The Las Vegas Raiders struggled on offense Sunday, but WR Tre Tucker was encouraging

The Las Vegas Raiders failed to generate much offense against the Carolina Panthers in a 36-22 loss, falling to 1-2 on the season. They found some solace in second-year receiver Tre Tucker, who had a career-high performance Sunday afternoon.

Tucker led the team with 96 receiving yards on seven receptions, including a touchdown and a 54-yard pass that set up a touchdown early in the first quarter. It was Tucker’s most receptions and receiving yards in a game in 19 games as a Raiders player over the past two seasons.

Late in the game, with the team trailing by 21 points, backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell rushed to the sideline and threw a low pass in the corner of the end zone that was caught by Tucker for an eight-yard touchdown. The first score of the season for both Tucker and O’Connell.

The Akron, Ohio, native was drafted by the Raiders in the third round of the 2023 draft out of the University of Cincinnati and has emerged as an additional offensive piece who can be a reliable target for the offense moving forward.

In 16 games with the Raiders last season, Tucker had 19 receptions for 331 yards and two touchdowns. He caught more than half as many balls as last year (11), more than a third of his total receiving yards (131) and half of his total touchdowns (1).

Other talented players in the passing game didn’t show up Sunday, as tight end Brock Bowers and wideout Davante Adams combined for just seven receptions and 81 receiving yards.

Tucker outplayed both stars single-handedly and certainly gave the Raiders coaching staff more confidence in his game. Expect him to gain more targets in the coming weeks as the wide receiver room continues to expand.

The Raiders will look to bounce back next week at home against the Cleveland Browns at 4:25 p.m. EST on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully Tucker can put together a similar performance with several other offensive threats who are successful through the air.

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