The Las Vegas Raiders had quite a Week 1. They were circling down the drain as early as the first half of their Monday night game against the Baltimore Ravens at home, as they were down 10-0 at the end of the first two quarters. But somehow, Derek Carr and company found their groove in the second half, forced overtime, and scored a wild 33-27 win, thanks in large part to tight end Darren Waller, who was also celebrating his 29th birthday while destroying defenders downfield.

Going forward, Waller has at least two things to think about whenever September 13 comes around. One is that it's his birthday, and the other is his performance against the Ravens. Waller exploded to 105 receiving yards and a touchdown on 10 catches and 19 targets in that contest. He was all Carr could see in the early goings of the contest, especially. Out of Carr's first 10 passes, seven went Waller's way.

Waller only caught just one of those targets, but that did not stop Carr from feeding him the ball not because it was his teammate's birthday, but because that's just how dependable the tight end is to the eyes of the Raiders. The team will ride and die with one of the best players in his position in the NFL today and it would be a betrayal of their confidence in Waller if they suddenly stop looking for him in passing plays.

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Via Adam Hill of the Los Vegas Review Journal:

Jon Gruden on Darren Waller getting 19 targets tonight: “We threw it 60 times. If you throw 60 times, you'd probably target him 29. He’s the best player I’ve ever coached, so i’m going to continue to look for him.”

When people talk about the best tight ends in the game today, it's almost always a discussion involving just George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. But Waller has also done enough to deserve getting a birthday cake with “World's Greatest Tight End” on it.