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The bye week is coming just in time for the Las Vegas Raiders. The team is red hot right now and coming off a dominant 33-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles but they are banged up. On Friday, it was revealed that star tight end Darren Waller was questionable for Sunday’s game after suffering a freak ankle injury in practice. He ended up not suiting up against the Eagles.
Luckily, Foster Moreau stepped up and caught six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. However, the Raiders will want their star tight end back sooner rather than later. According to Moreau, Waller shouldn’t be out for too long.
“Darren’s minor, Darren will be back,” Moreau said of Waller’s injury after the game. “I’m not too worried about that.”
There’s no specific return date for Waller to return but based on Moreau’s comments, it’s hard to imagine he isn’t back after the bye week. The Raiders have been banged up all season so this week off should do a lot to help them.
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Josh Jacobs Injury Not Major
GettyJosh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Heading into Week 7, running back Josh Jacobs said that he was feeling healthier than he ever has at this point in the season. He got off to a good start against the Eagles and rushed for a touchdown in the first half. Unfortunately, he had to leave the game after the touchdown with a chest injury. He did not return.
It’s never a good sign when a player is forced out of a game early but the Raiders may have dodged a bullet. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, early signs are that Jacobs avoided a “major injury.”
He’ll be undergoing an MRI in the near future and the Raiders should have a more definitive update soon. The bye week is helpful in this situation as Jacobs now has two full weeks to get healthy for the game against the New York Giants in Week 9. After a tough start to the season, it looked like he could finally get things going against the Eagles. With this latest injury, Jacobs’ tough season just gets tougher. He’s already missed two games.
Raiders Are for Real
In the past, we’ve seen the Raiders lose games after coming off emotional wins like last week’s game against the Denver Broncos last week. Clearly, this team is different. Despite former head coach Jon Gruden recently resigning, the Raiders are 5-2 and tied for the top seed in the AFC right now.
At this point, it’s hard to argue against the notion that the team is for real. They’ve overcome losing their head coach and they showed they could overcome injuries against the Eagles. Jacobs and Waller are two of the offense’s most important weapons but quarterback Derek Carr had one of his best games of the season. He completed 31 of 34 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. He’s playing like an MVP candidate right now. If he continues to play at that level, the Raiders could be more than just playoff contenders this year.
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