Pick Six: Michael Mayer's return against Titans is significant for multiple reasons

Oct 10, 2025 at 04:04 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

Michael Mayer in the driver's seat

Still dealing with a knee injury, Brock Bowers has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans.

While Bowers is down for a second straight game, Michael Mayer will start this Sunday after missing his last two games with a concussion. In the season opener against the Patriots, he had four catches for 38 receiving yards.

"I've been preparing and repping things as if I'm going to be tight end one for this week, so you've got to take advantage of it," Mayer said. "I've got the right mindset right now. I'm ready to go physically, mentally and ready to help this team win."

Mayer's ability to impact the game on offense isn't the only thing the team is looking forward to getting back. The tight end also holds an impactful role on special teams blocking for field goal and punt units. Earlier this week, Pete Carroll alluded to Mayer's absence being pivotal in the team's blocked 54-yarder against the Bears and a blocked punt last Sunday against the Colts.

"We need to get punts off, we need to protect field goals," Carroll said. "We need to do things like that to win ball games as you can see. ... The team needs it, I'm going to be there doing it."

All-Pro punter hopeful for Sunday

AJ Cole returned to practice Friday after missing Wednesday and Thursday with a right ankle injury.

The injury was suffered on a blocked punt by the Colts. Following the injury, Cole returned at the end of first half to hold on a field goal attempt, but punting duties were relegated to Daniel Carlson for the rest of the game.

While Cole has been ruled questionable this week, Pete Carroll said the punter "kicked the ball really well" on Friday and that he's likely to play. In the off chance Cole is down for the count, the Raiders signed former Cincinnati Bengals punter Brad Robbins to the practice squad.

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Stoked for starting cornerback's return to field

Eric Stokes steps back into a big role for the Raiders defense after missing Week 5 with a knee injury.

He's been a full participant in practice since Thursday, preparing to line up against Titans veteran receiver Calvin Ridley.

Ridley, who's amassed 1,000 yards in a season three times in his career, is currently leading Tennessee in targets (34) and receiving yards (272). As No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward continues to settle in the NFL, Ridley has the been the perfect security blanket for the rookie.

"He's one of those guys I would assume that he's a scheme guy in terms of, you try to put him here for a matchup, you try to put him here to stress the defense out," defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said of Ridley. "So, I mean, very talented player with good speed and quickness, and he could beat you just like that, so you got to be mindful of that."

So far this season, Stokes has three pass deflections and has held opposing quarterbacks to 40 percent completion as the nearest defender in coverage.

It's all about the ball against Tennessee

Turnover differential will be a key to victory, or defeat, for the Raiders.

While the Silver and Black lead the Tennessee Titans in a majority of categories in all three phases, the Raiders currently have a -6 turnover differential this season. Their 10 turnovers committed this season are the second-most of any team in the league. The Titans currently have a +1 turnover differential with their eight takeaways ranking within the top 10 across the NFL.

"Taking care of the football is absolutely primary focus. Unfortunately, we're not doing that well enough yet," Carroll said Friday after practice.

"If you're plus one in turnover ratio in a game, you win like 77% of time. OK, so let's get to plus this week," he added. "Let's get to plus next week, and let's see what happens to our football team. You'll see the whole complexion of the games change."

Geno Smith has accounted for 9 out of 10 turnovers on interceptions, with Carroll last week attributing "timing" issues to the substantial amount of picks thrown. As the offense continues to acclimate to Kelly's scheme and pace, these problems could alleviate themselves.

"Every pass play in the NFL or in college or in high school is a timing deal," Kelly said. "You're always trying to match the drop of the quarterback with the protection to the depth of the routes that you're running. There's a timing aspect to all those things. So, it's just the more familiar we get with them. But this is the same guy who was ripping the ball all over place in the Patriots game. So, I'm really excited about Geno, I'm really excited about his future, and I think he's a hell of a quarterback."

Bringing balance

Running the football will continue to be a point of emphasis.

Ashton Jeanty has found much more success in the ground game in the last two weeks, averaging nearly six yards a carry. However, the Raiders have had a consistent issue with abandoning the run game early as the team falls behind throughout the game. While Jeanty is starting to shine out of the backfield, he's had more than 20 rushing attempts in a game only once this season. This week would be a great opportunity to go full throttle on the ground against a Titans defense that has allowed the most rushing touchdowns (10) and second-most rushing yards (734).

"We've got to run the football better, more, and we're going to continue to work at it and see if we can continue to bring it to life," Carroll said. "The running game has looked well in order right now. We needed to get more of them. That's part of it. That's just mixing football."

On the flip side defensively, stopping the run hasn't been as much of an issue. The Silver and Black have limited four of their five opponents to under 100 rushing yards and their 30 tackles for loss are tied for the second-most of any team this season. It's optimistic that this trend will continue against a Titans offense that's averaging 84.6 rushing yards per game.

Head-to-head

Dating back to their AFL rivalry with the Houston Oilers, the Raiders hold a 26-22 edge over the Tennessee Titans organization in regular season matchups.

However, the Raiders are on a two-game slump against the Titans, suffering a 24-22 defeat the last time the two played in Nashville back in 2022. The silver lining of that contest was Maxx Crosby totaling two tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble.

An interesting statistic worth following considering the Titans defeated the Arizona Cardinals last week, Tennessee hasn't won back-to-back games in a season since November 2022.

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Las Vegas Raiders long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer (50) during practice at Intermountain Health Performance Center.