Studs and duds of 49ers’ game

The Las Vegas Raiders notched their first loss of the preseason with a 34-10 blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Raiders left the starters back in Las Vegas while the 49ers are playing theirs, shown in the point column.

The Raiders’ offense struggled once again to move the ball consistently. They finished three for 11 on third down and averaged a weak 4.07 yards per play. Of course, the main reason once it was a complete mismatch with the backups against the 49ers starters. When they did play the backups, it didn’t turn it out any different.

After two good performances by the defense, the Raiders didn’t fare well during Week 3. While they finished at 5.3 yards per play, they had issues with the QB counter bash that led to chunk gains early on. There were flashes from the young secondary executing the defense in the passing game. The 49ers only finished with 133 yards passing and three for 11 on third down. The final cuts will be engaging in the back end.

Who were the winners and losers?

Winners

Trey Ragas

Trey Ragas has been the talk of the preseason, with him and BJ Emmons sharing the workload. He continues to impress in both pass pro and the passing game with another good outing.

Ragas has a grittiness on tape, especially with his pass pro skills. The undrafted free agent has 11 snaps for pass blocking. He hasn’t allowed pressure during those snaps and has highlight tape that would make a running back coach fall in love. According to PFF, this makes him the number one graded running back for pass blocking for running backs.

Mix that in with pass-catching ability; Ragas has a chance to sneak onto this roster. Jalen Richard’s specialty is pass blocking. Former Louisiana Ragin Cajun running back can fill that void while he is out for injury.

Amik Robertson

Amik Robertson’s selection in the fourth round of 2020 was to solidify the nickel corner position, and the transition hasn’t been easy. Jon Gruden has mentioned playing him outside where he can get the best out of his skill set. However, during Sunday’s game, Robertson exhibited his development at the slot corner position.

According to PFF, Robertson had two defensive stops playing slot corner. He demonstrated sure tackling ability to need to play inside. In coverage, he finished with a completion of 50% on four targets allowing only 16 yards. The former Louisiana Tech cornerback looked fresh, putting his talents on full display for Raider nation to see.

Robertson was a fringe roster player before training camp started. That has all but changed with his performance in the preseason. It will be a surprise if he doesn’t make this roster with the upside he can bring to the table.

Gerald McCoy

The signing of Gerald McCoy brought much-needed depth to the defensive tackle group. McCoy added to his hype on Sunday with his action on the field. He did not disappoint when he got his first meaningful snaps since 2019.

What you like about the former pro bowler’s performance is that he seemed healthy. McCoy’s burst was easy to see on film and was disruptive throughout the contest. It was lopsided matchups with One of the best defensive tackles from the last decade going up against backups.

Mccoy played 37 snaps overall and should be ready for the regular season. It was good to see him out there putting on a show for the fans.

Losers

Nathan Peterman

Nathan Peterman keeps finding a way to get a raise every year from the Raiders. After his opening outing of the preseason, there were whispers about him replacing Mariota. Well, those whispers have calmed down after his showing Sunday versus the 49ers.

Peterman looked shaky from the jump, and he should be with that offensive line in front of him. He missed easy throws early on and made tough decisions under pressure that led to bad outcomes. He finished the preseason with a YPA of 6.4 and a passer rating of 75.1. With teams playing vanilla coverages, you would expect better performances from a player who is in his fifth year.

He will take up a roster spot, but I’m not sure it is deserving after the last two preseason games. The Raiders might have to start looking elsewhere for backup quarterbacks if they don’t keep Mariota next season.

Max Richardson

Max Richardson was a long shot at making this football team since camp started. With the linebacker injuries piling up, he had an opportunity to show he can be an NFL linebacker. It did not work for him as he planned.

The Boston College product had issues reading the quarterback run designs. He struggled to diagnose who had the football and was late to come over the top when working against the concepts. According to PFF, Richard missed five tackles, with a couple of those leading to first downs.

Based on Sunday shouldn’t be too many bets on Richardson making the final 53. His limitations were all over the film, and his mental processing is just not where it needs to be. Richardson’s best hope is the practice squad since the Raiders lack depth at the linebacker position.

John Brown

John Brown certainly felt to be a lock on this roster when he was signed. The thought was he would replace Nelson Agholor’s reps if one of the young players didn’t step up. Well, that all changed when he played significant snaps in the final preseason game.

There haven’t been any signs of Brown falling down the depth chart from reports during camp. That made seeing the former Buffalo Bill play 25 snaps even more enjoyable. Could be Brown be cut from the Roster? Zay Jones didn’t play at all, which means he is a lock over Brown for a spot.

The Raiders might feel that Zay Jones is more refined in this system and can push to be the Agholor they want. That leaves Brown the odd man out, with Snead becoming the backup slot receiver to Renfrow. Brown will sign with another team if he is released. His route running had shined on film when he did receive snaps in the preseason.