3 takeaways from Raiders’ preseason road win over Rams

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Three takeaways from the Raiders’ 34-17 win over the Rams in Saturday’s preseason game at SoFi Stadium:

1. Starters shine in cameo

Most of the first-team offense took the field for the opening drive of the Raiders’ second preseason game after several sat out the opener last week.

They looked sharp in their brief appearance.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, in his first game action with his new team, completed all four pass attempts and guided a nine-play, 68-yard touchdown drive.

He was relieved by Bryan Hoyer to start the second series.

Garoppolo spread the ball around, connecting with four receivers on the drive. He hit Ameer Abdullah out of the backfield at the beginning of the possession and then found rookie tight end Michael Mayer in the red zone. Phillip Dorsett also had an 8-yard reception on the drive.

The biggest play of the series was an 18-yard throw to Jakobi Meyers down the middle when Garoppolo was under pressure and just threw to an open space to allow Meyers to come back to the ball and make a sliding catch.

White, the de facto starter at running back while Josh Jacobs remains away from the team, had four carries for 22 yards on the drive. Brandon Bolden ran in the touchdown from 7 yards out.

It was a clean appearance for the starters, who were able to find some success and leave the field without any apparent injuries.

Mission accomplished.

2. Offensive line battle

Three starting spots on the offensive line have appeared settled for some time, with center Andre James, left guard Dylan Parham and left tackle Kolton Miller all but locking down the jobs.

Parham remains out after leaving last week’s preseason game, so Netane Muti started in his place Saturday. James did get the start at center, but Miller did not play.

The right side is more up in the air. Thayer Munford has been challenging returning starter Jermaine Eluemunor throughout camp, and Munford got the start on the right side with Eluemunor on the left in place of Miller.

The right guard position also appears to be up for grabs. Greg Van Roten got the start over returning starter Alex Bars against the Rams.

Bars remained in the game into the fourth quarter, which may not be a good sign for his efforts to keep his job.

3. Throw the flag

Coach Josh McDaniels won a big challenge in the game and would have won another had the officials not proactively intervened in overturning a call.

His decision to toss the red flag on what was originally ruled an incompletion in the end zone in the third quarter gave the Raiders four extra points.

The officials ruled receiver Cam Sims was not able to get both feet down before securing a catch in the end zone on a third-down throw from Aidan O’Connell. While the field goal unit trotted onto the field, McDaniels elected to challenge.

Upon review, the call was overturned, and the Raiders were awarded a touchdown on a spectacular catch by Sims with a defender draped all over him.

McDaniels also got the flag out to challenge a reception by the Rams in the first quarter that would have been enough to move the chains. The officials, however, decided to rule the pass incomplete without even going to the monitors, so it didn’t go down as an official challenge.

In a game in which the result is meaningless, the little details are often overlooked. But one of the benefits of the preseason is to make sure things like the process of communicating potential challenge opportunities to McDaniels to make a final decision is working properly.

It was on Saturday.

McDaniels was successful in three of his five challenges last season. He has won eight and lost 10 in his head coaching career.

Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal