Author: jhawkes51

Raiders limp into bye week at 1-5 after Week 6 loss in London to Seattle

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Big_Tah47

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — Last week, the Raiders suffered their worst loss in 2018 losing to the Seattle Seahawks 27-3 in London, England in front of 84,922 fans (mainly Seahawks fans) at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon that saw their record fall to 1-5 on the season.

Starting quarterback Derek Carr, who completed 23-of-31 passes for just 142 yards, but was harassed by Seattle all day as the Seahawks sacked Carr six times. Mind you, Oakland’s offensive line was decimated by injuries with guard Kelechi Osemeli (knee) missing the game and two rookies in Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker starting at both tackle positions.

Against Seattle, Oakland’s offense totaled just 185 yards and completed just 33 percent of their third down opportunities (4-of-12). Seattle jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the fourth quarter before undrafted rookie kicker Matt McCrane booted a 43-yard field goal to put Oakland on the board.

Carr lost both forced fumbles by Seattle’s defense, but didn’t throw an interception for the first time this season. Heading into Week 6, Carr threw an NFL-high eight interceptions on the year.

At the bye week, Carr has thrown for 1,783 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 71.7 percent of his passes, which ranks third among all starting quarterbacks.

He did apparently injure his left arm (non-throwing) in the latter stages of the fourth quarter, which will be monitored throughout the bye week.

Running back Marshawn Lynch has rushed for 376 yards on 90 carries with three scores, which leads the Silver and Black.

Tight end Jared Cook who has been Carr’s most trusted receiver this season, leads Oakland in catches (32) and receiving yards (400) to go along with two touchdowns scored. Wide receiver Jordy Nelson leads the team with three touchdown receptions.

Through the team’s first six games of the season, Oakland’s offense ranks 28th in points per game (18.3), 15th in yards per game (373.5), passing yards (281.0) and 24th in rushing yards per games (92.4). Oakland has scored over 20 points in just two games this season (lost 28-20 in Miami in Week 3 and won 45-42 in overtime against Cleveland at home in Week 4).

Seattle’s offense racked up 369 yards of total offense against the Raiders on Sunday. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 222 yards on 17-of-23 passes with three touchdowns and one interception. Wilson led Seattle to two touchdowns on their first three drives of the game, and made it look easy in the process. Oakland’s defense looked confused by Wilson’s playmaking ability, which allowed Seattle to convert 9-of-13 third down attempts (69 percent).

Wide receiver Doug Baldwin led Seattle with six catches and 91 yards, while Wilson threw touchdown passes to Jaron Brown, David Moore and Tyler Lockett.

For the season, Oakland’s defense ranks 28th in points surrendered (29.3), yards (398.5), passing yards (266.7) and 28th in rushing yards (131.8).

Linebacker Tahir Whitehead leads Oakland with 43 total tackles (30 solo and 13 assisted), while fellow linebacker Bruce Irvin has three of the team’s seven sacks.

Oakland has four interceptions as a team, with four players each recording one.

Following the team’s bye week, Oakland will host Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Week 8. Game time has been set for 1:05 pm PT on CBS.

Raiders Three-Point Stance: Three takeaways from Raiders’ ugly 27-3 loss to the Seahawks in London

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Russell Wilson threw three touchdowns and the Seahawks held a depleted Raiders team to just 185 yards of total offense in Seattle’s 27-3 victory on Sunday in front of announced London-record crowd of 84,922 at Wembley Stadium, many being pro-Seahawks as Seattle’s “12th Man” traveled across ‘The Pond’ cheering on their team — even though the Raiders were designated as the home team.

Now at 1-5 and heading into the a much needed bye week, its clear that the Raiders have plenty of work to do.

Check out my three takeways from the Silver and Black’s ugly loss to the Seahawks (3-3) in Week 6:

Oakland’s offense was held together with gum and duct tape
With injuries along the offensive line with guard John Feliciano leaving the game with injured ribs and being already without veteran tackle Donald Penn (on injured reserve with a groin injury) and guard Kelechi Osemele, rookie tackles Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker were devoured by an intense Seattle pass rush for most of the day, which didn’t bode well for Derek Carr.

