Snap Counts: Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers

Snap counts for every player on the Oakland Raiders in their Week 5 win over the San Diego Chargers, including Offense, Defense and Special Teams.

Thanks to a 34-31 victory that again came down the the wire, the Raiders are off to their best start since 2002.

The win moved the 2016 Oakland Raiders to a 4-1 record and a tie for first place in the AFC West. That sounds pretty good.

Let’s take a look at the snap counts for Week 4, see who played how much, and what we can learn from that information.

We’ll start with the offense.

Note: If viewing on a mobile device or tablet, you may have to use landscape mode to view the entire chart of snap counts.

Oct 9, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts after throwing a touchdown pass against the San Diego Chargers in the third quarter at Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Chargers 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Snap Counts: Offense

Four of the five starting offensive linemen — the exception being Vadal Alexander — played in 99 percent of the snaps on Sunday.

Vadal hurt his ankle and was announced as questionable to return, but ended up appearing in 84 percent of the offensive snaps. Austin Howard filled in for the 11 snaps that Alexander missed.

Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree saw their normal amount of work — roughly 90 percent of the snaps for Cooper, and around 75 percent for Crabtree is typical. The same for Seth Roberts, who usually plays about 70 percent of the time, or a little less.

Thanks to the season-ending injury of Lee Smith as well as Clive Walford missing Week 5, Mychal Rivera saw his most action of the year with 64 percent of the snaps. His previous high was Week 4, when he appeared in 27 percent of the snaps. Rivera was used exclusively as a blocking tight end, and didn’t record a reception, or even a target.

The Raiders also experimented with Denver Kirkland as the Lee Smith replacement, who lined up as the sixth blocker 37 percent of the time. Kirkland had an up and down day, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Raiders go back to him in the future.

With Latavius Murray out, it would be interesting to see the workload split between DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard. Washington ended up with 51 percent of the snaps, and Richard appeared in 32 percent.

Even though it was a difference of 14 snaps (in favor of Washington), Richard only received one less carry, and he caught one more pass than DeAndre. So this means that Washington was trusted as the pass blocker.

Ryan O’Malley, who was recently promoted to the active roster, appeared in just 10 percent of the snaps. With Clive Walford expected to return from injury, it seems unlikely that O’Malley will be active again next week.

Oct 9, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders linebacker Perry Riley Jr. (54) is congratulated by outside linebacker Bruce Irvin (51) after forcing a fumble against the San Diego Chargers in the first quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Snap Counts: Defense

James has become a mainstay for the defense, playing in at least 96 percent of the snaps in every game he has been a starter. He appeared in 98 percent of the defensive snaps on Sunday.

Newcomer Perry Riley made his Raiders debut against San Diego, starting in place of Malcolm Smith. Riley was an x-factor almost immediately, forcing a fumble on Antonio Gates just a few minutes into the game. He also led the team in tackles.

8 of the starting 11 played at least 88 percent of the time, which is typical for this group.

D.J. Hayden continues to see a healthy dose of playing time, and will as long as he continues to play well.

The biggest week-over-week increase in playing time goes to Dan Williams — from 24 percent in Week 4 up to 54 percent on Sunday. The Raiders also were much better against the run, against a potent rushing attack. Hmm.

Jihad Ward saw a week-over-week decrease of 14 percent. Ward has struggled for much of the season, and with Dan Williams and Stacy McGee both playing very well, Ward might see his playing time dwindle even more.

Speaking of McGee, he dominated the Chargers offensive line. In just 44 percent of the snaps, McGee recorded 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss, as well as a forced fumble. He definitely earned an increase in playing time going forward.