AP Photo
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) is tackled by Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau (50) during an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, in Orchard Park, NY. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)
Published Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Updated Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 | 12:40 p.m.
WEEK 2
• Who: Raiders (1-0) at Bills (0-1)
• When: 10 a.m.
• Where: Highmark Stadium
• TV: KLAS, CBS Channel 8
• Radio: Raider Nation Radio 920 AM, KOMP 92.3 FM
• Betting line: Bills -8.5, over/under 47
The Raiders started strong at Highmark Stadium, and then turned weak for the rest of the game.
Buffalo smashed Las Vegas 38-10 Sunday afternoon behind 274 yards and three touchdown passes from quarterback Josh Allen. The Raiders had no answers for either the Bills’ passing or running games, the latter of which was led by James Cook with 84 yards on 15 carries.
And it all started so promising. After a week spent practicing in West Virginia, the Raiders received the opening kickoff and went 75 yards down the field in less than three minutes for a touchdown.
Davante Adams caught the score from Jimmy Garoppolo on a day where the star receiver tallied six receptions for 84 yards. Adams had a few big moments, but not many others on the offense could say the same.
The Raiders’ offensive line struggled, and aside from a 34-yard jet sweep by Tre Tucker as part of the aforementioned opening drive, the Raiders had negative rushing yardage deep into the fourth quarter. Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s rushing champion a year ago, finished with -2 yards on nine carries.
Las Vegas’ defense similarly gave reason for hope early in the game by forcing Buffalo to punt on its first drive. The Bills wouldn’t punt again for the rest of the day.
They scored touchdowns on four of their next five drives and got to the 1-yard line on the other. The Raiders’ defense held them out of the end zone on the latter with a fourth-down pass break up by Tre’von Moehrig with three minutes to go before halftime but it was all in vain.
Garoppolo, who finished with 185 yards on 16-for-24 passing, faced pressure and couldn’t get the Raiders out of their own part of the field. The Bills got the ball back inside the two-minute warning with just enough time to drive for a touchdown with Allen finding slot receiver Khalil Shakir for the score.
Dawson Knox, Gabriel Davis, Damien Harris and Latavius Murray scored the Bills’ other touchdowns. Daniel Carlson had a 47-yard field goal midway through the second quarter for the Raiders’ only points aside from Adams’ early touchdown.
The Bills had all three takeaways in the game with two interceptions and a late fumble recovery.
Check back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage and read below for live updates from throughout the game.
The Bills’ offense wore down the Raiders’ defense to start the second half. Buffalo now leads 28-10.
Josh Allen found Gabriel Davis for a three-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal for the latest score. Buffalo dominated up front on the drive, leaning on running back James Cook to lead it down the field.
Cook has 14 touches for 92 yards while Allen has thrown three touchdowns on 25-for-29 passing. The latest scoring drive lasted 15 plays and nine minutes for the Bills, which are asserting their will on the Raiders.
Bills leading at halftime
The Raiders go into halftime at Highmark Stadium trailing 21-10, and somehow that feels like a victory.
It could be much worse. Las Vegas’ defense held strong on back-to-back plays from the 1-yard line with about three minutes remaining in the second quarter to force a turnover on downs.
But the offense couldn’t get any breathing room, and punted the ball back to the Bills just after the two-minute warning.
Then quarterback Josh Allen led an eight-play, 57-yard drive that concluded with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir.
Allen has completed 18 of 21 passes for 142 yards and a two touchdowns. The Raiders’ Jimmy Garoppolo is 9-for-15 for 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Las Vegas tried to get into field goal range after getting the ball back with 18 seconds left but couldn’t gain enough yards. The Raiders’ offense has been rather pedestrian since an opening-drive touchdown with Daniel Carlson booting a 47-yard field goal for their other score.
Bills score a second straight touchdown
A pass interference penalty on Nate Hobbs set up the Bills’ second touchdown.
The home team leads Las Vegas 14-7 with 12:10 remaining in the second quarter after Dawson Knox caught a 2-yard touchdown pass on a rollout from quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills got down to the goal line when Nate Hobbs drew a controversial flag on a throw to Stefon Diggs in the end zone.