The Raiders’ franchise signal-caller did complete 23-of-31 passes for just 142 yards, but was under siege the entire game as he was sacked six times. Whenever he dropped back to pass, Carr was almost immediately met by a Seattle defender.

Carr left the game with 8:52 left in the fourth quarter after apparently injuring his left arm on the last of the six sacks by defense tackle Jarran Reed on third down. Carr immediately grabbed his upper left arm after sitting up before being medically evaluated by the training staff.

Even if Carr had time to throw, Carr didn’t have his best wide receiver in the game in Amari Cooper, who was lost for the game after suffering a concussion on a nasty hit from Seahawks strong safety  Bradley McDougald in the second quarter.

Cooper ran a drag route over the middle of the field and attempted to catch a loss pass from Carr, before McDougald led with his shoulder resulting in the hit, that also showed the players made helmet-to-helmet contact was made.

No penalty was called.

Reserve wide receiver Seth Roberts, who replaced Cooper, left the game too with a concussion and didn’t return.

Roberts finished with five catches for 31 yards.

Backup running back Jalen Richard led the team with seven catches (on 8 targets) for 48 yards, largely due to Carr having to get the football out quick and relying on check-downs to running backs.

Early in the game for Oakland, it appeared that the Raiders wanted to get starting running back Marshawn Lynch more involved in the game, touching the football four times on Oakland’s first drive of the game (three runs and one pass), but the former Seahawk only managed one yard.

Lynch finished the game with 17 touches for 59 yards of total offense (13 carries for 45 yards and 3 catches for 14 yards) against his former team. Oakland only managed just 79 yards rushing in the game.

Oakland’s offense lacked fluidity and explosion in mustering just three points on Sunday. In the last two games, the Raiders have scored just 13 points combined after rolling up 45 points against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4.

Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense made life difficult for Raiders’ defense
The former Super Bowl MVP engineered a 14-play, 82-yard drive that culminated in a 5-yard touchdown thrown from Wilson to wide receiver Jaron Brown that staked Seattle to a 7-0 lead on the Seahawks’ first drive of the game in the first quarter.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was the first time that the Seahawks scored on their first offensive possession in a game since Week 3 of the 2016 season against the San Francisco 49ers, spanning 34 games. It was the NFL’s longest scoring drought for any team without a scoring touchdown on its opening possession.

Wilson completed 17-of-23 passes for 222 yards with three touchdowns and one interception to Raiders’ cornerback Daryl Worley after trying to force a pass to wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who was double-covered.

On top of his touchdown throw to Brown, Wilson  threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver David Moore in the second quarter, and a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyler Lockett that gave Seattle a commanding 27-0 lead in the fourth quarter.

Seattle was nearly flawless on third down, converting 9-of-13 opportunities. By the same measure, the Raiders only converted 4-of-12 third downs.

Running back Chris Carson rushed for 59 yards on 14 carries for Seattle, while rookie running back Rashaad Penny added 43 yards for Seattle who racked up 369 yards of total offense on the day. Seattle held the edge in time of possession, holding onto to the football for 31:26 to Oakland’s 28:34.

If it weren’t for head-scratching penalties by Seattle (8 for 64 yards) to Oakland’s (5 for 38 yards), the Seahawks could’ve really embarrassed Oakland in the United Kingdom.

Rookie Arden Key recorded his first-career sack in the game and linebacker Tahir Whitehead led the Raiders in tackles with six total (4 solo).

Key along with linebacker Bruce Irvin seems to be taking the loss, well per their comments to the media postgame.

“We lost, but I got a beautiful wife I get to go home to… I’m going to try to make some babies man,” Irvin said to reporters after the game.

“I mean, we came in and we got our ass whooped,” Key said. “Like there’s no way around it. We got our ass whooped from the first whistle to the last whistle.  So we just gotta remember that and come out fire next week and continue to come out with fire.”

