Blistering In From Sea.

[Soapy]

O'Connell efficient in leading Raiders to a 34-7 preseason win over 49ers
Raiders rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell was known for his efficiency when he was at Purdue, and he even set the school record for career completion percentage.

That same skill was on display Sunday.

O'Connell completed 15 of 18 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown as Las Vegas beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-7 in the preseason opener for both teams.

“You just kind of hope to go out there and do your best and see what happens,” O'Connell said. “Not worried about the stats. There’s more things than just the stats, especially responsibility in the run game and stuff like that, that I need to improve on. So I know I have a lot of work to go still.”

O'Connell, third on the depth chart behind starter Jimmy Garoppolo and veteran Brian Hoyer, played the first three quarters, leaving with Las Vegas up 24-7 and the outcome well in hand.

“I thought he generally handled himself well for the first (playing) opportunity,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “He’s going to learn a lot from some of the things we might have been able to do a little bit better that would’ve helped us maybe sustain a few drives. He soaks it all in, and he’ll take every opportunity to improve.”

The Raiders drafted O'Connell in the fourth round this year out of Purdue, where he finished with a 66.7 career completion percentage, one of several Boilermakers records. Against the 49ers, O'Connell quarterbacked three touchdown drives.

“Since Day 1, Aidan has been ready to go,” Raiders wide receiver Keelan Cole said. “So I’m not surprised at all about the performance.”

O'Connell outplayed his 49ers counterparts, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, who are competing to back up starter Brock Purdy. The spotlight is especially bright on Lance, who was taken third overall two years ago after the Niners traded a bunch of assets to move up in the draft and select him with the hope he would be the club's quarterback of the future.

The 49ers even declared Lance would be the starter last season, but he was done after breaking an ankle in the second game. Purdy wound up leading San Francisco all the way to the NFC Championship to earn the starting job for this season.

Niners general manager John Lynch said in April, however, that the team wasn't ready to move on from Lance. As part of his audition for the backup job, Lance on Sunday faced a heavy Raiders pass rush and couldn't get the offense going early. The 49ers went three-and-out on his first three series.

“That was definitely frustrating," Lance said. "I put it on myself to be better.”

Lance played the first half and completed 10 of 15 passes for 112 yards, but was sacked four times and had two potential interceptions dropped. One near pick occurred in the end zone that San Francisco tight end Ross Dwelley dove to caught for Lance's one touchdown throw.

Darnold played most of the second half for the Niners, going 5 of 8 for 84 yards. His receivers did him few favors, however, a fumble after one catch and a drop on another pass turning into an interception. Both plays set up Las Vegas touchdowns.

The Raiders were much more effective, setting the tone from the beginning with a 10-play, 68-yard drive on their first series. Zamir White, who has been receiving first-team snaps in practice with Josh Jacobs out because of a contract dispute, rushed six times for 21 yards and the touchdown. White played into the second quarter, finishing with 43 yards on 13 rushes.

The 49ers headed home after an extended stay in the Las Vegas area. Both teams practiced against each other Thursday and Friday at the Raiders' headquarters and largely rested their starters for the exhibition.

“We got two good practices against them,” San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I always like it when you can do that, and we practiced against them real hard the second day, especially with all the (starters). I didn't enjoy that game by any means today, but a lot of guys got a lot of valuable reps.”

[Count]

no Drake Maye when you got O'Connell

[mvp]

didnt realize keelan cole was out here lets go

[Soapy]

no Drake Maye when you got O'Connell

I liked him at Purdue so maybe

didnt realize keelan cole was out here lets go

a lot of receivers, not enough balls (ayo) to feed em. also a weird roster construction with a bunch of guys that are probably better out of the slot so we'll see how it goes

[Soapy]

'I was always a Raider': Marcus Peters feels at home with Vegas, No. 24 jersey
What's in a number?

When it comes to the Las Vegas Raiders and 24, there is more than you know. Just ask Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Charles Woodson, who explains exactly what comes with wearing it and how excited he is to see it back in circulation with the Raiders' recent addition of veteran cornerback Marcus Peters.

"Well, I came here and I got indoctrinated to the 24," Woodson said. "And Willie Brown was really adamant, you know, about me wearing the 24. But it's not necessarily just about the 24; it's the lineage of defensive backs here. You take a lot of pride in representing and trying to go out there and be the best defensive back in the game because that's what those guys represented.

