Quick Snap: Chris Warren III impressive again in Raiders return to LA Coliseum

Aug 18, 2018 at 04:02 PM

Eddie Paskal

Senior Writer/Editor

It's been almost a quarter century since the Raiders left Los Angeles, but by the time the Silver and Black kicked off their preseason matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, it had become abundantly clear that LA was still a city with Silver and Black coursing through its collective veins.

From the boos reigning down on Sean McVay and Co., when they took the field, to the chorus of cheers that greeted the big plays for the Raiders, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – the home of the USC Trojans – played home to **Jon Gruden** and his squad Saturday afternoon.

And while the end result of Saturday's affair, a four-point, 19-15 loss for the Silver and Black, wasn't what the collective was hoping for, nevertheless, the fourth quarter of Saturday's game felt like anything but a preseason game.

While Saturday's preseason bout may have taken place next door to LAFC's new home, the Banc of California Stadium, there was no mistaking what we saw on the field for "the beautiful game," but hey, this is the preseason for everyone.

With **Derek Carr** and more than a dozen offensive players enjoying an afternoon off, **Connor Cook** got the first chance to run the Raiders' offense, and after an outstanding start to the preseason last week at home, No. 18 just couldn't get it rolling in Southern California.

When he ceded the quarterbacking duties to Manuel early in the second quarter, Cook had completed four of seven passes for just 17 yards.

Enter Manuel, who to be fair, didn't light the world on fire either, throwing for under 100 yards in his time on the field.

The pair split the quarterbacking duties for the duration of the afternoon, totaling just under 150 yards combined when all was said and done.

Defensively, while a handful of Raiders did enjoy active afternoons – **Rashaan Melvin** and **Shareece Wright** come to mind – the Silver and Black had a hard time limiting the Rams offense, giving up just a little too much for the offense to come back from.

However, if you're looking for a positive takeaway from the Raiders' return to the Los Angeles Coliseum, once again, look no further than the play of rookie running back **Chris Warren III**.

After averaging nearly seven yards a pop in his professional debut last week, the former Texas Longhorn built on that performance, eclipsing the 100-yard mark, and becoming the first Raider since Bo Jackson to score a touchdown at the LA Coliseum wearing No. 34.

While the Raiders running back room is admittedly quite crowded at the moment, Warren has no doubt given the team's coaching staff a lot to think about over the next two weeks.

Now, is going on the road and losing ever ideal? Nope, but let's remember that it's still the preseason, and the fact that these two teams open the regular season against one another in just over three weeks, adds another element to the gamesmanship of Saturday's affair.

So, what's next for the Raiders?

The team will fly back to Oakland this evening, and after breaking camp Thursday, the Silver and Black will once again shift their operations to their Alameda, Calif., training facility this week. They'll play host to the Green Bay Packers in third game of the preseason Friday night at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.