Sebastian Janikowski scores nine points against former team
Janikowski, who joined the Seahawks in the offseason after 17 years with the Raiders, did his part in defeating his former team Sunday, knocking down both of his field goals — from 44 and 26 yards — and all three of his extra points.

UP NEXT

Seattle faces the Detroit Lions on Oct. 28 on the road after a bye week, while the Raiders will host the visiting Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 28, also after a bye week.

 

The Raider preview: Raiders head to London for Week 6 matchup against the Seahawks at Wembley Stadium

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders are off to London to play in their third-straight international game, this time against the Seattle Seahawks. Sunday’s game from Wembley Stadium will mark the 53rd meeting between the two franchises, with Oakland leading the series 28-24 all-time. This will be Oakland’s fourth game in five weeks on the road.

This is the second time that two teams face each other in 2018, as the Raiders defeated the Seahawks 30-19 in Seattle to close out the preseason schedule.

Kickoff is set for 10:00 a.m. PT. So breakfast with football is always nice.

Last week, the Raiders (1-4) fell to AFC West division-rival, the Los Angeles Chargers, 26-10 at StubHub Center in Carson in what sounded like the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum with many members of Raider Nation making up the  attendance.

Starting quarterback Derek Carr completed 24-of-33 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown and one interception as the Chargers’ defense held Oakland to just 289 yards of total offense. Through five games this season, Carr has thrown a league-leading eight interceptions, three coming inside the red zone and two into the end zone.

Coming into the Week 5 meeting with Los Angeles, the Raiders were averaging 411.8 yards of total offense per game ranking second in the NFL.

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson caught his team-leading third receiving touchdown of the year, a 1-yard score from Carr in the fourth quarter with the Raiders trailing 26-3. Since 2016, Nelson leads the NFL with 19 receiving touchdowns inside the red zone according to ESPN Stats and Information research.

After rushing for 130 yards on 20 carries against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4, Marshawn Lynch was quiet against the Chargers carrying the ball just nine times for 31 yards. Lynch will look to get back on track in London against his former team in Seattle, whose defense ranks 29th against the run surrendering 129 yards on the ground per game.

Defensively, Bruce Irvin recorded his team-leading third sack of the season, while linebacker Tahir Whitehead paced the Raiders with nine tackles for the second-straight game. It was the fourth time this season that Whitehead has led the team in tackles in a game.

Whitehead leads the Raiders with 37 combined tackles (26 solo and 11 assisted) this season.

The Seahawks (2-3) lost a close game to NFC West division-rival the Los Angeles Rams, 33-31 last week at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Seahawks starting quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-21 passing. In five games this season, the former Super Bowl MVP has thrown for 1,086 yards, with 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions.

Running back Chris Carson tallied his second 100-yard rushing game in the last three weeks, carrying the ball 19 times for 116 yards against a talented Rams defensive front highlighted by reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh.

With veteran wide receiver Doug Baldwin slowed by a knee injury this season, Tyler Lockett has become Wilson’s top target in Seattle’s areal attack. Lockett had just three catches against the Rams, but finished with a team-high 98 yards receiving and one touchdown, a 39-yard strike from Wilson in the second quarter.

On the season, the fourth-year wideout from Kansas State leads the Seahawks in catches (20), targets (28), receiving yards (347), and touchdowns (4). His 17.4 yards per catch is second on the team behind rookie tight end Will Dissly, who is on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Oakland’s much maligned secondary must account for Lockett, who can blow by defenses in the open field with his speed.

With longtime safety Earl Thomas on injured reserve after breaking his leg two weeks ago in a Seahawks’ win at Arizona, the vaunted Seahawks defense that we’ve all come to know over the last few seasons is unrecognizable. Before the injury, Thomas was playing at a high-level, leading the Seahawks with three interceptions.

In the offseason, the team parted ways with lockdown cornerback Richard Sherman and terrorizing defensive end Michael Bennett. They saw the enforcer of the defense, strong safety Kam Chancellor and defensive end Cliff Avril retire due to neck injuries just to name a few.

