Raiders Week 15 Report Card: Second half collapse spoils finale in Oakland

Aerial Attack: C+

Putting a grade on the passing game this week was tough because things changed so drastically from the first half to the second.

It truly was a tale of two halves for the offense. Derek Carr and his receivers came out firing on all cylinders to start the game. Carr had 148 yards passing in the first quarter (season high) and finished the half with 222 yards and one touchdown.

There was a Tyrell Williams sighting in the first quarter, as he was on the receiving end of a 40-yard Carr touchdown pass. Darren Waller led all pass catchers with 8 grabs for 122 yards.

In the second half, however, the offense was able to generate only 45 yards through the air. In was a collective effort that lead to the Raiders demise. Gruden’s play-calling did them no favors, and critical drops from Keelan Doss and Tyrell Williams only made things worse.

Tyrell Williams, Zay Jones, and Keelan Doss combined for 4 catches and 67 yards.

Ground Game: C+

It was a gusty performance from Josh Jacobs, who was clearly playing through some major pain. Still, Jacobs carried the ball 24 times for 89 yards. The Jaguars defense bottled Jacobs up and kept in him check, allowing only 3.7 yards per carry.

Now that they are more of less eliminated from the playoffs, you have to wonder if it’s time to shut Jacobs down? Risking the centerpiece of your offense for years to come for the sake of an extra win or two doesn’t seem like enough of a reward at this point.

Offensive Line: D

The offensive line has been one of the more consistent position groups on the team this year, consistently earning high grades each week.

This was the first week that I think they were truly dominated from start to finish in the trenches. Even when the offense was clicking in the first half, they struggled in run and pass protection.

Yannick Ngakoue was a one man wrecking crew off the edge. He totaled 2 sacks and 5 tackles, 4 of which tackles were for a loss. Brandon Parker and Kolton Miller had no answers for Ngakoue and rookie Josh Allen.

As a team, the Jaguars collected 8 tackles for loss.

Defensive Line: B-

Not going to put this one on the defense. For most of the game they were very good, limiting the Jaguars offense to two first downs in the first half. The defensive line did a nice job limiting Leonard Fournette to 2.8 yards per carry.

Maxx Crosby and Dion Jordan picked up sacks in the game. Jordan was flagged for roughing the passer on the Jaguars go-ahead scoring drive. The ball was moved from the Oakland 17 to the 8-yard line, a very costly penalty.

Linebackers: B-

The linebackers weren’t horrible for a change, so there’s that. Part of the reason for that may have been a change in personnel.

Will Compton, one of the many players brought in off the scrape heap, played all 57 of the defensive snaps, overtaking Tahir Whitehead as the every down linebacker. After playing in 100 percent of the snaps since Week 5, Whitehead saw his snaps nearly cut in half, logging only 60 percent.

Compton led the team with nine tackles.

Secondary: B+

Playing with only one starter from the opening day roster (Lamarcus Joyner), things were pretty stable in the secondary for the most part.

If I had told you Nevin Lawson, Curtis Riley, and Dallin Leavitt would all play a big time role in the secondary, you would have expected a field day for Gardner Minshew, but that was not the case.

Instead, it was an average game at best for the quarterback who finished with 201 yards and two touchdowns. Forty-eight of those yards came on the Jags final drive. Yes, the secondary did allow two touchdowns in the final six minutes, but they did more than their part on Sunday.

Trayvon Mullen had maybe his best game of the season, showing sticky man coverage. He added three pass breakups in the game.

Special Teams: C+

Daniel Carlson continues to be trending in the wrong direction with another missed field goal. Carlson missed his attempt from 50 yards and then was given a second opportunity from 45 yards out after a running into the kicker call.

Carlson would miss the second attempt as well, keeping the Raiders lead at 16-13. He has missed kicks in five of the last seven games.

Jalen Richard was a non-factor in the return game. One punt return for two yards and two kickoff returns for 37 yards.

Overall: C+