Holton takes it to house in homecoming
Native of Miami catches TD as kin and friends watch
MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. >> Raiders receiver Johnny Holton, returning to where he grew up, caught a 44-yard touchdown to put Oakland up 10-6 late in the first half in Oakland’s 27-24 win over Miami on Sunday night.
It was the only offensive snap Holton played in the first half.
The score was only Holton’s second catch of the year but his second touchdown, too. He was the recipient of a 64-yard bomb from Derek Carr against Denver in Week 4. This time, Carr lofted the ball high in the air again and Holton fought off a defender in the end zone to haul it in with 100 friends and family watching.
With the NFL’s relaxed celebration restrictions, Holton appeared to ride an invisible horse down the sideline — maybe it was a dolphin — after his touchdown.
• Before the game, a Raiders staffer walked into the row of Raiders beat writers in the press box with an urgent question.
“Anybody have a 5-hour energy I can buy off them for Reggie Nelson?”
No writer had one, and Nelson was left to find his boost elsewhere (it’s unknown whether he received a 5-hour energy elsewhere). The veteran safety has been mediocre this season leading an Oakland secondary that’s taken its fair share of hits, and apparently the week in Florida left him slumped before a must-win game.
In the actual game, Nelson left DeVante Parker wide open across the middle on a 3rd-and-6 early in the contest and later blitzed on an eventual Jay Cutler touchdown pass. Other than that, he seemed to turn in a sufficient performance compared to some of the ones Oakland’s secondary has put forth this season.
Nelson finished with six combined tackles in the win (third-most on the team), and now he’ll have time for an energy booster if he hasn’t already taken one.
• Jihad Ward has played in only three games this season. The Raiders’ 2016 second-round pick has sat the other six as a healthy scratch, unable to crack the defensive line rotation after playing in 16 games as a rookie.
Last year he recorded 30 total tackles — 16 solo — and somewhat lived up to his second-round billing. This year, however, with a healthy Mario Edwards Jr. in the fold, Ward was pushed behind Denico Autry on the depth chart.
With Ward the fourth defensive end behind Khalil Mack, Edwards and Autry, Raiders’ coach Jack Del Rio provided a simple answer when asked Friday why his high pick from a year ago has hit a sophomore slump.
“Guys playing well in front of him,” Del Rio said. “He’s on the ready, hopefully as we go through the year we’ll count on everybody.”
• Marshawn Lynch finally discovered Beast Mode after it lay dormant for the first half of the season.
The Raiders’ running back, in his return from a one-game suspension, doubled his touchdown total this season.
He ran 14 times for 57 yards and two scores, the latter of which put Oakland up two scores with under five minutes remaining in the game.
Lynch hadn’t topped 76 yards in a single game yet this season and still didn’t against the Dolphins, but it was by far his most effective game of the season.
Lynch’s first touchdown run was his longest rush of the season (22 yards) and put the Raiders up two scores at the time. When Miami narrowed its deficit in swift order, Lynch responded with another touchdown run to extend the Raiders’ lead again.
Maybe, just maybe, Sunday was the beginning of a more effective Lynch in the second half of the season.