Davante Adams’ big debut gives Raiders hope going forward despite Week 1 loss

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, Sept. 12, 2022 | 2 a.m.

Davante Adams pulled a game ball down from the top of his locker at SoFi Stadium, briefly cradled it with his right hand and then neatly tucked it into the bottom of his travel bag.

It was the ball he caught to score his first touchdown as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, and one he didn’t want to misplace even after his team fell 24-19 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon.

“I turned the page and started a new chapter in my career, so to be able to get in the end zone for my childhood team means a lot to me,” Adams said. “Obviously, we didn’t end up winning the game with it, but at the end of the day, it still means a lot.”

The Raiders didn’t get off to the start they hoped under new coach Josh McDaniels with a Week 1 loss to a divisional rival, but spirits were still relatively high in the locker room postgame. Las Vegas showed a lot to build on going forward, and much of the promise had to do with the No. 1 receiver it traded for this offseason.

Adams looked worth every bit of the five-year, $140 million contract he signed after coming to the Raiders from the Green Bay Packers this offseason. Including the 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Carr late in the fourth quarter, Adams had 10 catches for 141 yards — the most by any Raiders’ receiver since 2020.

He set up another touchdown out of halftime with the Raiders’ longest play of the day, a 42-yard completion along the sideline. Adams shook Assante Samuel Jr. so thoroughly on the play that the Chargers cornerback wound up circling around midfield.

“That was unbelievable,” Raiders tight end Darren Waller said. “He sets the standard everybody knows that, everybody follows and he raises everybody’s energy level up.”   

Carr, Adams’ teammate at Fresno State and one of the main factors in bringing him to Las Vegas, was not shy about trying to force the ball to his big-money receiver and "best friend." Adams drew 17 targets against the Chargers — only one fewer than the rest of the team combined.

Carr found Adams on a short route in the middle of the field for an 11-yard gain, and didn’t stop looking for him first and foremost the rest of the game.

“I went right to him and it wasn’t some big celebration,” Carr said of the first completion. “It was, ‘Next one.’ I’ve thrown him thousands of footballs in my life but he’ll tell you, like I’ll tell you, we just want to win, so we’ll turn the film on and I’ll be better about making too aggressive of decisions when I don’t have to. That’s really what it came down to, me forcing the ball to my guys in moments where I didn’t need to.”

Carr threw three interceptions that were ultimately the deciding factor in the defeat. The Raiders mostly played the Chargers evenly from an efficiency standpoint — the two teams tied at 18 first downs apiece — but were handicapped with the -3 turnover margin inflicted by Carr.

Los Angeles took its first double-digit lead right before halftime when quarterback Justin Herbert bombed a 23-yard pass to receiver DeAndre Carter in the middle of the end zone.

The Chargers were set up in prime scoring position after Carr tried to force a ball down the seam to Waller that linebacker Drue Tranquill intercepted.

“We maybe (should have) put a little more air under that one,” McDaniels described afterwards.

Carr responded by leading the Raiders on a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive out of halftime that included Adams’ spin-around of Samuel. The Raiders’ first offensive score of the year came when Carr lofted an 18-yard pass to veteran running back Brandon Bolden in the end zone.

That made the score 17-10, but two interceptions prevented the Raiders from ever getting any closer until Adams' touchdown with 4:32 remaining in the game.

Hunting for a big play to Adams, Carr fired a ball towards the end zone from the Chargers’ 43-yard line near the start of the fourth quarter.

But he short-armed the pass, and Samuel came off the route to snag an interception at the 2-yard line. It looked like there wasn’t anything Adams, having beaten Samuel and headed to the corner of the end zone, could have done to prevent it. But he disagreed.

Adams criticized himself after the game for trying to wait to let the pass “drop into the basket” and not reacting enough to the ball in the air.

“I could have helped Derek out on that for sure by coming back to it,” Adams said. “I thought (Samuel) bumped into me a little, but if I could have come back to the ball a little better, I think that would have been a bit more obvious for the ref to be able to call it. We can’t let opportunities like that slip away. We’ve got to maximize those.”

Adams’ leadership has meant as much, if not more, to the Raiders as his world-class talent has in his short time with the team, so it was no surprise he attempted to take accountability for the loss. But it felt like Adams couldn't have given anything more.

Las Vegas had its share of issues in Los Angeles, and he was not one of them. The Raiders’ secondary eventually settled down, but initially allowed Herbert to shred them by completing 17 of his first 20 passes.

The Chargers partially slowed because they lost No. 1 receiver Keenan Allen to a hamstring injury, but the Raiders saw a pair of defensive backs in cornerback Anthony Averett (thumb) and safety Tre’Von Moehrig (hip) exit too. Cornerback Nate Hobbs shined, much like he’s done throughout training camp, in their absence including deflecting a pass from Herbert on 3^rd-and-3 with 3:42 left to play.   

“Nate got his hands on a few balls,” McDaniels said. “Our team fought and made some good plays, just not enough of them.”

Hobbs’ play in the key moment ensured the Raiders would have a shot at a game-winning drive, but that’s when their other weakness from throughout the day reared its head. Carr didn’t have adequate time to throw and got strip-sacked on both third- and fourth-down.

The Raiders recovered both fumbles, but it didn’t matter. The final strip-sack was by former Raider and Carr’s close friend Khalil Mack who had three sacks and three tackles for loss on a day where he pushed around both Raiders’ starting tackles, Kolton Miller and Jermaine Eluemunor.

“I know what the ultimate sack number was, but I felt like we did a decent job in many ways of giving ourselves a chance to get the ball out on time, and when we ended up having to hold the ball, some of that was based on the coverage,” McDaniels said. “You’re blocking good rushers and you have to hold the ball a little bit. That’s going to happen.”

Eluemunor was benched for rookie Thayer Munford for much of the second half but spoke positively after the game in the locker room. None of the Raiders were overreacting to one loss, instead focusing on the long view of the season.

That attitude emanated from their new receiver who proved his superstar status remains well intact.

“I look at it as encouraging because we beat ourselves today really,” Adams said. “That’s not taking anything away from that team over there because that’s a really good team. They did a lot of really good things today, but you turn the ball over the way that we did today, and then you still have an opportunity to go down and win, that says a lot.”

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