SAN DIEGO – Raiders running back DeAndre Washington hasn’t been on the injury report all season, yet was inactive for two games and barely used in a third leading into Sunday’s road contest at San Diego.
Coachese like the fifth-round rookie from Texas Tech, but he fell victim to a numbers game where the Raiders had game-day needs at other positions. He plays a bit like Jalen Richard, and the coaching staff had to make a hard choice.
In Sunday’s victory over the Chargers, Washington got back on the map. He had five carries for 23 yards, including a 12-yard scamper on a key second-quarter touchdown drive.
He also had an 11-yard catch and a 20-yard kickoff return to help the Raiders go. Latavius Murray remains the lead dog, and Richard had six carries for 36 yards.
While Washington added depth to the running back position, the Raiders stuck with their best on defense. Linebackers Malcolm Smith and Perry Riley, safeties Nate Allen and Reggie Nelson and cornerbacks David Amerson and Sean Smith played every defensive snap.
Edge rusher Bruce Irvin played 96 percent of their defensive snaps, and had six tackles and two sacks against the Chargers.
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Receiver Amari Cooper only had one catch for 28 yards with top corner Casey Hayward shadowing him. Michael Crabtree was Derek Carr’s favored option, with six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown on eight targets.
Let’s take a look at the entire Raiders snap count:
OFFENSE
62 – OL Donald Penn, OL Gabe Jackson, OL Kelechi Osemele, OL Austin Howard, OL Rodney Hudson, QB Derek Carr
51 – WR Amari Cooper
45 – TE Clive Walford, WR Michael Crabtree
33 – WR Seth Roberts
31 – RB Latavius Murray
21 – TE Mychal Rivera
20 – FB Jamize Olawale, Menelik Watson
18 – RB Jalen Richard
16 – WR Andre Holmes
10 – DeAndre Washington
DEFENSE
55 – S Nate Allen, LB Perry Riley, LB Malcolm Smith, S Reggie Nelson, CB David Amerson, CB Sean Smith
53 – LB Bruce Irvin
50 – DE Khalil Mack
42 – DL Denico Autry
34 – CB TJ Carrie
31 – DL Jihad Ward
24 – DL Darius Latham
17 – NT Justin Ellis
13 – DT Dan Williams
7 – DE James Cowser
4 – Branden Jackson
SPECIAL TEAMS
21 – Daren Bates
18 – Jamize Olawale, Andre Holmes, Brynden Trawick, Taiwan Jones
17 – Keith McGill
15 – Tyrell Adams
14 – Cory James
11 – Johnny Holton, Sebastian Janikowski
9 – Jalen Richard, TJ Carrie, Jon Feliciano
8 – Dexter McDonald, Jon Condo, Marquette King
7 – Darius Latham, James Cowser
6 –Nate Allen
5 – Donald Penn, Gabe Jackson, Kelechi Osemele, Austin Howard, Clive Walford, Mychal Rivera, Menelik Watson
4 – DeAndre Washington
3 – Khalil Mack, Denico Autry, Bruce Irvin, Justin Ellis, Dan Williams
NOTE: Snap counts taken from official NFL game book
