Saints march over the Raiders in New Orleans

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022 | 2 a.m.

Updated Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022 | 12:43 p.m.

The Raiders lost for the fifth time this season Sunday afternoon at Caesars Superdome, but this defeat was not like the others.

Las Vegas’ 24-0 loss to New Orleans was the first time this season it’s been wholly uncompetitive. It’s also the first time in eight years the Raiders have been shut out — dating back a 52-0 blowout to the then Los Angeles Rams in 2014 — and their worst loss since a 48-9 pasting by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14 of last season.

The response to that defeat turned the Raiders’ season around, as they won their final four games to reach the postseason. That memory is perhaps the only optimism Raiders’ fans can take out of a game where they were completely controlled, with the Saints racking up an 367-183 yardage advantage.

Saints running back Alvin Kamara had 27 touches for a combined 158 rushing and receiving yards. He scored all three of the Saints’ touchdowns.

New Orleans quarterback Andy Dalton completed 22 of 30 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns with change-of-pace quarterback Taysom Hill chipping in 63 combined passing and rushing yards. Both were more effective than Las Vegas’ Derek Carr, who had 101 yards and an interception on 15-for-26 passing.

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs’ hot streak was also snapped as he could only muster 43 rushing yards on 10 carries. Offensive line play was a major issue for Las Vegas, as it neither opened holes nor provided much time for Carr to throw.

The Saints sacked Carr three times — and had another on backup Jarrett Stidham at the end of the game — but hit him far more than that. New Orleans native Foster Moreau, who recorded six catches for 31 yards, was Carr’s favorite target on the day as he was constantly rushed to throw close to the line of scrimmage.

The Raiders will now head to Sarasota, Fla., where they will spend the next week preparing for next Sunday’s game at the Jacksonville Jaguars. Much like last year’s loss to the Chiefs, it may feel like the season is over but the downtrodden Raiders will be focused on bouncing back in unlikely fashion.

This is a developing story. Come back to lasvegassun.com later for full coverage and read below for live updates from throughout the game.

Saints pick up where they left off to start second half

The Raiders’ chances of a comeback just got a lot longer.

They allowed the Saints to go on a scoring drive to open the second half, with Alvin Kamara catching a 36-yard touchdown pass. New Orleans leads Las Vegas 24-0.

The Raiders’ defense hasn’t been able to slow the Saints all day while the offense can’t establish any rhythm. That’s a formula for a blowout, and that’s exactly what’s happening so far at the Superdome.

Alvin Kamara scores second touchdown

Las Vegas is in trouble at Caesars Superdome.

The Saints lead 17-0 after star running back Alvin Kamara scored his second touchdown of the day. Dalton hit Kamara with a short pass that he took 16 yards into the end zone. Kamara has 11 touches for 56 yards early in the game.

The Raiders have given the Saints the ball twice in their own territory. The first was a result of a failed fake punt, which New Orleans turned into a 37-yard field goal from Will Lutz.

The most recent was a Derek Carr interception thrown into traffic that Tyran Mathieu gathered off a deflection.

Saints strike first

The Raiders’ secondary continues to look questionable without Nate Hobbs.

It has them in a 7-0 hole at Caesars Superdome as Alvin Kamara just ran in a 2-yard touchdown for the Saints near the end of the first quarter. Two quarterbacks — Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill — took New Orleans down the field.

Dalton completed four passes including a 30-yarder to Rashid Shaheed, while Hill ran for a couple first downs.

Darren Waller out today for Raiders

Darren Waller went through a pregame workout about three hours before kickoff at the Caesars Superdome. It must not have gone well, or at least not well enough.

Waller is inactive, meaning he will miss his second straight game with a hamstring injury suffered in a Week 5 loss in Kansas City. It appeared this would be the week where Waller came back, but according to a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter, the tight end is “close to being able to return, but not quite there yet.”

The Raiders are mostly healthy otherwise, though linebacker Jayon Brown will miss his fourth straight game with a hamstring injury as a somewhat surprising inclusion on the inactives list. Like Waller, Brown was expected to return this week.

Star receiver Davante Adams notably missed a pair of practices with the flu this week, but will play.

PREGAME

The Josh Jacobs Show heads to one of the NFL’s most famous venues when the Raiders visit “the Big Easy” to play in the Superdome for the first time since 2016.

Typically the wait would be even longer between trips to NFC venues, but the Saints were the Raiders’ added opponent in the second year of the NFL’s new 17-game regular season schedule. New Orleans is probably wishing it drew someone else, considering its rush defense has been a liability — the Saints are giving up 4.6 yards per rush attempt — and Las Vegas’ Josh Jacobs has arguably been the best running back in the league.

