Raiders special teams: Daniel Carlson perfect; A.J. Cole still booming in Week 7 loss

Such is life for Daniel Carlson.

With the Las Vegas Raiders offense going through it’s Jekyll and Hyde moments — looking productive one moment, pathetic the next that displays the duplicity of the Silver & Black — through the first seven weeks of the season, the place kicker has experienced both the flood and drought of opportunities.

Take the Raiders Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams for instance.

Carlson was called up five times and drilled every one of his field goal attempts — from distances of 38 yards (twice), 27 yards (twice), and the long of 47 yards — to account for all of Las Vegas’ points in the 20-15 defeat.

The stellar performance for Carlson comes after not getting a single attempt in the Raiders Week 6 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers just a game before this past Sunday, emphasizing just how topsy-turvy Las Vegas’ offense is through seven games. While the Week 7 outburst against the Los Angeles matches his single-game career high, it marks the first time since Week 2 that Carlson attempted more than two field goals in an outing.

That particular performance was a 4-for-4 showcase in the Raiders’ 26-23 victory at the Baltimore Ravens — which feels ages ago and not merely a month ago.

We’ll see where the roller coaster of opportunities takes us with the Raiders (2-5 overall) offense and Carlson, but this Sunday’s matchup with the AFC West-dominating Kansas City Chiefs (6-0) may be another valley instead of a peak. The undefeated defending Super Bowl champions bring with them the No. 5 overall defense in points allowed (103) and No. 10 unit in yards allowed (1,837), which is going to make life tough for the offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and his Raiders offense.

Which aptly brings us to Carlson’s special teams tag team partner: A.J. Cole III.

Cole-Slaw

Las Vegas’ other big-legged boomer was called upon four times to punt in Week 7 sending them 190 yards (47.5 yards average per boot). Cole’s punts traveled 40, 46, 48 (touchback), and 56 yards, and the booths in the 40s is well below his average of 52.2 on the season.

On the plus side, the Rams were limited to one punt return (for eight yards) and they didn’t score on ensuing drives after Cole’s punts.

Cole’s counterpart, Los Angeles’ Ethan Evans, punted six times for 261 yards (43.5 yards average per boot) with a long of 52 yards, one touchback, and three of those kicks landing inside Las Vegas’ 20-yard line.

Flipping the field is one thing, but having the accuracy, hang time, and power makes punting a critical component for football teams. Here’s some good nuggets by former head coach Bill Belichick:

Where They Stand

The bevy of attempts and makes bolsters Carlson’s season totals to 15 attempts and 13 makes. That surges him into the Top 10 in both categories amongst his fellow place kickers.

With his 15 attempts, Carlson is ninth behind the Los Angeles’ Chargers Cameron Dicker (16). The Washington Commanders’ Austin Seibert and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Chris Boswell top the league with 20 attempts, apiece.

Carlson’s 13 makes puts him eighth overall trailing Dicker. Seibert and Boswell pace the NFL with 19 makes, each.

Cole, on the other hand, has 29 punts for 1,513 yards. The attempts give him the eighth most in the league and the yards puts him at fifth overall.

Cole moves down to second in the league in terms of average per punt at 52.2. The Chiefs’ Matt Araiza has a slight lead with a 52.3 average. In terms of net average per boot (the total minus touchback yardage and punt return yards), Cole is 11th with 42.8. Araiza, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ryan Rehkow, and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Logan Cooke pace the NFL with net averages of 44.9.

In terms of punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, Cole ranks 12th with 11. Flip it to touchbacks, and the Raiders punter is in a glut for most with four (along with six other punters).

Las Vegas punt coverage unit is responsible for the fifth most yardage allowed at 149. The Cleveland Browns top this category yielding 317 return yards.

Up Next: The Raiders host the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday. Carlson has 12 career games against the Chiefs under his belt and is 17 of 19 on field goals. He’s 19 of 22 on point after attempts, giving him 70-career points scored against Kansas City. Cole, meanwhile, has 10 career games against Kansas City and has 33 punts for 1,534 yards in those tilts. He holds an average of 46.48 yards per boot and a net of 40.7. Cole’s also dropped 11 punts inside the 20 and only two touchbacks against the Chiefs.

Extra Points: Linebackers Amari Gainer and Amari Burney paced the Raiders in special teams snaps Week 7 with 23 (82 percent of the units total). Cornerback Decamerion Richardson and safeties Thomas Harper and Chris Smith II each got 16 snaps. Running back Ameer Abdullah (15 snaps), tight end Justin Shorter (12), wide receiver Alex Bachman (12), safety Trey Taylor (12), tight end John Samuel Shenker (11), defensive end Charles Snowden (11), and linebacker Divine Deablo (11) rounded out the group.