Hobbs was all over Diggs but it looked clean as he looked back and tried to bat down the ball. But Diggs wound up on the ground, and the referee threw the flag.
Neither the Raiders’ offense nor defense has played as strongly as they did during their first drives of the day and need to get back on track to stay with the Bills.
Bills answer Raiders' early touchdown
The Raiders’ second possession was even shorter than the first; it just didn’t finish as positively for them.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception to Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard on a tipped pass after pressure by Gregory Rosseau. That gave Buffalo a short field on Las Vegas’ 28-yard-line, and it ultimately cashed in on it when Latavius Murray plunged through the line for a four-yard touchdown.
Stefon Diggs had two of his three catches for the game on the drive but took a bit hit from Raiders safety Marcus Epps to come up short of a first-down near the goal line. Quarterback Josh Allen, who’s completed all four of his passes, snuck for the extra yard to get a new set of downs on the play before the touchdown.
Raiders strike quickly
Davante Adams shook his head and his hands after scoring a touchdown at Highmark Stadium, as if to signal that the Raiders weren’t messing around.
But the motion was unnecessary; their play said enough. Las Vegas scored in 2:44 upon receiving the opening kickoff against the Bills, going 75 yards on five plays.
Adams had two catches for 33 yards and the touchdown, while rookie Tre Tucker’s first NFL carry went 34 yards on a jet sweep. The Bills looked more like the team listed as a 7.5-point underdog, not the Raiders.
Stay tuned to see if that holds.
Inactives announced
Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s long-awaited return to the field after suffering cardiac arrest in a game against the Bengals last year won’t come today against the Raiders.
Hamlin was just announced among the Bills’ inactives list. He was the most notable among the report after Raiders receiver Jakobi Meyers was already ruled out on Friday after he recovers from a concussion suffered in a Week 1 win over the Broncos.
Las Vegas’ other inactive players are quarterback Aidan O’Connell (who can still serve as an emergency option), safety Chris Smith, linebacker Amari Burney, defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera and defensive end Chandler Jones. The first four are all rookies while Jones has been away from the team following a still-ongoing series of social-media posts calling out coach Josh McDaniels, general manager Dave Zielger and owner Mark Davis.
Meyers will be a tough absence to overcome after he led the Raiders in receiving a week ago, but the team is still relatively healthy overall.
PREGAME
Las Vegas is one of three NFL teams tasked with starting the season with back-to-back road games on opposite sides of the country — along with the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers — and decided to make a full trip out of it.
The Raiders departed Denver after their season-opening 17-16 win over the Broncos and headed for West Virginia’s Allegheny Mountains where they prepared for the Bills’ game at the Greenbrier Resort. Coach Josh McDaniels said he made the decision to spend the week away so the team could be acclimated to the time zone and humidity. The players described it as a chance to grow a bond they started to build over the summer during training camp.
The luxury resort, which typically hosts a few NFL teams each season, is remotely located and gives visitors a chance to spend time together with amenities like hiking, fishing and fine-dining. The Raiders could only benefit from being a tighter-knit unit on the field going up against what’s been one of the NFL’s best teams over the last four seasons in the Bills.
Favorable matchup: Bills’ turnover troubles vs. Raiders’ defense
Las Vegas spoke all offseason about forcing turnovers becoming the identity of its defense, and then failed to get one in the first game of the season. The Raiders figure to have a better chance this week. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen led the NFL with 19 turnovers last season, and seemed to pick up where he left off in a 22-16 season-opening loss to the New York Jets. Allen had three interceptions and one fumble lost — in addition to another fumble his team recovered — in the overtime upset defeat. The 27-year-old Allen is one of the most electric players in the NFL, but he’s long been over-aggressive with questionable decision-making skills. It would be out of character if he didn’t give someone like top cornerback Marcus Peters or strong safety/team captain Marcus Epps a chance to make a game-changing takeaway at some point of the game. The Raiders finished last in the league with 13 takeaways a year ago and were one of 10 teams that didn’t record one in Week 1.