"You had Willie Brown, Mike Hayes, Lester Hayes. But Willie Brown was like the Godfather. So having that 24 on, it really meant a lot. And so, I know Marcus Peters, he feels the same way. He grew up a Raiders fan, so he knows all about the history of the Raiders. So I'm happy to have a guy that knows how to make plays in that number. I can't wait to see what he does this year."

Pressure, much?

If so, Peters isn't letting on. Not with his childhood fandom coming full circle. After all, Peters grew up in Oakland and considers himself a historian, so to speak, of everything Silver and Black.

"I was always a Raider, man," Peters said with a big smile. "It was something that was in me since I was a little kid. But it feels good to be a Raider now, to be able to play in the same uniform that I watched growing up."

Need more proof?

"The Tuck Rule killed us, man," said Peters, who had just turned 9 years old when Woodson's seeming playoff game-sealing strip sack of Tom Brady was overturned on a snowy New England night. "Oakland ain't been the same since."

Peters notably wore an Oakland A's cap to his contract signing as well as to his media availability, sending a message against the backdrop of the Athletics' intentions to eventually join the Raiders in Las Vegas (the NBA's Warriors also recently abandoned Oakland, going to San Francisco).

"It's just something that's in me, you know what I'm saying?" Peters said. "Being a little kid riding the bus, riding the BART and being able to see [the Oakland Coliseum] right there and seeing just historical stuff going on. It's a blessing, man, for a little kid to come from West Oakland to be able to be putting on his jersey now. It's a blessing."

Sure, others wore the number between the late Brown and Woodson (Lance Harkey, Ron Brown, Patrick Bates and Larry Brown) and between Woodson and Peters (Michael Huff, Marshawn Lynch and, most recently, Johnathan Abram).

But the Raiders adding Peters, a three-time Pro Bowler and 2015 Defensive Rookie of the Year, on the eve of training camp is about more than fulfilling an Oakland kid's love affair with his favorite team. Las Vegas needed help in the secondary -- in both production and leadership.

Consider: Peters' 32 career interceptions are 26 more than the other corners on the roster. He also has six pick-sixes.

"I play offense on defense and defense on offense," he said. "They go hand in hand. I want to get the ball, and when the ball is in the air, you've got to have a will and want to go get it ... you've got to just make sure that infects the whole locker room and we all just do it as one unit -- you feel me? -- and it's going to pay off for us.

"I tell everybody, man, 'I'm an open book, and for you to get the information, you've got to go want to pull it out of the library and you've got to want to go read it.'"

The youngsters in the DB room are already gravitating toward the guy they affectionately call "OG." Peters turned 30 in January.

Fourth-round pick Jakorian Bennett, who could potentially start across from Peters, has his library card.

"He just comes over and ask questions, and every question he's got [that] I don't got the answer, we're going to figure it out together," Peters said. "And then we get in the meeting room, he sits right next to me and he's still asking questions. And that's how it goes, that's how game is passed down most of the time."

Said Bennett: "He's a ball hawk ... so smooth and just cerebral. But yeah, him just kind of being an open book ... if I can get some of the knowledge he has, going into Year 1, that can just kind of slow the game down for me, a lot."

To be fair, Peters' production has slowed the past few seasons, as he's bounced from the Kansas City Chiefs -- who drafted him in the first round out of Washington in 2015 -- to the Los Angeles Rams, with whom the Raiders are conducting joint practices this week before playing an exhibition Saturday at SoFi Stadium, to the Baltimore Ravens.

To be even more fair, Peters missed the entire 2021 season after suffering a torn ACL just before the opener. He had only one interception for the Ravens last season.

The Raiders, who inked Peters to a one-year, $3 million contract with $1.165 million guaranteed on July 24, are hoping he does more than lead by example. They're looking for a renaissance.

By the guy wearing the jersey number of his favorite cornerback growing up.

"I know some people might say Deion [Sanders], but me being able to be in the backyards of C-Wood, and watching him do what he was doing as a rookie and then keep going on, man, and then he used to be out in Oakland streets? And my pops and them just tell us stories about them chilling and hanging out? That's big," Peters said. "It's just a blessing to be able to rock a number that he wore. Yeah, it's a blessing. I don't know I got too many words for that, but a blessing."

Oh, and there's one other longtime Raiders fan who will be sporting a Raiders No. 24 jersey for the first time this season.

"My pops ain't never put on none of my jerseys because he's a Raiders fan," Peters laughed. "And now he gets to put on one and feel proud about it."

And that's what's in a number.

[Soapy]

Jimmy Garoppolo looks sharp in his Raiders debut, and Vegas beats the Rams 34-17
Jimmy Garoppolo wanted a chance to lead the Las Vegas Raiders before the games that count, and Josh McDaniels was happy to give it to him.

