3 Takeaways from Raiders' Week 7 Win

The Las Vegas Raiders are now 2-0 in the Rich Bisaccia era. After a two-game losing streak earlier this month, they're back on track under the interim head coach.

Las Vegas was victorious for the second straight week as it defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 33-22 at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday afternoon. That win came a week after the Raiders beat the Denver Broncos, and they're now 5-2 heading into their Week 8 bye.

Although Las Vegas got off to a slow start this week, getting outscored by Philadelphia 7-0 in the first quarter, it responded by scoring 30 consecutive points across the second and third quarters. The Raiders amassed 442 total yards, with quarterback Derek Carr passing for 323 yards and two touchdowns.

Here are three takeaways from Las Vegas' Week 7 win.

For anybody who doubted Derek Carr's ability to lead the Raiders' offense to success, he's proved them wrong through the first seven weeks of the 2021 season.

The 30-year-old is doing a stellar job, and that continued Sunday, when he completed 31 of his 34 passing attempts and overcame a first-quarter interception to have one of his best showings yet.

Carr has thrown multiple touchdown passes in six of Las Vegas' first seven games, and he's thrown for 323 or more yards five times, including each of the past two weeks. In his eighth season as the Raiders' starting QB, he's having one of the best years of his career.

What has been the key to the Fresno State product's recent success? Having fun.

"Sometimes you forget that, among a lot of the questions, a lot of the things going on, it's still a game," Carr said, per ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "You've got to remind yourself, 'Have fun when you hit the field.' The last two weeks, I've just tried to remind myself of that."

If Carr keeps playing this well, he and the Raiders are going to have a lot more fun down the stretch. And there's no reason to think that won't happen as this offense continues to jell.

Injuries caused Las Vegas to be without two of its top offensive players for much of Sunday's game. Tight end Darren Waller was inactive due to an ankle/heel issue, while Josh Jacobs didn't play in the second half due to a chest injury.

That wasn't an issue for the Raiders, though, because other playmakers stepped up. Kenyan Drake picked up the workload on the ground, rushing for 69 yards on 14 carries and scoring his third touchdown over the past two weeks. And Foster Moreau filled the void left by Waller in the passing game, hauling in six passes for a team-high 60 yards and a touchdown.

Waller is one of the NFL's top tight ends and is typically the primary target in Las Vegas' passing game. He also hadn't missed a game since 2018, so Carr isn't used to not having him to throw to. However, the Raiders weren't discouraged when they found out Moreau would be starting instead.

"When Darren is out, we believe Foster is a starting tight end. So when he gets to play, it's not like, 'Oh, Darren's out,' it's 'Foster gets to play,'" Carr told reporters. "Obviously [Waller] is one of the best players on our football team, but at the same time it's like, 'Oh, Foster gets to play.'"

Once Waller and Jacobs are healthy, Las Vegas will go back to having great depth, considering Moreau and Drake have shown what they're capable of in this offense. That could be highly valuable down the stretch.

Guess who is leading the AFC West entering Week 8? It's not the two-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. It's not the Denver Broncos, who got off to a 3-0 start. And it's not the Los Angeles Chargers, who have one of the top young quarterbacks in the league (Justin Herbert).

It's the Raiders, who have a half-game lead over the Chargers atop the division. Despite former head coach Jon Gruden's resignation occurring after Las Vegas opened 3-2, the team has found a way to keep its focus on the field and maintain its strong start to 2021.

"When adversity hit, it only made us stronger," Kenyan Drake said, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic. "This team is something special, and I feel like a lot of people around this league feel that same way."

When the Raiders return to action in Week 9, they'll have a good chance to keep rolling, as they'll go on the road to face the New York Giants. Then, things get a bit tougher, with matchups against Kansas City, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys the following three weeks.

Still, Las Vegas is in a great position nearing the midpoint of its season and appears to be trending toward its first playoff appearance since 2016.