The Las Vegas Raiders paid big money to Kwity Paye and Nakobe Dean in free agency, and it paid off against Miami.
The Las Vegas Raiders debuted some important new players in their 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, and edge rusher Kwity Paye and linebacker Nakobe Dean showed they can be a formidable force when paired together.
We didn’t see much of this during the preseason, but the Dolphins got an up-close-and-personal look at it on Sunday. Paye combined with veteran sackmeister Maxx Crosby to get 1.5 sacks each, while Dean showed off his speed while making several heady plays in coverage and as part of the Raiders pass rush.
Start with Paye, who was named Africa Player of the Week by ESPN writer Leonard Solms, as Solms picked out multiple African players from around the NFL in his writeup. Holm noted that Paye also had four quarterback hits as part of his total of six tackles.
His contributions started on the first Dolphins drive, as Paye teamed up with cornerback Taron Johnson to nail running back De’Von Achane behind the line of scrimmage for a loss.
Paye’s first sack came with he and Folorunso Fatusaki -- who is also of Nigerian descent -- combined to bring down Willis. He then joined forces with Crosby in the fourth quarter with an important sack that ensured that the Raiders lead would stay at 14 points.
The edge rusher’s solo sack was icing on the cake, as he did the honors on Willis himself. It was exactly the kind of performance the Raiders werre hoping for from Paye, and it’s why they paid him big money in free agency.
The move was criticized as overpaying an underperforming a player who was more bark then bite, but the Dolphins went home with some serious bite marks after the Raiders unleashed their pass rush in the second half.
Dean, meanwhile, brought a different kind of fury to the proceedings. He co-led the Raiders in tackles with six, which tied him with Paye, Quay Walker and rookie safety Treydan Stukes, who also had an interception. Dean’s sack was a remarkable example of his closing speed as he took down Willis on a scramble, making a play when the quarterback thought he had time to wait for a receiver to come open.
There will be days when it all doesn’t go as well as it did on Sunday, but for one night it was a validation of the Raiders defensive moves, and they played a big part in an important win for a team that’s trying to come back from a 3-14 season.
