Raiders used more of their weapons in win over Packers

A season-high nine offensive players either caught or ran the ball for the Raiders in their win over the Packers on Monday.

It’s a small sample size, but the Raiders hope it’s a step in the right direction. After investing in free agency and the draft last offseason to diversify the attack, it’s time to start tapping into all those weapons.

“I think more than not, we’d like that,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said.

The natural inclination is to feed Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs and Jakobi Meyers, with Adams as the clear top option. But for the Raiders to turn the corner offensively — they have yet to crack 20 points through five games and are averaging 15.8 points per game, the third-fewest in the NFL — they need to get more players touches, not fewer.

That process continues on Sunday when the 2-3 Raiders host the 1-4 Patriots.

“The more guys that you get involved, the more they have to defend,” McDaniels said.

Michael Mayer had two catches for 49 yards and is expected to get more touches in the coming weeks. DeAndre Carter and Tre Tucker had 19 yards rushing on three carries, with one of Carter’s runs picking up a fourth down on a drive that eventually ended in a Raiders touchdown.

There were also two throws to tight end Austin Hooper and one to Hunter Renfrow.

Seven players converted first downs, four coming on either third or fourth down.

Again, it was just one game. But it was a positive step for an offense trying to build confidence.

“Yeah, that was definitely a key for us going forward in the season, trying to get some guys to touch the football and spread the ball around,” said offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi.

Or, as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said: “I think that’s kind of a good recipe for us, just different guys getting yards. It keeps defense on their toes. It makes it tough on those guys. We’ve got a lot of weapons, man. It’s my job to use them.”

Part of that is on Garoppolo, who has been slow to acclimate to McDaniels’ offense. In four games, Garoppolo has completed 68 percent of his 125 passes for 917 yards. He’s thrown seven interceptions against six touchdown passes and has yet to produce a full four quarters of good football.

McDaniels’ offense is essentially the same scheme that Garoppolo played in during his two-plus years with the Patriots. But the six seasons he spent in San Francisco rewired him in a way that’s created a longer-than-expected readjustment period.

It also didn’t help that he missed all of the offseason after undergoing foot surgery in March.

Even Garoppolo’s training camp was truncated by periodic days off and pitch counts as he ramped up physically. That has resulted in the first part of the season serving as an extension to the team-building process. In addition to Garoppolo, the Raiders offense includes fellow newcomers in Meyers, Mayer, Hooper, Tucker and Carter.

“I think everything gets better with time,” Garoppolo said. “Obviously, just the more reps we get, the more we can talk about it just in the locker room together, little things like that, that’s kind of where we’re at right now. I mean, it’s done some good for us, but yeah we’ve still got room to grow definitely. I mean we’re still pretty early in the season.”

Monday provided a glimpse of what could be for the Raiders.

“Jimmy did a good job of taking the plan and going from there and taking what the defense gave him, and the ball found different people,” said McDaniels. “Whether it was Ameer Abdullah on third down or Michael Mayer to start the game or Jakobi, or Davante, and everybody played a role in the win, which is great.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow@VinnyBonsignore on X.