Unlike Sean McVay, the Raiders' quarterback and head coach think the preseason is worth the risk of a few hits.

Garoppolo completed all four of his passes for 39 yards while leading a touchdown drive in his Raiders debut, and Las Vegas went on to a 34-17 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night.

Garoppolo played only the opening series for the Raiders (2-0), who signed the longtime 49ers quarterback in March as their replacement for Derek Carr. The 10-year veteran has beaten the Rams more often than any quarterback during Sean McVay's career, and Garoppolo didn't make a significant mistake while leading a comfortable drive ending in Brandon Bolden's 7-yard TD run.

“Felt good just to knock some of the rust off, get in the game flow with some of the guys,” Garoppolo said. “It’s the little things that we’re trying to work on, and I thought the guys played well tonight. ... I wanted to play, so I’m glad Josh let the starters get out there and get a couple of reps in. Guys were operating at a fast pace, which is important in this offense.”

The game was Garoppolo's first action since last Dec. 4, when he incurred a season-ending foot injury in Miami before Brock Purdy led San Francisco to a victory and quickly became a rising star.

Given Garoppolo's injury history and the importance of his health this season, McDaniels thought it beneficial for his quarterback to get back into the groove.

“I think every quarterback or player that touches the football that knows once the regular season comes, they’re live bait,” McDaniels said. “They’re going to get hit. It’s always good to get that out of the way, and some of the anxiety about how it feels, because you haven’t done it in a long time.”

McDaniels didn't reveal his plan for his starters before the game, but most of the Raiders' probable key contributors got some action at SoFi Stadium. Even star receiver Davante Adams played on the opening drive, although Garoppolo didn't target him.

“You always go through that conversation in your head every year," McDaniels said. “We just felt like with the number of new faces, the number of guys that were basically going to play their first regular season game together, that we’d like to go ahead and get that feeling you have in your stomach on a normal game day in the regular season.”

Stetson Bennett went 15 of 24 for 142 yards and rushed for a touchdown while playing the first three quarters for the Rams (0-2). The two-time national champion at Georgia made several sharp throws, but also several mistakes — none bigger than the massive miscommunication with Tyler Johnson that led to a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown by Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao in the second quarter.

“Some good learning opportunities and some good bounce-back, but there's definitely some moments that I've got to improve on,” Bennett said. “There was times where it did slow down for me, and there was times when it was going fast.”

Rams linebacker Jacob Hummel returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter on a similarly poor throw by Brian Hoyer, the presumptive backup to Garoppolo.

[Soapy]

Sources: Raiders RB Josh Jacobs can get $12M in reworked deal
Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs, who had yet to sign his $10.091 million franchise tag and had not participated in any offseason programs or training camp, took to social media Saturday to announce his return to the team.

"I'm back," Jacobs posted.

Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Jacobs has been in Las Vegas and agreed to a one-year, reworked deal that could be worth up to $12 million with per-game roster bonuses.

The Raiders announced Saturday that they had signed Jacobs, without disclosing terms. Raiders owner Mark Davis was happy Jacobs was returning and reiterated his feelings for the running back.

"I love him. I love Josh," Davis told ESPN. "He's phenomenal. He was the heart of our team, in my mind. He came to play every day. Tough, tough, tough guy. Just really proud of him. He was a Raider. If we had 22 Josh Jacobs on the roster, with that mentality, amazing."

Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler met with Jacobs and his agent this week at a restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip to lay some groundwork to get a deal done, sources told Schefter. Both sides discussed the framework of the agreement they reached Saturday.

Jacobs is expected to return to the team Sunday, sources said. He was not with the Raiders in Dallas for Saturday night's exhibition finale against the Cowboys. A first-round pick by the team in 2019, Jacobs did not have his fifth-year option picked up when Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels took over last season. Jacobs responded with a career year.

In running for 1,653 yards, Jacobs became the first Raiders player since Marcus Allen in 1985 to lead the NFL in rushing. Jacobs also led the league in touches (393) and yards from scrimmage (2,053) and had the NFL's longest run of the season, his 86-yard walk-off in Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 27, while tying a career high with 12 rushing touchdowns. His 400 receiving yards, on 53 catches, were also a career high.

With Jacobs away, second-year back Zamir White had been handling the load as the starter and has rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in two preseason games. White had 70 rushing yards on 17 carries as a rookie last season.

"Josh can run you over or juke you out," said Raiders offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor. "Zamir is just going to run head-first and run you over, he doesn't care. It's cool playing for guys like that because you know if you open up a hole and he gets to the safety, nine times out of 10, he's going to run him over and score.

