Tyler Linderbaum, Hezekiah Masses and More Awful PFF Grades from Raiders Week 5 loss to Patriots

The Raiders were embarrassed by the Patriots on Sunday. The 45-17 scoreline was indicative of how the game went, as Las Vegas never stood a chance.

As a result, the grades from Pro Football Focus were not favorable. Only one player received a grade over 80.

Tyler Linderbaum had his worst game as a Raider. He allowed his first sack of the season, and along with the rest of the offensive line, he created no space for Ashton Jeanty to run.

The Raiders overpaid for Linderbaum in the offseason by making him the highest-paid center in the NFL. He is in Las Vegas to help stabilize the offensive line for years to come. One awful game won’t make that a bad signing, but the Raiders can’t afford to have Linderbaum underperforming given the state of the roster.

However, Linderbaum was not the worst offensive lineman. Left guard Spencer Burford allowed five quarterback pressures and received a 0.0 grade for his pass blocking. He also landed the worst run blocking game of any offensive lineman at 32.7.

Burford was a cheap offseason addition for the Raiders’ offensive line. While it was strange that Las Vegas handed him the starting job with no competition, his poor play is more expected than Linderbaum’s.

Nakobe Dean is in a similar situation as Linderbaum. He was brought in as a younger veteran to help make the team better now and into the future. Through four games, Dean looked great.

But he struggled on Sunday. Dean didn’t record a pressure or tackle for loss. He was also targeted five times in coverage and allowed four catches, including a touchdown where he was flagged for defensive holding.

The Raiders can’t expect Dean to be great every week, but this type of performance needs to be rare for Las Vegas to have a competent defense.

Darien Porter actually had one of the better grades among Raiders’ defensive players. He may have regained his starting role.

Porter opened the season as a starting cornerback, but an injury in Week 1 gave Hezekiah Masses a chance to start. Masses picked off three passes in Weeks 2 and 3 combined and took over the starting spot.

But Masses received the worst grade of any Raiders’ defensive player at 36.1 and was benched. Porter played 50 snaps to Masses’ 25. It would appear that Porter has taken his job back.

A couple of Raiders did have good games. Brock Bowers received an 88.1 grade. He had eight catches for 110 yards, as the Raiders offense flowed exclusively through him. He did lose a fumble, as even he was part of the meltdown.

Adam Butler was the highest-graded defender at 74.3. The defensive tackle only played 43 of the 75 defense snaps, as the Raiders rotate through their interior defensive linemen regularly. But Butler posted two run stops and forced a fumble, the only time any Raider defender made a big play.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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