While the Raiders seemed to bounce back from their terrible loss in New England in Week 5, they still couldn’t put out a win against the Bills last Sunday. The loss is their third in a row, dropping them to 3-3 on the season.
In the process, the Raiders were playing from behind most of the game. They pulled to a tie twice, but in both instances, the Bills turned right around and took the lead back. Playing catch-up all game ultimately ended with the Bills getting a comfortable lead late and lining up in victory formation at the end.
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Let’s look at the Raiders players who are trending up following their Week 6 loss to the Bills.
Stock up: TE Michael Mayer
The man who got a long term extension before the season got back on track this week. Two weeks ago, he had the second best game of his career, catching eight passes for 82 yards. But he disappeared in New England — along with much of the team — catching one pass for two yards. Back in Las Vegas against the Bills, Mayer returned to form, setting a new career high with 95 yards on seven catches. One of those catches was a gorgeous deep ball between defenders. Two others, he made the catch near the line of scrimmage, broke a tackle and picked up big yards after the catch. Those are not areas he was known for throughout much of his career, but he’s showing he’s capable of doing it, giving the Raiders the tight end room they were hoping for.
Stock down: C Tyler Linderbaum
Speaking of big offseason contracts… With the deal he signed, a lot is expected of him. That comes with a microsope. But you just needed eyes to see how brutal he was at times on Sunday. The one that showed up in the stat column was his false start on fourth and one. His THIRD of the season. But the big one that stood out on film was the one where Bills DT Deone Walker tossed him like a ragdoll. It was so bad, the NFL twitter page made a standalone post about it.
When you are getting posterized like that, you gotta put in some work to prove yourself again.
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Stock up: WR Tre Tucker
For three straight weeks prior to last Sunday, Tucker’s numbers were pretty underwhelming. Each game he had exactly four catches and didn’t even crack the 50-yard barrier with zero touchdowns. Now this week, he’s the talk of the offense after a game in which he had 97 yards and two touchdowns on five catches.
Up until the final offensive play of the game for the Raiders, his numbers were only slightly above his catches and yards totals from the previous weeks — four catches for 53 yards. The primary difference being that one of those was a touchdown, when he hadn’t had one since week two.
That score and the final score were no small things though. Both were great catches that showcased a trust that is developing between he and Kirk Cousins. The first TD, Cousins threw it before Tucker had even turned around and he made the catch right at the pylon. The second was a gorgeous 44-yard diving grab that showcased Tucker’s speed and long ball abilities. And it will surely give the Rams something to think about when preparing to face them this week.
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Stock down: WR Jalen Nailor
Nailor returned to the Raiders after missing the game in New England with a concussion. During the week, head coach Klint Kubiak talked about how important Nailor is to the offense. But outside of perhaps his blocking, it’s hard to see how much of a difference-maker he actually is.
In the first half, Nailor had two targets and no catches. Mainly because he is unable to get open and shield off the defender who is always precariously right in his hip pocket. By the end of the game, he had one catch for nine yards on four targets. That one catch was his first catch in October and just his sixth catch of the year for a combined 61 yards and no touchdowns. This for a guy who was somewhat of a high profile free agent addition and was supposed to prove he was worthy of coming out of the shadows in Minnesota to be a starter in Las Vegas. No evidence of that yet.
Stock up: RT DJ Glaze
This is a long overdue credit for Glaze who has proven a lot of people wrong this season. He was the guy most commonly replaced on the Raiders offensive line after struggling under the previous coaching staff. And all he’s done is play lights out this season with some tough assignments. He’s actually outplayed left tackle Kolton Miller who got a big extension this offseason.
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Stock down: RT Jackson Powers-Johnson
Last week, Klint Kubiak said there would be some changes coming on the Raiders offensive line this week. Most thought it would be left guard Spencer Burford who could see a demotion. Then, low and behold, the offensive line took the field and it turned out to be JPJ who was sent to the bench in favor of Caleb Rogers.
It’s hard to say exactly what had the Raiders make that change, but it’s only surprising when compared to how Burford performed. For JPJ, it’s been a thing with him for some time that he can’t seem to cement himself in the job. Just when you think that’s no longer the case, yet another coach sits him down.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders stock watch: Who’s up, who’s down following Week 6 loss to Bills
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