Raiders special teams: AJ Cole on point, Daniel Carlson’s miss highlight highs and lows in opener

With the Las Vegas Raiders offense looking sluggish and unable to figure out to gain any semblance of consistency, AJ Cole III looked in midseason form in the regular season opener in last Sunday’s 22-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The All-Pro punter sent five boots into orbit racking up 265 yards with a robust 53.0 average per kick with a long of 62 yards. Three of those five punts landed inside the Chargers’ 20-yard line (one was a touchback) as Cole played his part well of pinning Los Angeles deep in their own territory to start drives.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound punter’s ability to consistently flip the field helped the Raiders defense pin its ears back and stymie the Chargers for much of the game, which was a major reason why Las Vegas head coach Antonio Pierce had no qualms of punting the ball on 4th-and-1 with the ball in Chargers’ territory with 7:15 left to play and his team trailing 16-10 at the time.

“Yeah, I get analytics, I get what’s been going on, but the balls at the eight-yard line. Our defense at the time had only given up 200 yards of total offense. That’s the strength of our team,” Pierce noted when asked about the decision to punt again during his Monday press conference.

While Cole’s ability to generate not only power but all-important hangtime was on full display, the Raiders punt coverage unit merits kudos, too. Gunner and wide receiver DJ Turner was a speed demon in coverage as he was either near Chargers’ return man Derius Davis shortly after the punt descended or arrived at the same time as the ball. That ability to get there quickly dampened Davis’ plans to return the punts as he only registered one return for nine yards. Outside of the opening kickoff return which Davis netted 35 yards, the coverage units did well.

Raiders return men got limited opportunities, too. Running back Ameer Abdullah registered the lone kick return for 28 yards while wide receiver Tre Tucker fielded two punts gaining 28 yard (with a long of 21). It was that 21-yard return where Tucker caught the punt on the run where it seemed he was going to reignite the pro-Raiders crowd. Instead, the solid return gave the Raiders the ball at their own 48-yard line — primo field position. But a mere three plays later, it was Cole’s fifth and final punt of the afternoon, which set up the backbreaking run the Chargers would have just four plays later.

Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images

Cole, the coverage units, and Tucker’s return were the some highlights of Las Vegas’ special teams unit.

“Special teams, I thought we made some plays here. We did a good job on number 12 (Derius Davis), a really good returner. Thought we pinned him back, got a tackle inside the 15-yard line there.”

Unfortunately for the Raiders, kicker Daniel Carlson was one of the lowlights.

Driving from their own 20-yard line to the Chargers’ 31-yard line and no further, Las Vegas called upon his tall and lanky (6-foot-5 and 215 pounds) placekicker to drill a 49-yard field goal that would’ve put the Silver & Black ahead 10-9 if it were made. Instead, the kick was just slightly wide to the right, no points, and the Bolts maintained it’s 9-7 lead, which was widened on the ensuing drive. Six plays later, tailback J.K. Dobbins had his first end zone visit on a 12-yard scamper and L.A.’s lead ballooned to 16-7.

Carlson did redeem himself a bit with a 32-yard field goal on Las Vegas ensuing drive to trim the deficit to 16-10, but momentum swung the Chargers’ way after the 29-year-old’s miss from 49 yards out.

Las Vegas gears for a Week 2 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens who boast a strong defensive unit under head coach John Harbaugh, making it highly likely the Raiders will rely on both Cole and Carlson.

In two career games against Baltimore (2018 and 2021), Carlson is 5-for-5 on field goals and 3-for-3 on point after attempts. Cole, meanwhile, has one career matchup against the Ravens (2021) punting six times for 316 yard (52.67 average) with two of those kicks dropping inside the Ravens’ 20-yard line.

Extra Points: Linebackers Luke Masterson and Kana’i Mauga paced the Las Vegas special teams unit with 25 snaps apiece (89 percent of the group’s total in the season opener). Turner and safeties Isaiah Pola-Mao and Chis Smith all had 23 snaps in the group. Defensive end Charles Snowden and linebacker Amari Burney each racked up 21 special teams snaps with fellow linebacker Amari Gainer getting 19. Snowden saw a bevy of special teams snaps and 30 defensive snaps, too, showcasing versatility.

“He can play SAM linebacker, he could play defensive end, a core special teams guy for us as well,” Pierce said of Snowden. “So, for the limited reps he got in practice, I thought he did a pretty good job. He showed up. I wish we could take back that offsides penalty because we had a sack fumble on there. But I thought for the most part, he showed up.”