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Raiders-Bengals winners and losers: Luke Getsy fired, coaching staff notified


Raiders-Bengals winners and losers: Luke Getsy fired, coaching staff notified

Another week and another embarrassing loss for the Las Vegas Raiders. Heads are starting to roll in Las Vegas as the 41-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9 resulted in the firing of three coaches; Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach James Cregg.

Since the Raiders are 2-7 and haven't won a game since September, no coach and very few players in the building should feel safe for the remainder of the season as more layoffs could occur. In the future, the “winners and losers” column will be weighted slightly more heavily, as the latter category could lead to unemployment.

LOSER: Coaching staff

We'll start with the obvious. Luke Getsy, Rich Scangarello and James Cregg were the first dominoes to fall, and the entire coaching staff may well be ready to finish the season. It's no secret that this is exactly what happens in the NFL when you're one of the worst teams in the league.

The Las Vegas Review Journal's Vincent Bonsignore hinted that the entire staff could be out of work until the offseason, as Vegas officially begins finger-pointing season.

WINNER: Jackson Powers-Johnson

On the bright side, Powers-Johnson looked really good at center in his first career start. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed no pressure in pass protection and earned an elite 91.7 grade in run blocking. Especially given Andre James' struggles this season, the rookie could take the lead on offense.

LOSER: Thayer Munford Jr.

At the other end of the spectrum, Munford could have sealed his fate as a career-long reserve player. Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson set a career high on Sunday with four sacks, most of which came against the third-year pro. Munford recorded three sacks and seven total pressures in Cincy and earned a pass protection grade of 9.9 from Pro Football Focus.

It was supposed to be a breakout 2022 seventh-round pick, but instead it was a complete disaster. He lost his starting spot at right tackle to DJ Glaze and Andrus Peat appears to be ahead of him on the depth chart as Peat was the first tackle to come off the bench, replacing the injured Kolton Miller. To make matters worse, Munford's abysmal performance did nothing to improve his status.

WINNER: Decamerion Richardson

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Rams

Decamerion Richardson
Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images

This was the first game in which Richardson scored in double figures on defense and he managed to hold his own against the Bengals' strong receiving corps. The rookie was targeted twice and did not allow a reception while recording a forced incompletion to earn a solid coverage grade of 67.0, according to PFF.

LOSER: Divine Deablo

In recent weeks, opposing offenses have targeted the Raiders' linebackers in coverage. The Bengals scored nine of 10 targets for 77 yards and three touchdowns against Robert Spillane and Deablo. Both players could have ended up on this week's losers list as Spillane gave up more yards (49) while Deablo had two scores.

What also made the four-year pro's performance worse was an ugly run defense grade of 29.7. He's an impending free agent in the offseason and at this point it's hard to find many reasons why he'll stay in Las Vegas much longer.

WINNER: Jakobi Meyers

Meyers has put together some strong performances in consecutive weeks since returning from injury. This past game was particularly impressive as he recorded nine catches for 105 yards, which was his first triple-digit performance for the Silver and Black and just the fourth of his career.

Who knows what the future holds for the sixth-year pro as he's been the subject of trade rumors lately, but he's played well to either get a good return before Tuesday's deadline or become a building block for the future .

LOSER: Gardner Minshew

To be honest, Minshew didn't play too badly on Sunday. However, he ends up on the losers' list as a botched substitution with DJ Turner added to his turnover total for the season and a three-and-out on the ensuing possession led to another bench change.

As of this writing, Pierce has not yet named a starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, but the fact that Minshew could lose the job to Desmond Ridder only adds to the fact that the year has been miserable for the Week 1 starting quarterback.

WINNER: Jordan Meredith

Meredith continues to be one of the biggest surprises for the Silver and Black this season. In Cincinnati, he shot at both left and right guard and allowed no pressure – he gave up just one on the campaign – and posted a run-blocking rating of 79.1 by PFF. At this rate, Meredith could easily become one of the team's go-to offensive players for the rest of this season, and possibly longer if he continues to play like this.

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