The Tennessee Titans are still confident that Cam Ward is their quarterback of the future, but it hasn’t been the dominant start to his career that they were likely hoping for. The Las Vegas Raiders lost four straight games heading into Week 6 and are prone to giving up big games to struggling quarterbacks.
However, the team kept him in check and held him to 222 yards passing, sacked him four times and forced him to commit two turnovers. Linebacker Devin White had Ward’s number all game and was responsible for forcing the two turnovers that he made.
While it has been a rocky rookie season for Ward, and he didn’t have a great game against the Raiders, White had a lot of praise for the young quarterback.
“Cam’s a great player. He got drafted No. 1 overall for a specific reason, that’s to lead their team,” White said on “Raiders Gameday.” “But at the end of the day, it was more about us and what we didn’t do well as a defensive unit last week that we have been doing great all season. That was red zone defense and that was third-down defense.”
Pete Carroll Praises White
White is a player who knows what it’s like to go through a rough stretch. He was a high draft pick who became an All-Pro player, but couldn’t even stick with a team last season.
The Raiders signed him this offseason and committed to him as a starter. He’s been solid for the team this season, but had his best game in years against the Titans. Head coach Pete Carroll was blown away by the linebackers’ performance.
“I don’t know if anybody could put up more numbers than Devin White did today,” Carroll said after the game. “Geez. It’s a stat line. He made a bunch of plays with a pick and a forced fumble and tackles for loss and all that. … That’s a great football game for him.”
The Raiders‘ defense was coming off a rough game in Week 5, but White knew the group was ready to play.
“I think the mindset this week, we talked about it all week, was make a choice,” White said. “Make a choice who you want to be when you get on that field. Make a choice when you’ve got an opportunity to make the play. … I think that carried over into the game this week. I think everybody got up this morning and they made the choice.”
Maxx Crosby Talks Raiders Win
Defensive end Maxx Crosby also had a strong game, sacking Ward twice. This was the first game in weeks where the defense and special teams didn’t make any huge mistakes. Crosby knows that every group just has to do their best if the Raiders are going to win.
“Everything matters. Playing complementary football, we know that,” Crosby said. “It was special teams, it was the offense, the offense was scoring points, moving the ball, it just makes everything easier. And we talk about it as a unit. … It’s on all of us to be at our best. Our defense, we haven’t been at our best all year. Offense hasn’t, our special teams haven’t, but I know we’re focused on getting better. And that’s all you can do.”
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