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Eric Edholm’s takeaways:

1. Antonio Pierce hurt the Raiders’ chances of winning. The Raiders were forced to make another quarterback change after Aidan O’Connell left Sunday’s game with what is believed to be a broken thumb, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. So the Raiders’ QB wheel spun back to Gardner Minshew, who struggled early before rallying late. But even as the game’s pendulum swung back the Raiders’ way, Pierce’s lack of aggression in the final 20 minutes cost his team. They settled for field goals on their first two possessions of the fourth quarter, cutting the Rams’ lead to 20-12, and it looked smart when the Raiders intercepted Matthew Stafford. But after a time-consuming Raiders drive (7:25), Pierce chose to take the field goal rather than go for it on fourth-and-goal from the Los Angeles 9-yard line (after a false start pushed them back) with just under three minutes left. The Raiders still needed a touchdown to win after that, and they had all three timeouts and the two-minute stoppage. Instead down 20-15, Pierce waited way too long to use the timeouts, bleeding valuable clock. They needed to drive 89 yards in 78 seconds, and Minshew threw a late pick — his third of the game — to end it. The Raiders had a chance to win this game, but now they’re 2-5 heading into a tough matchup at Arrowhead Stadium next week. This was one they kind of needed.
2. Defense came up big for the Rams. The Rams’ defense roundly struggled through five games, making only incremental improvements after a bad start. But the post-bye-week difference was much more noticeable, even if it came against a limited Raiders offense. The Rams defense stepped up in key moments, with three interceptions (two by Jaylen McCollough), a strip sack and a recovered fumble for a TD that helped put the Rams in control early. They also forced three field-goal tries in the final 17 minutes with big third-down stops in the red zone. The Rams’ two offensive touchdowns (both by Kyren Williams) each came after interceptions, and their longest offensive drive of the game (51 yards) ended in a missed field goal. Kicker Joshua Karty didn’t help matters with that miss, plus a missed extra point that kept the Raiders in the game and changed the strategy dramatically. The Rams were in a position they hadn’t been in much — with a second-half lead — and it showed. Entering Week 7, they led for only eight minutes in second halves this season, and they struggled to put the Raiders away, scoring only six second-half points. But the defensive showing, even while losing Coby Bryant mid-game, was the best of the Rams’ season and helped them earn their first win in nearly a month. 
3. Brock Bowers is a beast, but he needs help. Bowers caught 10 passes for 93 yards, which gave him the most receptions for any rookie tight end in NFL history through seven games. On a day when the Raiders struggled to sustain drives all game, Bowers was the one truly reliable option. Alexander Mattison ran hard, and Tre Tucker made a few big plays, but Bowers was a monster, converting eight first downs — and he honestly deserved more than 14 targets. With the Raiders trailing, 20-12, in the fourth quarter, Bowers caught passes of 11, 10 and 8 yards, also delivering the lead block as a fullback on Mattison’s key fourth-and-1 conversion. But the Raiders kicked a field goal after Bowers was stopped for no gain on third-and-goal, and they never targeted him on the final drive. They also failed to throw his way on four straight drives between the second and fourth quarters. You can fairly debate whether the Raiders should have been QB buyers in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Bowers is a beast. Can they get him the ball even more? They might have no other choice. 

Next Gen Stats Insight for Raiders-Rams (via NFL Pro): Rams rookie edge rusher Jared Verse generated a career-high nine pressures on 36 pass rushes against the Raiders, tied for the most pressures by a rookie in a game this season. Verse generated four of his pressures on 22 pass-rush matchups against Raiders LT Kolton Miller, who allowed seven total pressures on the day, his most in a game this season.

NFL Research: Rams RB Kyren Williams has run for at least one TD in nine straight games, dating back to last season. That’s tied with Shaun Alexander (2005) and Ezekiel Elliott (2022) for the fourth-longest streak all time behind Priest Holmes (11 straight games, 2002), Jonathan Taylor (11 straight, 2021) and LaDainian Tomlinson (18 straight, 2004-2005).