New Orleans Saints

Oakland Raiders: Biggest Winners, Losers vs New Orleans Saints

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Oakland Raiders barely secured a Week 1 win against the New Orleans Saints. Who were the winners and losers of their season-opening victory?

Week 1 is in the books for the Oakland Raiders and what a thriller it was as they edged out a win over the New Orleans Saints. It was a resilient showing from the Silver and Black as they rallied to secure their first season-opening start since 2002.

As close as the game was, there was plenty of positive to take away from the Raiders’ performance. Several young players stepped up to the plate, and a couple of stars shined bright. Overall, it was an excellent offering from a team with very high expectations for the 2016 campaign.

Unfortunately, there were a few players who didn’t answer the call either. In most cases, we call those players the “losers.” It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doomed for the rest of the season, but they do have some ground to gain after poor performances. That’s life in the NFL, though.

With that in mind, here are my winners and losers from the Raiders’ Week 1 win.

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Winner: Jalen Richard

There was a lot of hype surrounding Jalen Richard during training camp. The Raiders appeared to have found a diamond in the rough, but we didn’t get to see much of him during the preseason. Even when he did finally see the field, the undrafted rookie looked good but not great.

Well he didn’t waste time when he did get his opportunity in Week 1, immediately proving any doubters wrong. On his first career carry, he slashed through the New Orleans defense for a sensational 75-yard touchdown run. Not only did he run through an arm tackle or two, but Richard showed excellent speed and acceleration to strike paydirt.

See for yourself if you missed it the first time around:

.@Raiders RB Jalen Richard.
75 yards.
TO. THE. HOUSE.#RaiderNation #OAKvsNO https://t.co/biRWn1fKKf

— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2016

With what we saw on Sunday, it’s likely he’s already eclipsed DeAndre Washington on the depth chart. He was excitement incarnate, and should start to push Latavius Murray for snaps if he can keep this up.

The Raiders may have one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses if Richard can continue to shine like he did against the Saints.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Loser: Menelik Watson

The Raiders went into Week 1 thinking they’d actually have Menelik Watson healthy for more than, I don’t know, a week. You probably know by now that that wasn’t the case.

It didn’t take long for Watson to go down with a groin injury against New Orleans. The former second-round pick has been hindered by injuries throughout his career, so it came as no surprise to see him shelved before Week 1 was over.

What makes it worse is he had actually beaten out Austin Howard for the starting job. Howard played well last season in place of the injured Watson and was expected to stay in the role for the time being. Instead, he was forced to the bench and has his own health concerns to worry about.

The icing on the cake for Watson was that the Oakland offense actually excelled following a shuffle. With him and his replacement Matt McCants both out with injuries, the Raiders moved Donald Penn to the right, moved Kelechi Osemele to left tackle and brought in Jon Feliciano at guard. The makeshift lineup was terrific, especially when it came to the ground game.

I understand the Raiders are holding out hope Watson can pay dividends. Time may be running out for him to deliver, though.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Winner: Amari Cooper

With any rising stars who shined as rookies, you have to worry about potential sophomore slumps. Based on what we saw in Week 1, though, I don’t think that’s a major concern for Amari Cooper.

The second-year wide receiver stepped up against the Saints, showing the same unstoppable skills that made him a sensation a year ago. Drive after drive, he provided Derek Carr with a reliable target. On top of that, Cooper showed excellent awareness and elusiveness after the catch to maximize his yards.

When all was said and done, Cooper had amassed 137 yards on only six receptions, averaging 22.8 yards per catch. Essentially, he just kept the momentum rolling from his rookie season.

While the performance wasn’t necessarily surprising, it was great to see him continue his dominant play from a season ago. Cooper proved he’s not interested in undergoing a sophomore slump and is planning on being the Raiders’ go-to playmaker in the passing game. If Cooper can keep up this pace, he could be headed for his first All-Pro selection.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Loser: The Oakland Secondary

Coming into this season, the Raiders’ defensive backfield was considered one of the team’s most improved units. A lot was expected with some big offseason additions, so it was safe to assume they were going to show well in Week 1—even against the Saints’ passing game.

Boy was that assumption wrong. I had “boldly” predicted that Brees wouldn’t throw a single touchdown. And now you can find my foot in my mouth.

Brees absolutely carved up the Oakland secondary, amassing 423 yards and four touchdowns before his day was done. With the help of Willie Snead and Brandin Cooks, he seemed to be unstoppable. I’m not sure if it was that shiny new extension he recently signed, but Brees appeared to have extra motivation on Sunday.

Throughout the game, you could see just about every one of the Raiders’ defensive backs having to chase down receivers. They routinely got caught out of position, and the linebacking unit didn’t provide much interior support. Even when they did make a play, the Saints ended up benefiting from it one way or another (i.e. the Michael Thomas fumble recovery).

Obviously slowing Brees is no easy task. However, I expected a better start to the season for the Oakland secondary. I was wrong.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Winner: Jack Del Rio

With a lot of help from general manager Reggie McKenzie, Jack Del Rio has quietly put together a sneaky good roster in Oakland. While folks have tried to temper expectations heading into 2016, it’s easy to understand why the blogosphere sees the Raiders as a sleeper Super Bowl pick.

However, while the roster is impressive, the coaching staff will also play a big part in determining how successful Oakland is. Luckily, the guy in the driver’s seat is an excellent leader who isn’t afraid to gamble on his team’s abilities on Sundays.

That’s exactly what Jack Del Rio did in Week 1, when he opted to go for two with time winding down. He chose not to play it safe, and ended up coming away with a win against the Saints as a result. Del Rio received a lot of criticism from analysts and Twitter, but he doesn’t care.

He even trolled ESPN:

Good thing ESPN isn't coaching the Raiders https://t.co/X6tB1YlZ4d

— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) September 11, 2016

Not only did Del Rio’s gamble pay off, but it likely gave his squad a lot of confidence moving forward. The head coach knows how to put his team in position to win, and isn’t afraid to make the difficult decision to get the job done on game day.

If there is anyone who believes Del Rio can’t get the job done, they might want to reconsider.