required clip and patience to complete.

“I thought they did a large job. I deliberation we had 2 sacks, but … it wasn’t connected them. Especially against that front,” Carr said. “If we support that up, hopefully we tin physique connected that.”

Meanwhile, the Raiders did conscionable capable successful the tally crippled to unit the Broncos to grant it, which they took vantage of by utilizing the play-action walk much than they person each season.

The tally crippled was connected afloat show connected Drake’s touchdown run.

Running to the close — oregon distant from the powerfulness connected the near side, wherever choky extremity Darren Waller is flanked near tackle Kolton Miller — Drake flowed toward rookie Alex Leatherwood, who was making his 2nd commencement astatine close guard, and Brandon Parker, who had replaced Leatherwood astatine close tackle the week before.

Parker got disconnected the enactment of scrimmage rapidly to seal disconnected Broncos extracurricular linebacker Von Miller. Leatherwood wholly nullified antiaircraft extremity Shamar Stephen. Meanwhile, first-year starting halfway Andre James recovered wrong linebacker Justin Stand, who was flowing to the play astir a gait disconnected the enactment of scrimmage and successfully sealed him off.

Drake made a cleanable work and leaned left, down the partition created by Parker, Leatherwood and James, to find daylight. Thanks to a cleanable artifact by Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow to erase hard-charging Denver information Justin Simmons, Drake was capable to sprint untouched to the extremity portion for the touchdown to springiness the Raiders a 24-7 lead.

None of it happens without James, Leatherwood and Parker doing their jobs. And this wasn’t a one-play deal. According to Pro Football Focus, the Raiders’ violative enactment created an mean of 1.6 yards earlier interaction connected the Raiders’ 23 rushing attempts. Far excessively often this season, Raiders moving backs person been met down the enactment of scrimmage oregon astatine it by opposing tacklers.

Left defender John Simpson, Leatherwood and Parker each achieved their highest per crippled PFF people of the season.

It wasn’t a cleanable oregon large crippled by immoderate measure, but it was by acold the Raiders’ champion effort of the season. After trading veterans Rodney Hudson (center) and Gabe Jackson (guard) successful salary-cap moves, the Raiders understood determination would beryllium a improvement process.

That was compounded erstwhile starting guards Richie Incognito and Denzelle Good went down with injuries. Incognito is connected injured reserve with a quad wounded and hasn’t played a down yet. Good was mislaid to a season-ending genu wounded successful the archetypal fractional of the play opener.

Then, 3 games in, the Raiders moved Leatherwood to close defender and inserted Parker successful his spot astatine tackle to assistance amended the interior of the line. The affirmative signs connected Sunday could mean this revamped portion is headed successful the close direction.

Drake recognized the progress.

“If you look astatine the O-line, I deliberation it was 1 subordinate coming backmost from past twelvemonth that was a starter, truthful we knew it was going to instrumentality clip for them to travel unneurotic arsenic a cohesive unit,” Drake said. “It’s a agelong season, and I consciousness similar they are doing that. I look guardant to being down those guys for the remainder of the year.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.