THEY SAID IT
“Last year, the expectations were super high and everybody was pressing too much. We learned from that. It’s a whole different team this year — new coaches, new guys, new everything. You saw the guys staying calm, doing what we needed to do in critical moments and trusting the guy next to us. You just see it.” -Edge rusher Maxx Crosby on how the Raiders pulled out the type of close game they so frequently lost last season in Week 1
•••
“He’s a dog. Any quarterback that’s willing to take a hit in a big moment to secure a win has got my respect for sure.” -Running back Josh Jacobs on Garoppolo’s eight-yard scramble, which tied for his longest run of the last two years, on third-and-seven to secure the win over the Broncos
•••
“It felt like a lifetime ago since I played, man. So it was good to get back out there, get those juices flowing, the crowd, you can’t hear anything at the line of scrimmage. And it’s those moments you live for as a quarterback. That’s the fun stuff.” -Garoppolo on playing in his first game since going down with a broken foot last year in Week 13 as a member of the 49ers
•••
“I was unaware of everything that the Greenbrier had in store and the regulations as far as the dress code. But anywhere I could sneak in with what I’m wearing right here, I’ll be there.” -Adams on being unable to eat at the Greenbrier’s restaurants because he forgot to pack a tie and coat
Problematic matchup: Stefon Diggs vs. Raiders’ defensive backfield
Despite not nabbing any interceptions, the Raiders’ largely-rebuilt secondary performed well against the Broncos. The unit effectively executed a strategy of keeping everything in front of them, only allowing two receptions for 20 yards or more — and those gains went for 20 and 21 yards. But a skeptic could point out the Raiders caught a break going against an injury-ravaged Broncos receiving corps that included top pass-catcher Jerry Jeudy missing the game. They’ll have no such good fortune against the Bills. Diggs is one of the top players in the NFL at his position, and exactly the type of receiver the Raiders struggled against last year. Las Vegas rated 28th in the league against No. 1 receivers in 2022 according to Aaron Schatz’s DVOA metric. Diggs had seven catches for 115 yards in his lone meeting against the Raiders as a member of the Bills with the latter winning 30-23 at Allegiant Stadium in 2020. He also started this season strong with 10 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Jets.
Gamebreaker: Wide receiver Davante Adams
The Raiders’ defense could be much improved, and still give up a decent chunk of points to the Bills. That’s the reality of playing against perennial Pro Bowlers like Allen and Diggs, not to mention emerging weapons like second-year running back James Cook and local Faith Lutheran High graduate turned first-round pick tight end Dalton Kincaid. There’s a good chance Las Vegas’ offense will have to keep up with Buffalo’s in a high-scoring game, and if that’s the case, they’ll need some highlight moments from their player most capable of producing big plays. Adams had a workmanlike six catches for 66 yards against the Broncos but felt like he could have done more. Jimmy Garoppolo missed him open down the field on a couple occasions, and later apologized to Adams who praised his quarterback’s accountability. There’s been much speculation about the relationship and fit between Garoppolo and Adams — though they’ve had nothing but positive things to say about each other — and this matchup could provide an opportunity to silence them.
Big Number: 62%
That’s the Raiders’ probability of making the playoffs if they defeat the Bills, according to DVOA. No one was predicting a postseason berth for Las Vegas going into the season, but back-to-back upsets to start the year would put it in a highly advantageous position. Over the last 30 years, just short of 65% of teams to start 2-0 ended up reaching the playoffs. The likelihood should be increased in the modern NFL since the league added an extra wild-card spot two seasons ago. The Raiders started 2-0 in each of their first two seasons in Las Vegas, ultimately missing the playoffs after finishing 8-8 in 2020 before clinching a spot in the final game of the year in 2021. Getting there this year is one of the team’s foremost goals, and it looks highly attainable with a win over the Bills.
Best Bet (0-1): James Cook over 50.5 rushing yards
The Broncos found some success in the ground against the Raiders with an above-average 4.3 yards per carry but mostly ditched running for passing as the game went on. Buffalo may not do the same, especially with it likely to be playing from ahead on the scoreboard. There had been buzz on Cook playing a bigger role for the Bills all offseason, and the Raiders’ rush defense remains an unproven commodity. Las Vegas bulked up its defensive line this offseason but mostly with players more suited to be disruptors in the pass game by creating pressure. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham may be preoccupied with installing a scheme to contain Allen, and that could open opportunities for Cook.
