Ferrell has game even Mack would envy

For the first time since their status in different NFL drafts, Khalil Mack was looking up at Clelin Ferrell.

Ferrell, the No. 4 overall pick in 2019 by the Raiders, will be inextricably linked to Mack since he was a defensive end selected to help replace the man the Raiders took at No. 5 in 2014 but traded away after a contract dispute before Jon Gruden ever coached his first game.

It’s probably not fair to Ferrell in that he’s a different player than Mack, a defensive end by trade who is also showing he can do some good work inside at tackle. Mack is strictly an edge player, whether it be as a 4-3 end with the Raiders or a 3- 4 outside linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

And while Mack has 68 sacks and 22 forced fumbles in his seventh season, he never as a Raider had two strip sacks which resulted

in fumbles recovered by his team as Ferrell did Sunday against the New York Jets. It had been 15 years since Tommy Kelly last had two strip sacks in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Kind of breaking through there, having two strip sacks like that in one ballgame can only build his confidence up,” Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said Thursday in a video conference. “He’s doing a good job both inside and outside for us and hopefully he can continue on that trend, because we’re going to need him.”

Ferrell’s next target is Philip Rivers, who is playing with a heel injury and not particularly mobile at age 39. Rivers was the last player sacked by Ferrell in Week 16 last season before he got the pair against Sam Darnold and the Jets.

Following the win over the Jets, Ferrell pushed back on the idea that he’d had a breakthrough of any kind.

“I wouldn’t call it a breakout game. I feel like I’ve had a number of good games throughout my career,” Ferrell said. “I would say though that just throughout this season, it’s been kind of chipping at the wood every single week. I feel like I’ve gotten close on a lot of different pressures. It was good not just getting sacks, but strip sacks which turned in to turnovers for the team. I’m just trying to carry it over to this last stretch that we’ve got coming up with the next three home games.”

Ferrell had missed two games on the COVID-19 list after testing positive and having symptoms.

As a rookie, Ferrell was slated to play mostly at end but moved inside because of injuries. He’s not developed inside to the point where playing both could be his job moving forward. Ferrell’s 52 snaps were second only to Maxx Crosby’s 56 for defensive linemen against the Jets. Plus, as Guenther explained to Ferrell, there’s an inherent advantage to pass rushing against guards as opposed to tackles.

“I tell him in this league they pay the tackles big money, maybe not necessarily the guards,” Guenther said. “So if we can get some speed guys inside on those passing situations, he’s really learned how the different steps of a tackle would take rather than a guard who will put his hands on you a little bit faster. I think he’s got a better feel for that inside because there’s a different element in the rush.”

Ferrell has come as advertised in terms of attitude, effort and leadership. The former Ted Hendricks Award winner out of Clemson isn’t short on confidence, either.

“When we put it all together, I don’t think there’s a team in this league that isn’t afraid of us,” Ferrell said. “People have seen we’ve beaten the so-called world champions. We’ve beaten the Saints. We’ve played well against the top tier teams. We’ve got a long ways to go, but for this last stretch we’ve got to focus on putting it together as a team and realizing we’ve got the ability to go deep into the playoffs.”

PLUGGING THE HOLES >> The Raiders have been at least a fair defense against the run this season, but had their second poor game of the season against the Jets, giving up 206 yards. It was the secondhighest total of the season, having given up 260 in a Week 3 loss to New England.

“We didn’t play blocks very well, we misfitted a few runs, which is really unusual for us,” Guenther said. “We’ve been pretty good throughout the course of the year of understanding where our fits are.”

KEY PLAYERS LIKELY BACK >> The Raiders have no intention of making it official, but indications are they’ll be facing the Indianapolis Colts with running back Josh Jacobs, right tackle Trent Brown and safety Johnathan Abram in the starting lineup. Jacobs practiced for the first time Thursday after missing all of last week as well as Sunday’s win with an ankle injury that occurred on his final carry in a 43-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Brown, who hasn’t played since going the entire game on Oct. 11 against Kansas City, not only participated on back-to-back days, but also was a full participant in practice and isn’t even listed on the daily injury report.

Abram, a safety and defensive leader, stayed at home along with Jacobs when the Raiders traveled to face the Jets. He has practiced both days this week.

INGOLD IS RAIDERS’ WALTER PAYTON AWARD NOMINEE >> Fullback Alec Ingold is the Raiders’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, given annually to a player for community service endeavors as well as excellence on the field.

Adopted at birth, Ingold has used his platform to spread awareness about the need for foster and adoptive families through different programs in the Las Vegas area.

Included among Ingold’s crowded schedule of works in the community: Posting “Mindset Monday” on Instagram, a weekly series of inspirational messages for youth to maximize potential; encouraging voting in the “Get Out and Vote” campaign; participating in a fall fitness program with members of the Special Olympics; working with Las Vegas high school students in teaching personal finance; and raising funds for a local Las Vegas food bank that distributed more than 31,000 healthy meals to families in need. ATEMAN WAIVED >> The Raiders waived receiver Marcel Ateman from the practice squad and added defensive tackle Lee Autry. Autry is the brother of Colts defensive end and former Raider Denico Autry and a college teammate of Johnathan Abram at Mississippi State.