NFL Update: Chris Carson’s Continued Success and Marcell Ateman’s Big Debut

It was an eventful Week 11 in the NFL for several former Pokes. Let’s lead off with a first-year former Cowboys who had made headlines during his first career start.

The Raiders Are 1-0 When They Play Marcell Ateman

Three weeks after being promoted to Oakland’s active roster, rookie wideout Marcell Ateman saw his first NFL action, and he took advantage.

The hapless Raiders, 1-8 and decimated by injuries, finally turned to the former OSU big-catch machine who got the start in Arizona on Sunday and helped his team win just its second game of the year.

Ateman saw the field for 96 percent of Oakland’s offensive plays and a handful on special teams. He caught four of the five balls thrown his way by Derek Carr, including this big fourth quarter catch that helped set up a game-winning field goal. His 50 yards was the most by a Raider in a debut since Louis Murphy in 2009.

The Raiders were already down receivers Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant, the latter of which is expected to miss significant time. Two more WRs went down with injury on Sunday night: Brandon LaFell with an Achilles injury and Dwayne Harris with a chest injury. This should bode well, at least for Ateman and his search for reps. If nothing changes drastically, the rookie should be in line to start on Sunday when the Raiders head to Baltimore to face the Ravens.

This is, uh, something.

Most yards from scrimmage this year by a #Raiders player who was drafted by the team and still on roster:
DeAndre Washington 70
Marcell Ateman 50
Derek Carr 43
Johnny Townsend 42

— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) November 20, 2018

The Raiders now with just two wins in 10 are in some kind of a rebuild. Now that Ateman has shown that the moment is not too big for him, we’ll see if Jon Gruden and Co. look at him as a building block for the future.

Chris Carson, Steady As He Goes

The second-year tailback returned to action in Week 11 after missing a week due a hip injury, and he seems to be running just fine.

Carson picked up 83 yards on 17 carries and his third TD of the year during the Seattle’s 27-24 win over Green Bay, though he did put the ball on the ground for the second time this season (and second since before coming to OSU).

He is putting together a nice sophomore season for the rush-happy Seahawks. His 72.5 yards per game is the highest by a Seattle RB since Marshawn Lynch was earning the “Beast Mode” moniker and ranks him ninth in the league. But his yards-after-contact numbers are even more impressive.

Among the 38 NFL running backs with 80-plus carries this season, Carson ranks seventh in rushing grade at 79.0. He also ranked tied for ninth in forced missed tackles per rush (0.20) and tied for second in yards after contact per rush (3.5) among the same group of backs.

Furthermore, Carson has averaged a whopping 3.4 yards after contact per rush when contacted at or behind the line of scrimmage, which stands as the fourth-highest mark among qualifying backs. He’s also been tackled on first contact on just 60.4 percent of his carries, the second-lowest percentage among NFL backs through Week 11. [Pro Football Focus]

Tre Flowers’ Baptism by Fire Continues

A week after lining up opposite the Rams’ Brandin Cooks, the rookie safety-turned-corner was tasked with the assignment of covering physical deep threat Davante Adams. That did not go well for Flowers.

Last year’s Pro Bowl selection caught 10 of 12 balls masterfully dropped in his hands by Aaron Rodgers and exploded for 166 yards.

Flowers is still feeling his way into the role of a starting cornerback in the NFL, but he has the backing of his head coach, all the physical tools you could wish for and is gaining tons of experience in the rebuilding Seattle secondary.

Due to the early Thursday night game, Flowers was able to witness first-hand the Cowboys’ big upset win over West Virginia on Saturday.

James Washington Trying to Find His Role

Last year’s Biletnikoff winner remains buried in a star-studded receivers group in Pittsburgh. He caught one of three targets from Ben Roethlisberger for 11 yards during the Steelers’ 20-16 win over the Jaguars. That makes just eight total receptions for 77 yards on the year for the rookie.

Washington is fourth among Pittsburgh wide receivers in targets and catches through 10 games but has started the last two. He’s behind only Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster in snap counts among WRs, appearing in 52 percent of offensive plays.

But with the heavy usage of tight ends Jesse James and Vance McDonald as well as running back James Conner in the passing game, there just aren’t that many catches to go around in the Steel City.

Not so bold prediction: Marcell Ateman finishes with better numbers than Washington after Year 1.

Dan Bailey’s “Perfect Storm”

The Star Tribune ran a great feature on the former OSU kicker and former most accurate kicker in NFL history. It’s worth a read but I thought what Bailey said about having the same snapper and holder for the majority of his time in Dallas was interesting. He credited that continuity with the majority of his success.

“It was cool getting to No. 1 in field goal accuracy,” Bailey said. “But working with the same two guys pretty much the whole time in Dallas had as much to do with that as anything I was doing.” [Star Tribune]

Bailey knocked in both of his field goal attempts during the Vikings’ 25-20 loss to the Bears.

One-Liners

• Blake Jarwin saw the field for just three snaps on offense and was not targeted during the Cowboys’ 22-19 win over the Falcons.

• A week after starting in place of injured A.J. Bouye, Tyler Patmon saw only 11 snaps on special teams during the Jaguars’ 20-16 loss the Steelers.