The Las Vegas Raiders offense got off on the right foot under first-year head coach Klint Kubiak. In the Week 1 win over the Miami Dolphins, the Silver and Black leaned on Ashton Jeanty, who led the team in rushing and receiving yards.
Jeanty had 147 yards from scrimmage along with two receiving touchdowns. As a result, Kubiak will likely lean on Jeanty once again, and the Los Angeles Chargers defense is well aware that they have to contain the second-year running back.
While speaking to the media on Sept. 17, Chargers defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary shared his thoughts on facing the Raiders offense and what they are expecting to see from Las Vegas on Sept. 20.
“Power run game,” O’Leary said about the challenges of facing the Raiders offense. “[The Raiders are] going to stick to it. They’re going to run what they want to run. They got big personnel. Their tight ends are big. At the point of attack, they’re strong, and then you got Jeanty running the ball. So that’s number one. It’s a challenging run game and then the pass game; they’re going to get their play actions off of it.
“They got speed on the outside. There’s no question about that. So just kind of the whole process there of making sure you’re not bleeding in the run game, but you’re also protecting on the shot passes.”
Raiders’ Kirk Cousins Will Be Major Key Against Chargers
Moreover, O’Leary sees a slight similarity between the Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals, whom the Chargers lost to in Week 1. Arizona had a veteran QB in Jacoby Brissett do damage to Los Angeles’ defense, and Las Vegas will be counting on Kirk Cousins to do something similar.
“They got a veteran at quarterback in Kirk who can get him in the right plays, can make kind of the same as Brissett,” O’Leary added. “He’s going to get the ball out on time. He’s going to be efficient [and] accurate. So all of that, and then you talk about Jeanty’s done a great job.
“From where he was last year to this year, it’s pretty impressive. He’s talented. He’s versatile. They got a lot of guys, and then you’re obviously sitting there waiting to see what’s going to happen with Brock Bowers. So we’re excited. It’s going to be a good challenge.”
Against LA, Brissett went 27-for-37 on his pass attempts for 277 passing yards, one touchdown, and a passer rating of 103.1. If Cousins can match the Cardinals QB’s performance, the Raiders could be looking at a 2-0 start.
Richie Incognito on Ashton Jeanty’s Week 1 Performance
Meanwhile, on the Sept. 15 edition of “Initial Contact,” former Raiders offensive lineman Richie Incognito had praise for Jeanty after his performance against the Dolphins.
“He had a couple breakout games last year where you saw it, and you’re like, ‘Okay, this kid is special,'” Incognito said. “But nothing like this. This was this kid’s, ‘Hello, I’m in the NFL. I can do it all; I can run the ball [and] I can catch out of the backfield; I can thump these guys. I can come downhill and bounce off a guy.’
“We saw all these crazy plays at Boise, with the offensive line and the play calling and everything as it was last year; we got glimpses of it. We got a little shot here, a little shot there. Okay, he had one game where he had a bunch of receiving yards. Man, this was awesome for my Raiders.”
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