To sum up the emotions in the Raiders locker room following their 19-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars: Gratefulness.
It’s been 84 calendar days since their last win in Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns, now snapping a 10-game drought in front of their home crowd. While dealing through the adversity of injuries, coaching changes and lackluster performances over the last three months, it’s brought the locker room closer.
Jacksonville’s Brian Thomas Jr. recorded a career-high 132 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions. Jaguars’ QB Mac Jones was 25 of 39 passing for 247 yards. Tank Bigsby ran for 50 yards and a TD.
It was an all-around team effort with the offense and the defense complementing one another well. Aidan O’Connell went 24-of-38 with 257 passing yards and a career-high 12 rushing yards after missing the previous game with a knee injury. It was also the offense’s first game this season without a single turnover.
“I think guys just appreciate more than ever how hard it is to win,” O’Connell said. “Definitely weight off the shoulders for sure. It was just fun to see the smiles again. … Super proud of our coaches, administration, players for just doing a great job.”
The Raiders force two fumbles, score 13 straight points to lead Jaguars at the break. O’Connell’s two targets Sunday afternoon were rookie Brock Bowers and 10-year vet Ameer Abdullah – as the tight end-running back duo combined for 16 catches and 146 receiving yards.
With his 11 catch, 99-yard performance, Bowers hit the marks of 1,000 receiving yards and 100 catches for the season – becoming one of three tight ends in NFL history to reach 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie.
“I couldn’t do it without all the other guys,” Bowers said. “Aidan was slinging that thing and everyone was making plays so it felt good. … Just coming here and [winning], the vibes are just way better.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the 14 points allowed to the Jaguars are the fewest allowed by the Raiders to any team this season. The defense also totaled six passes defensed on Jones.
Jacksonville’s Arik Armstead and Maason Smith each posted 1.0 sack in the game’s first quarter. Foye Oluokun registered a team-high eight tackles (six solo) and one pass defensed.
