INGLEWOOD, Calif. — A younger Tre Tucker may have let an early miscue bother him for the rest of the game.
That didn’t happen Sunday in the second game of his fourth season when a first-quarter stumble became a Los Angeles Chargers interception that prevented the Las Vegas Raiders from taking an early lead.
“It’s the thing about having some experience and understanding they are going to make their plays, too,” Tucker said. “We just want to make more than them at the end of the day.”
Tucker made plenty of them Sunday, hauling in five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown after the early issue to help the Raiders to a 26-14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
His teammates made their share, as well. Kirk Cousins threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns, while rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses intercepted two passes.
Linebacker Nakobe Dean came up with the biggest play of the day, forcing an Omarion Hampton fumble just after the Chargers had crossed midfield with the Raiders leading 17-14 in the with 3:52 to play that was scooped up and returned by Jeremy Chinn inside the 20-yard line.
Cody White caught his second touchdown pass of the day three plays later, and Maxx Crosby caused a safety when he was held in the end zone as the Raiders sealed their first 2-0 start since 2021.
Tucker helped put them in that position by overcoming the early stumble.
He said after the game he still wasn’t sure what happened as he made a cut to the middle of the field just as Cousins delivered the ball in his direction, whether he slipped or had his feet caught up with a defender.
Those are the kind of details you lament if you lose and forget when you win.
“I just know I fell,” Tucker said. “Kirk threw a really good ball. I just need to keep my feet.
“But you just have to be a windshield wiper. It’s a next-play mentality. We knew we were going to get our opportunities and we took advantage.”
Two possessions later, Tucker hauled in a 13-yard reception for a first down and then got wide open down the middle for a 40-yard touchdown.
Tucker added a 42-yard catch in traffic just before halftime to set up a field goal that gave the Raiders a lead at the break.
It was more than enough to help the Raiders to their first 2-0 start since Tucker has been with the organization.
“It’s great,” he said of winning. “That’s also my first win at SoFi and that’s a really good defense and a really good team, so it’s going to keep building momentum for us.”
Here are some other takeaways from the victory:
Rookie DB shines
Masses was pressed into a starting role because of a foot injury suffered by cornerback Darien Porter last week.
The rookie more than took advantage of the opportunity.
Masses became just the seventh Raiders rookie in history and first since 1979 to record two interceptions in a game.
He’s the first to also record a tackle for a loss in the same game, a stat that only dates back to 1999. Masses said that early hit helped shake some of the nerves.
“I was like, ‘Oh yeah. I’m good to go,’” he said. “I’m kind of small. You think I can’t get physical. So, just me being able to tackle, it helps my game.”
Masses was so impressive in his first start his teammates were roasting him in the locker room that the league needed to send in drug testers.
The first interception came after Masses said he was a bit out of position and a deflection wound up in the air. The second, however, was just a great play that essentially closed the door on the win.
“I came out of the break before the receiver,” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh yeah. This mine.’”
Masses allowed just two completions for 16 yards on six targets over the course of his 26 coverage snaps on Sunday.
“Incredible start for him,” coach Klint Kubiak said. “I’m really proud of him and proud of how his teammates supported him because the ball doesn’t get into his hands without great pass rush and great coverage, but I’m really proud of Zeke.”
Jeanty struggles
A week after surpassing 100 yards on the ground and catching two touchdown passes in the season opener, running back Ashton Jeanty struggled to put much of a dent in the box score.
He ran for 48 yards on 21 carries and caught four passes for 15 yards while failing to reach the end zone.
More concerning, he dropped three passes.
“I just have to be better,” he said. “Catch the football. Make the plays in the run game.
“You just have to make plays when they come to you.”
Jeanty said he thought the issues in the run game were more about what the Raiders were unable to do rather than being shut down by the Chargers.
That means it could be more fixable.
“I could have had better tracks and had more vision,” he said.
But he credited the defense and passing game for helping overcome his struggles and improving to 2-0. Now he’s ready to get back to what made him successful.
“Mentally, you just have to move on and move past it,” he said. “It’s a long season. Sometimes you don’t make the plays you usually make. You just have to get better and make them next week.”
Hot start
Kubiak now joins Al Davis, John Madden and Bill Callahan as the only full-time head coaches in Raiders history to win their first two games.
While he’s coming off a Super Bowl title as an offensive coordinator with Seattle, he has brought a winning culture to the Raiders thus far. Still, he knows it’s only two games.
“Last year doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s a new season and next year when I’m here we’re going to be saying the same thing. It’s 17 one-game Super Bowls in a row and that’s how our guys have to treat it, if we want to be a successful organization.”
The numbers are impressive, though.
The plus-26 point differential is their best through two games of a season since 2017 and the five takeaways are the most through two games since 2002.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
