The Las Vegas Raiders have already played a game since their Week 9 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the NFL is just now dishing out punishments from that game.
During the Raiders-Jaguars contest, linebacker Travon Walker was ejected after punching offensive tackle Stone Forsythe in the face. While Walker likely anticipated further consequences, he was fortunate to avoid suspension. The NFL has announced a fine of $12,172 for Walker’s punch. Fortunately for Walker, Forsythe was wearing a helmet during the incident—had he not been, Walker might have faced a harsher penalty.
Walker’s ejection didn’t significantly hurt the Jaguars, as they still managed to defeat the Raiders in overtime. Additionally, linebacker Devin White was fined $6,500 for an unnecessary roughness penalty during the game.
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### Geno Smith Talks Rookie Struggles
The Raiders came just inches away from beating the Jaguars and getting their season back on track but ultimately fell short. In Week 10 against the Denver Broncos, they had another opportunity to turn things around but could only muster seven points, despite the defense holding the Broncos to 10 points.
The Raiders’ rookies had a rough showing, but quarterback Geno Smith stepped up to defend them.
“Everybody’s learning. Rookies, veterans, mistakes happen in the game, but in order to be a good team, you have to play clean,” Smith said after the loss. “I keep saying that every week—you have to play a clean game. You can’t have missed assignments, you can’t have penalties, you can’t have penalties negating big plays, can’t have turnovers. Those are the things that hurt teams. When the Raiders stop beating the Raiders, we’ll go out there, and we can beat anybody in this league, but we have to stop being ourselves first. It seems like that’s been a recurring thing every single week. I know it’s not for a lack of effort, I know it’s not for a lack of guys wanting to do well. I think guys are just learning as we go.”
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### Smith Addresses Brock Bowers’ Lackluster Game
Tight end Brock Bowers finally returned from injury against the Jaguars and lit up their defense by scoring three touchdowns. However, against the Broncos, the Raiders only managed to complete one pass to Bowers—a clear sign that relying on him alone won’t be a recipe for success.
Smith addressed the team’s struggles to get Bowers involved in the offense during the Denver game.
“There’s heavy emphasis on Brock,” Smith explained. “Obviously, when you go out there last week and have three touchdowns and have the performance he had, guys are going to see that on film and do whatever they can to stop him. We still have to find ways to get him the ball. We have to move him around and put him in a position where he can just go 1-on-1, but teams are going to double. They had a plan for him, and other guys had an opportunity to step up, and that’s what they did.”
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/las-vegas-raiders/travon-walker-fine-punch-jaguars-forsythe/