Jacobs has become the first player in franchise history to run for more than 140 yards in three consecutive games. The fourth-year running back out of Alabama’s latest outing included 144 rushing yards — falling 10 yards short of a career high set in the previous game — in a 38-20 victory against the Houston Texans in which he tied a personal record with three rushing touchdowns.

Favorable matchup: Raiders’ takeaway emphasis vs. Saints’ giveaway tendency

Ever since the Raiders returned from their bye week, coach Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham have stressed creating more turnovers on defense. The focus paid off last week as the win was locked up when safety Duron Harmon returned an interception for a 73-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas is still tied for last in the league with four takeaways, but at least it’s made the most of them. Like Harmon, cornerback Amik Robertson had the first touchdown of his NFL career in a 32-23 victory against the Denver Broncos in Week 3, when he returned a fumble 68 yards into the end zone. They should have more opportunities against the Saints, who lead the league with 16 giveaways. The Saints’ carelessness with the ball proved their undoing in their last game, a 42-34 Thursday Night Football loss at Arizona when quarterback Andy Dalton threw a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Problematic matchup: Saints edge rusher Cameron Jordan vs. Raiders’ right tackles

The Saints’ defense has been a major disappointment, sitting 22nd in the league by Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings after coming into the year looking like one of the NFL’s best units on paper. But that’s to no fault of Jordan, who’s continued wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks in his 12th season. Jordan has 4.5 sacks this season to bring his career total to 111.5, second-most among active NFL players behind Buffalo’s Von Miller. He typically lines up on the left side, which means he’ll be matched up against the weakest spot of the Raiders’ improved offensive line. Both Las Vegas right tackles — Jermaine Eluemunor (who hurt his knee against the Texans and was limited in practice this week) and rookie Thayer Munford — have played well in spurts, but both have struggled with consistency. The Raiders could opt to use a jumbo package they’ve employed liberally throughout the season, bringing in an extra blocker to help with Jordan, but it’s unclear who that would be if Eluemunor misses the game — perhaps recently resigned and elevated practice-squad tackle Jackson Barton.

Gamebreaker: Edge rusher Maxx Crosby

The Raiders’ fourth-year Pro Bowler failed to register a sack or a tackle for loss for the first time this season in last week’s game against the Texans, but still made his impact felt multiple times throughout the game. The most notable came in the fourth quarter when he stuffed a third-and-1 rush for no gain. Crosby has come up in big spots for the Raiders’ defense all year and will need to do so again in New Orleans. Saints quarterback Andy Dalton’s numbers drop precipitously when under pressure, and Crosby has been the only Raider to consistently provide pressure all year. Even after getting shut out last week, Crosby is tied for fifth in the NFL with six sacks. He’s the current fourth choice in the betting market to win Defensive Player of the Year at 15-to-1, behind only Dallas’ Micah Parsons, San Francisco’s Nick Bosa and Cleveland’s Myles Garrett.

Big Number: 3,720

Jacobs now has 3,720 career rushing yards through his first 49 games with the Raiders, reaching that total faster than anyone else in franchise history. It took Marcus Allen, the Raiders’ consensus best running back of all-time, 51 games to surpass 3,720 rushing yards 37 years ago. That was part of Allen’s MVP 1985 season, which was the last time a Raider had 150 or more scrimmage yards in three straight games like Jacobs has now done. Jacobs said breaking Allen’s records holds extra meaning to him because of the way the Hall of Famer has mentored him ever since he was drafted by the Raiders in 2019. He wasn’t on pace to hit such milestones a month ago, as the Raiders got away from the run in three straight losses to start the season. McDaniels says it’s because they fell into deficits and had to abandon their preferred game script, but whatever the reason, they’ve stuck with Jacobs lately and have reaped the rewards in a big way.

Best Bet (1-5): Hunter Renfrow over 49.5 receiving yards

Renfrow quietly looked back to his old self against the Texans, regularly getting open on short routes while hauling in three catches for 55 yards. The Saints should provide an even better opportunity for success, considering they rank second-to-last in the NFL against slot receivers by DVOA. There’s a lot of competition to get the ball in the Raiders’ offense, but the Saints are likely to center their gameplan on stopping Jacobs after his recent production. Top receiver Davante Adams and tight end Darren Waller are almost surely going to play, but there’s a chance neither is 100%. Renfrow is the only one of the three Raiders’ Pro Bowl pass-catchers who practiced in full throughout the week. Adams was out with the flu while Waller was limited with the same hamstring injury that’s kept him sidelined since the opening drive in Week 5. Maybe the extra time with quarterback Derek Carr is what Renfrow needs to get back to the form that saw him average 61 receiving yards per game last season.