Seattle still has middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, who is smart football player that can cover field, sideline-to-sideline, but strong safety Bradley McDougald has quickly become Seattle’s top defender.

Now in his sixth season in the NFL and second season in the Emerald City after spending the previous four seasons between Kansas City and Tampa Bay, the 6’1″, 215-pound McDougald isn’t the menacing presence that the 6’3, 225-pound Chancellor is, but he packs quite a punch. McDougald leads the Seahawks with 32 combined tackles (29 solo and 3 assisted) to go with two interceptions.

After Sunday’s game, both teams will be head on their bye weeks for Week 7. When the teams return in Week 8, the Raiders will host the Indianapolis Colts at 1:05 pm PT, while Seattle heads out on the road to take on the Detroit Lions at 10:00 am PT.

Raiders three-point stance: Three takeaways from Raiders’ loss to Chargers in SoCal

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

CARSON, Calif — One week after exploding for 45 points to earn their first win of the season over the visiting Cleveland Browns, the Raiders struggled to find any offensive continuity Sunday losing to the Los Angeles Chargers 26-10.

Here are my takeaways from the Raiders (1-4) loss to their AFC West rival the Chargers (3-2):

Derek Carr and the offense didn’t show up
For an offense that ranks second in the NFL in total yardage coming into Week 5 averaging 441.8 yards per game, the Chargers’ defense held Oakland to 289 yards total for the game. The Silver and Black were pedestrian on third down, converting just 4-of-11 and were just 1-of-3 in the red zone.

Carr, who threw for 437 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions last week, took a step back against Los Angeles, completing 24-of-33 passes for  268 yards one touchdown. But it was the kiss-of-death interception in the end zone that Carr threw in the third quarter with Oakland trailing 20-3 that really stung Oakland.

After Chargers safety Derwin James was called for defensive pass interference in the end zone while defending Raiders tight end Jared Cook, setting up Oakland with first-and-goal at the Chargers’ 1-yard-line, Carr didn’t see Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram drop back into the end zone and threw the ball right to him.

It was Carr’s league-leading eighth interception of the year, one of two turnovers for Oakland on the day.  Carr was also sacked three times.

Running back Marshawn Lynch, who at the age of 32 (when running backs are expected to be passed their primes) should be carrying the football 20 times a game, had just nine carries for 31 yards after his 20-carry, 130-yard rushing performance last week.

Inexcusable.

Amari Cooper is a week-to-week wide receiver
I’ve noticed a glowing pattern in Amari Cooper’s games this season that is alarming. Whenever Cooper has a tremendous game one week, the very next week he follows it up with a dud:

  • Week 1 against the Rams: 1 catch for 9 yards 3 targets.
  • Week 2 against the Broncos: 10 catches for 116 yards on 16 targets.
  • Week 3 against the Dolphins: 2 catches for 17 yards on 5 targets.
  • Week 4 against the Browns: 8 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown on 12 targets.

Can you guess what he did against the Chargers today? 1 catch for 10 yards on one target.

There’s no question that Cooper has special talent with game-changing ability, but what gives? How can anyone say that Cooper is a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL if he has the knack for missing in games?

Backup running back Jalen Richard led Oakland with six catches for

But good news for Raider Nation heading into Week 6.

Next week, Cooper should have a big day against the Seattle Seahawks when the Raiders travel to London for a “home” game.

Philip Rivers and the Chargers’ offense sliced up the Raiders’ defense
Rivers carved up the Raiders on Sunday, throwing for 339 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions on 22-of-27 passing. The 15-year veteran from North Carolina State was sacked just once by Raiders linebacker Bruce Irvin, but had time to find his receivers for most of the game.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen was the main beneficiary of Rivers’ passes, hauling in eight passes (on 9 targets) for 90 yards. Backup rookie running back Austin Ekeler (44-yard touchdown) and backup tight end Virgil Green (13-yard touchdown), caught both of Rivers’ touchdowns.

Rivers has now thrown 43 touchdowns against the Silver and Black, the most Rivers has thrown against one team.

