Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

How Harmon has helped the Raiders start to turn their season around

Raiders are undefeated since veteran safety made film-session plea to play with more energy

Aug. 23: Raiders Training Camp

Steve Marcus

Las Vegas Raiders safety Duron Harmon (30) is shown during training camp at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in Henderson Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022.

For as disciplined and structured as the Raiders played during last week’s win over the Chargers, they looked equally unhinged and bouncy in between snaps.

Las Vegas’ players celebrated virtually every play, big or small, with as much fervor as they’ve shown all season. After the game, cornerback Amik Robertson gave a simple explanation as to why — the same reason many players cited after a Week 11 victory at the Denver Broncos.

“Du Harmon kind of got on us at practice to increase our energy so when we go out there we don’t really think too much,” Robertson said after the game. “We go out there, have fun, have energy and have everything take care of itself.”

The Raiders (5-7) have won three straight to start to dig out of a disastrous start to the season heading into a Thursday Night Football game at the Los Angeles Rams (3-9). There’s been a lot of discussion regarding the turning point that’s sprung Las Vegas to success after hitting a new low in a Week 10 loss at home to the Indianapolis Colts.

The most commonly cited moments are quarterback Derek Carr’s emotional address in his news conference after the Colts’ loss or the commitment coach Josh McDaniels made to running back Josh Jacobs starting against the Broncos.

But in the locker room, the players bring up a speech from Harmon during a film session after the Colts’ game as much as anything else. The 10-year NFL veteran safety was disturbed by the “lack of energy” from his teammates and challenged them to fix it from that point forward.

“It wasn’t just the defense but the entire team,” Harmon said. “When you’re truly playing for the guy next to you, the game is so much more fun. We’re just taking it one day at a time but at the end of the day when we step on the field whether it’s practice, whether it’s a walkthrough, we’re bringing excitement and we’re ready to go.”

“I think that’s a reason why we were able to get over the hump with these close games.”

The Raiders’ pass defense has been the team’s biggest weakness on the season as a whole, but Harmon has been a rare bright spot. The 31-year-old has transformed from a rotational defensive back early in the year to an every-down player currently.

Harmon has only missed two snaps — both due to severe cramping in the Denver game — during the three-game win streak and has been a part of several big plays including a forced fumble against the Chargers. The Raiders took their first lead of the game the play after Harmon contributed to his third takeaway of the year — he also has two interceptions — by jarring the ball out of running back Austin Ekeler’s hands in Chargers’ territory.

“It’s just opportunity, we talk about it each week,” Harmon said “You’re going to have opportunities to punch out the ball, but hey, if you don’t punch at it. it’s not going to happen so it’s just coming in under control seeing the ball.”

Harmon is having one of the best seasons of his career, grading out as the 11th-best safety in the league by Pro Football Focus. He’s only ranked higher once, in 2015, the season after his first of three Super Bowl wins with the New England Patriots.

Becoming one of the Raiders’ most reliable defensive players feels like a bonus considering he was initially brought in to act as a mentor as much as anything else.

“The greatest thing about Duron is he’s so willing to share his experiences with everyone else, good or bad,” McDaniels said. “When he makes a mistake, he wants the other guys not to make the same one and when he sees something that he can help them with, he (says it).”

Harmon has now spent three seasons away from New England. The two stops before Las Vegas, Detroit in 2020 and Atlanta in 2021, didn’t go as smoothly but he’s been back to his old self this season.

Harmon’s attitude resonated among the Raiders immediately, and apparently stayed that way even during the disappointing 2-7 start to set up everyone taking his words in the Colts’ film session to heart.

“You’d be silly not to learn things from him,” Carr said. “I remember the moment. He’s had a few moments like that.”

As well as Harmon played against the Chargers, he was loudest after the game in the locker room talking about the one opportunity he didn’t get the chance to capitalize on. In the fourth quarter, edge rusher Chandler Jones knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage that Harmon felt he could have intercepted, returned for a touchdown and “ended the game for sure” otherwise.

Harmon spoke with the energy he preaches recounting the play to media, yelling out an “ooh" to get many of his teammates to turn their heads and look his way. The Raiders listen when Harmon speaks, and while his most impassioned speech may not go down as the turning point of the season, it’s certainly been one of the contribuiting factors to the Raiders’ recent climb.

“When people believe in you and you have that type of closeness and brotherhood, it helps you just to run through a wall for them, play a little bit harder, run a little bit faster and do something extra for your brother,” rookie safety Isaiah Pola-Mao said of the lesson he’s learned from Harmon.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or

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