Raiders beat:
‘Vicious’ hit knocks out Oakland receiver Amari Cooper; grades.
Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said he expects the league to review the hit by Broncos safety Darian Stewart that knocked receiver Amari Cooper out of Sunday’s game at the Coliseum in the first half.
With 4:42 left in the second quarter, Cooper ran an inside route and tried to extend for a pass from Derek Carr. Stewart appeared to lower his left shoulder into Cooper’s head. Stewart was flagged for unnecessary roughness.
Cooper remained on the ground for several minutes before walking off the field with the help of two trainers. The Raiders said Cooper, who did not return, was being evaluated for a concussion.
“It was a vicious hit,” Del Rio said. “The kind we’re trying to remove from our game, quite frankly. And you see less and less of those.
“I’m sure the league will take a hard look at it. The guy’s clearly defenseless and got targeted right in the head. There’s a chance to hit in the strike zone and be somewhere else, not be there like that.”
Carr sounded relieved after speaking to Cooper and said he’d felt remorse over the placement of his throw, which guided Cooper toward Stewart.
“I had to hold back the emotions of him getting hit, thinking it was my fault,” Carr said. “The way the linebacker played it, I had to throw it where I had to throw it. But anytime he gets hit, you know. I felt terrible.” Patterson’s catch: The Raiders were able to run the clock out following a 54-yard pass from Carr to Cordarrelle Patterson on 3rd-and-8. Carr threw a high-arcing pass, but both he and Patterson said it was the right throw with the scheme the Broncos’ defense was playing.
“Derek did an excellent job seeing man coverage, just seeing me one-on-one,” Patterson said. “He just put the ball so perfect. And there’s no way I couldn’t make a play on it.”
Carr said offensive coordinator Todd Downing had warned him the Broncos would likely bring pressure on the play, leaving his receivers single-covered, and credited the coaches for a “great call.” Mack inside: Defensive end Khalil Mack, who typically rushes off the edge, lined up inside on a handful of plays. Del Rio said the idea was to “just move him around some.”
“I think he was moving around a little bit with the idea that they wouldn’t be able to lock in exactly on where he’d be,” Del Rio said. “Obviously they like to give him extra attention.”
Mack recorded one of the Raiders’ five sacks, giving him a team-high 6.5 and 10 in his past five games against Denver.