Raiders safety heeds words of Hall of Fame uncle for first TD

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao got some good advice from his Hall of Fame uncle about making sure he’s in the frame of the camera on the television broadcast when a play ends.

“That means you’re always around the ball,” Pola-Mao said.

Pola-Mao heeded those words from former Steelers great Troy Polamalu by starring in his own highlight during Saturday night’s 34-17 preseason victory over the Rams at SoFi Stadium. Pola-Mao intercepted a Stetson Bennett pass late in the second quarter and returned it 50 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

Pola-Mao knows he made his uncle proud with his big moment.

“I’m sure he was going crazy,” the 24-year-old said.

The moment was a family affair all around as Pola-Mao, a Southern California alum, had to secure 20 tickets for family members in his return to Los Angeles.

“It was awesome,” he said. “I have so much family here, so it was kind of nice just to do that for them. I was trying to find them and point them out. It was such a blessing.”

By the time Pola-Mao reached the locker room, his wife was among those who had already texted him the clip of his touchdown so he could enjoy it right away.

The play looked simple enough. A miscommunication between Bennett and his receiver saw a pass floating toward Pola-Mao almost as if he were a punt returner waiting for the ball to come down.

That actually complicated the matter for Pola-Mao, who had a bit too much time to think about what could go wrong.

“It was just simple coverage, and I went back there and he basically threw me one,” he said. “I was sitting back there for basically what felt like forever. I was just thinking to myself, ‘Don’t drop it.’ Then I caught it and just took off. Then I went back to my track days. Just pick your knees up and run. I came back to the sideline asking everyone, ‘Did I look fast?’ It was fun.”

As Pola-Mao discussed the play, the ball he crossed the goal line with was inches away, tucked safely in his locker. He said he planned to put it in his office alongside a couple of his jerseys as he starts a memorabilia collection he hopes will only continue to grow.

“Since the offseason started, the key word has been aggression,” he said. “We want to go after the ball. That’s something we preach every day, so I’m glad I was able to put that on tape.”

Pola-Mao made the opening-game roster last season as an undrafted rookie free agent, only to be released a few weeks later. He was brought back to the practice squad a few days later and promoted back to the active roster in November.

He played 11 games in all, finishing with 20 tackles and a sack. But no interceptions. While Saturday night’s pick was special, it didn’t count in the official ledger, so he remains 32 behind his famous uncle.

He’s more likely to catch him in the hair department — Pola-Mao is working on some impressive growth.

“He still has me definitely,” Pola-Mao laughed. “But I’m catching up.”

Pacing themselves

Jimmy Garoppolo said Saturday night that he was pleased with the pace with which the first-team offense played on its only drive of the game, which resulted in a touchdown.

Coach Josh McDaniels said it wasn’t a specific strategy, but simply a result of excellent communication and game management.

“We huddled the whole drive,” he said, “but the reality is when the quarterback knows the play call and gets it out of his mouth quickly to the huddle and gets to the line of scrimmage, it’s advantageous for all of us because it puts pressure on the defense in trying to make them play at our pace.

“Jimmy was trying to press that a little bit, and I thought he did a great job of commanding the huddle, controlling the line of scrimmage and getting us in and out of the right stuff. He did a really good job in a short period of time.”

Love the Drake

Undrafted rookie free agent Drake Thomas continued his impressive camp with a team-leading 10 tackles Saturday, including one for a loss.

He also had a tackle for a loss in his preseason debut against the 49ers a week earlier.

Bringing down ball carriers is nothing new for Thomas, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in tackles for a loss with 19 as a senior at North Carolina State.

Thomas also left Heritage High School in Wake Forest, North Carolina, as the school’s all-time leading tackler with 393.

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