NFL Preseason Week 1 Game Recap: Las Vegas Raiders 26, Minnesota Vikings 20

Paradise, Nevada, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Albert Wilson (25) catches a 20-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Bryce Cosby (44) at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With few starters seeing action, including Kirk Cousins and Derek Carr, in the Las Vegas Raiders‘ 26-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings to close out the first week of preseason football, backups got their chance to shine.

Editor’s note: All grades in this article are subject to review. All PFF player grades will be finalized by 12 pm ET tomorrow.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

Graphic via PFF's Nathan Jahnke

QUARTERBACK

With Derek Carr not playing, Jarrett Stidham stood behind center for the first half. Stidham put forth a rather monotonous performance, with his passes traveling just 3.3 yards downfield on average.

Stidham went 10-of-15 for just 68 yards. He scrambled four times and also dealt with one drop.

RUNNING BACK

No Raiders running back fared overly well on the ground. Four of rookie Zamir White‘s five carries on the day came during the first drive. He tallied only 13 yards, with 12 coming after contact.

Kenyan Drake and White were both featured in the passing game, seeing two and three targets, respectively. White caught two passes for only four yards, although he still tallied 12 yards after the catch.

RECEIVERS

New Raider Keelan Cole led the way with five targets and four catches. However, his average depth of target was just 3.8 yards downfield.

Undrafted free agent DJ Turner impressed with three catches on four targets, all of which went for either a first down (2) or a touchdown (1).

OFFENSIVE LINE

Rookie tackle Thayer Munford played 22 pass-blocking snaps and surrendered three pressures — all hurries.

Alex Leatherwood, a 2021 first-rounder, saw second-half snaps and gave up a hurry on 14 pass-blocking reps. He was beaten on another three occasions that didn't result in pressure.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Malcolm Koonce, drafted in the third round in 2021, impressed with two quarterback pressures on just nine pass-rushing snaps — one of which was a sack.

Although Andrew Billings didn't notch any pressure, he recorded three reps where he beat his opponent and should finish as Las Vegas' highest-graded pass rusher.

LINEBACKER

Both Darien Butler and Luke Masterson missed a tackle in run defense, leading to subpar initial grades.

Jayon Brown played eight snaps — three in run defense, one as a pass rusher and four in coverage.

SECONDARY

Undrafted free agent Sam Webb was the lone Raiders defensive back to force an incompletion. He didn't allow a catch on two targets into his coverage.

Johnathan Abram and Trevon Moehrig played eight snaps apiece in the first quarter.


MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Graphic via PFF's Nathan Jahnke

QUARTERBACK

Kellen Mond performed well overall despite some missed opportunities. The second-year quarterback made two big-time throws and finished with a 78.6% adjusted completion percentage, accounting for drops.

Sean Mannion went 8-of-12 for 79 yards but didn't attack downfield much. Only two of his attempts traveled between 10 and 19 yards, and none were deep shots of 20-plus yards.

RUNNING BACK

• Kene Nwangwu broke a tackle and took seven attempts for 41 yards.

Ty Chandler forced four missed tackles on just five attempts — the best rate among all running backs in preseason Week 1.

RECEIVERS

Albert Wilson was as efficient as can be on his two targets, hauling in both for scores. One was a contested catch.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette played 14 receiving snaps and saw a team-high four targets.

OFFENSIVE LINE

No Vikings lineman allowed more than one pressure in the contest.

2021 first-rounder Christian Darrisaw played just five pass-blocking snaps but stayed clean en route to a strong PFF grade on first review.

DEFENSIVE LINE

The Minnesota defensive line put on a clinic, amassing 16 quarterback pressures.

Among the standouts were Patrick Jones II (five pressures) and Dalvin Tomlinson (two pressures).

LINEBACKER

Jordan Hicks enjoyed a promising Vikings debut on 14 snaps. He made a stop in run defense, allowed a measly four-yard catch in coverage and tallied a quarterback hurry as a pass rusher.

SECONDARY

Rookie Andrew Booth Jr. played 22 coverage snaps. He gave up all of 11 yards on three targets.

Las Vegas attacked Parry Nickerson, who allowed four catches on four targets for 35 yards and a score.

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