"So like I said, Josh is -- there's no one like him -- but we're lucky to have a guy like Zeus [White]."

Jacobs has not been subject to fines as a holdout since he had not been under contract as he did not sign the franchise tag by the July 17 deadline. McDaniels has said it was Jacobs' right to stay away and he respected it, saying the team would welcome him back. McDaniels, whose offenses had traditionally used a running back-by-committee approach, adapted to Jacobs' productivity last season and did not sense a shift in philosophy.

"You go with what's the best thing to do for the team," McDaniels said early in training camp. "And certainly, that was [Jacobs] last year. And I wouldn't expect that to be different this year."

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley also initially declined to sign his franchise tag and in late July agreed to a one-year deal that adjusted his tag. Jacobs' mentor, Hall of Famer Allen, lamented the monetary market for running backs being devalued.

"I'm just going to say it -- it's almost like collusion," Allen said at a Raiders alumni reunion reception earlier this month. "They decided that the running back position is one that their productivity is only for a short period of time, instead of looking at each and every one individually. They've decided, as a group, that they're not going to pay them. So I can understand what [running backs are] thinking and what they're feeling. So hopefully things get resolved, because to me, [Jacobs is] like the heart and soul of the team."

[Soapy]

Grier shines in possible final act with team as Cowboys beat Raiders 31-16 in preseason finale
Will Grier looked and sounded as if his last act with these Dallas Cowboys was throwing for 305 yards with star quarterback Dak Prescott as his play-caller.

Bittersweet, indeed, as the fifth-year player said.

Grier had a hand in four touchdowns in a 31-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in a preseason finale Saturday night, a day after the Cowboys appeared to fill his third-string role by acquiring Trey Lance in a trade with San Francisco. With Prescott in his ear, Grier completed 29 of 35 passes with two TDs and ran for 54 yards with two more scores in a likely Dallas swan song after two seasons behind backup Cooper Rush, and not taking a snap in the regular season.

Owner Jerry Jones said Grier was emotional before the game, knowing what the Lance trade meant for his future. Grier confirmed as much after the game, pausing several times to collect himself while answering questions from reporters.

“The hardest part on me is just leaving this place, to be honest,” Grier said. “Got really close with the team. That’s the toughest part about what we do. I’ve been through harder things, and I’ll rebound and be just fine.”

Damien Williams had a 24-yard touchdown run for the Raiders, who were playing a few hours after NFL rushing champion Josh Jacobs ended his contract stalemate by agreeing to a one-year deal.

The loss ended a six-game preseason winning streak for Las Vegas, which was tied with Pittsburgh for the NFL's longest after Baltimore's record 24-game run ended at Washington last week.

After Grier's 15-yard scoring pass to rookie running back Hunter Luepke for a 21-10 lead late in the first half, Prescott pumped his fists the same he way does after his own TDs and celebrated with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and coach Mike McCarthy.

When the game was over, Prescott was more subdued, pointing out that his thoughts were with Grier as he answered questions about the addition of Lance.

“It’s a tough situation, honestly,” Prescott said. “Love that guy to death over there. We’re going to welcome Trey and that’s what you do for a teammate. I’m a very selfless person, so that’s not going to change by any means. But my heart’s with that guy over there right now.”

Grier, whose only two regular-season games came as a rookie with Carolina in 2019, took every snap for the Cowboys with Rush entrenched in the role behind Prescott.

The starters sat for both teams, including quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo a week after his Las Vegas debut. Almost every Dallas starter didn't play at all in the preseason. Many who saw extensive action have tenuous roster situations similar to Grier's, including Williams (six carries, 54 yards) and Dallas running back Malik Davis (10 carries, 42 yards).

The Cowboys sat Rico Dowdle and rookie Deuce Vaughn, an indication they are filling the two spots behind lead back Tony Pollard.

The same was true for the Raiders, who rested Zamir White and Ameer Abdullah after they spent all of training camp in the top two spots while Jacobs stayed away. Still, Williams left a strong final impression.

“He’s a pro, very physical,” coach Josh McDaniels said. “Just brings a tough mindset and attitude. A guy that brings some value to your football team in other ways as well. Fits in with our culture. Had a couple of really nice plays tonight, which was great to see.”

[Caesar]

My brother in Christ. Make the text bigger on that scoreboard banner for the love of God.

[Count]

My brother in Christ. Make the text bigger on that scoreboard banner for the love of God.

you mean the screenshot from ESPN?