Jakobi Meyers shines in Raiders debut before leaving after scary hit

DENVER — An outsider taking their first glance at the box score of the Raiders’ season-opening 17-16 win over the Broncos on Sunday might be stunned to see the eye-popping numbers posted by wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.

But nobody was surprised in the locker room after he played a major role in the victory.

“That’s what he’s been doing all camp,” star receiver Davante Adams said. “I honestly couldn’t wait to see him go out there and put it on tape against somebody else. He balled out and did what he had to do.”

Meyers, playing in his first game with the Raiders after spending his first four seasons with the Patriots, finished with nine catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns. It was the first multi-touchdown game of his career.

“He’s already had a huge impact,” offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “I was with him in New England, so I’ve known he’s a baller. I was so glad we got him here. He’s one of those guys that will go across the middle for you knowing he’s going to get hit, but he just doesn’t care and he’s still going to make a play for you. There’s only a few of those guys left in the NFL. To have a guy like that makes you want to do your job better just so he can get the ball.”

Meyers did just that late in the game, sacrificing his body to make a key play in the victory.

As he slid to the ground to secure a pass near the marker on a third-down play, Meyers took a shot in the head from Denver’s Kareem Jackson. He was down on the field for several minutes as players from both teams took a knee hoping for positive developments.

Meyers eventually walked off the field with assistance and was having conversations with his teammates in the locker room, but was being evaluated for a concussion and therefore unavailable to talk to the media.

He let his performance speak for him, hauling in his nine receptions on 10 targets and drawing a penalty in the end zone to get a new set of downs. The penalty that knocked him from the game extended a drive that culminated in the Raiders running out the clock to end the game.

“Obviously a tough dude to take a hit like he did at the end of the game and be in here walking around,” Adams said. “It’s good to know he’s OK now, but those scare you. Hopefully he can rebound from that and continue to do what he did today.”

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo thinks Meyers will because it’s what he has seen from him on the practice field.

“He’s been very consistent,” Garoppolo said. “He’s the same guy every day. He comes out and puts in the work. As a quarterback, when you have a guy like that, it makes it easy to trust him.”

Garoppolo showed that belief early and often against the Broncos. The first offensive series was capped by an acrobatic catch over a defender in the end zone. It was a result of the work they had done in practice, and then Garoppolo and Meyers communicating the thought at the line of scrimmage and executing it.

The second touchdown, a 6-yarder with 6:38 left, proved to be the game-winner.

“He’s a football player,” coach Josh McDaniels said of Meyers. “He’s tough, does a lot of dirty work, blocks in the running game. Can go inside and make plays. Has good size, can make things happen on third down in the red zone. That’s why he’s here, so we could have a guy on the other side of (Adams).”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.