Starting running back Melvin Gordon was all over the field Sunday rushing and catching the football for Los Angeles. Gordon finished with 120 all-purpose yards against Oakland (19 carries for 58 yards and one touchdown; 4 catches for 62 yards on 4 targets).

Los Angeles piled up 412 total yards offensively on Oakland and controlled the time of possession, holding onto the football for 34:40 minutes to the Raiders’ 25:20.

Linebacker Tahir Whitehead had a game-high nine tackles (6 solo) for Oakland.

Raiders head to Southern California for AFC West matchup with Chargers

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders hit the road again, their third road game in the last four weeks, when they travel to StubHub Center to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in a classic AFC West battle. Kickoff for this Week 5 matchup is set for this Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1:05 p.m. PT.

Los Angeles owns a two-game winning streak over Oakland however, the Raiders own a 62-52-1 record over the Bolts. In their previous meeting last season, the Chargers took down the Silver and Black 30-10 in Los Angeles.

The Raiders (1-3) finally got into the win column last week, defeating the visiting Cleveland Browns in thrilling fashion 45-42 in overtime. With Oakland trailing 42-34 with 1:28 left in the game and with no timeouts, Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr engineered a 6-play, 53-yard drive in 58 seconds that culminated in a 7-yard touchdown throw to tight end Jared Cook. It was Cook’s second score of the game. Carr would hit wide receiver Jordy Nelson for the 2-point conversion that would tie the game up at 42-42 heading into overtime.

On the final possession of overtime, Carr orchestrated an 11-play, 70-yard drive where he completed passes to four different receivers to setup undrafted rookie kicker Matt McCrane’s game-winning 29-yard field goal. It was Carr’s 14th game-winning drive in the fourth quarter and overtime, second-most in the NFL since Carr’s rookie season in 2014.

Carr finished the game completing 35-of-58 passes for 437 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions as the Raiders recorded 565 yards of total offense against the Browns (1-2-1), the most by any team this season.

Through four games, Carr has thrown six touchdowns and is third in the NFL in completion percentage (71.0) and fourth in passing yards (1,373), but has thrown seven interceptions, the most by any starting quarterback this season.

Against Cleveland, Oakland registered a 400-yard passer in Carr, a 100-yard rusher in running back Marshawn Lynch (who finished with 20 carries for 130 yards), and two-100 yard receivers in wide receiver Amari Cooper (8 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown) and the aforementioned Cook (8 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns). It was the first time since 1964 that the Raiders achieved that milestone.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Raiders are the first team since the 2013 Denver Broncos to achieve the same milestone in a game.

Along with Minnesota and Tampa Bay, the Raiders have recorded a 100-yard receiver in four straight weeks this season, the only teams to do so in the NFL, according to NFL metrics.

Oakland is averaging 24.2 points per game, which ranks 13th in the NFL, but the Raiders rank second in total yards (441.8) and fourth in passing yards (333) per game.

Defensively, the Raiders forced four turnovers off Browns’ rookie quarterback, Baker Mayfield who made his first career start against the Silver and Black. Mayfield fumbled twice (losing both and recovered by defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins) and intercepted twice, one being returned 36 yards for the game’s first touchdown by second-year cornerback Gareon Conley in the first quarter.

Veteran linebacker Bruce Irvin and rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst each recorded a sack for Oakland, who will need to apply pressure to Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers. The Raiders rank 27th in total defense, but 31st in points surrendered per game (30.8).

Now in his 15th season, Rivers is off to a hot start for the Chargers and doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

Through four games, Rivers has passed for 1,156 yards with 11 touchdowns to just two interceptions while sporting a blistering 110.8 passer rating this season.

Rivers and the Chargers (2-2) picked up their second win of the season, defeating the San Francisco 49ers by a slim score of 29-27 last Sunday at StubHub Center. Rivers completed 25-of-39 passes for 250 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

In his career against the Raiders, Rivers owns a 16-8 record. Rivers has thrown for 6,055 yards, 41 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in 24 games against the Silver and Black. The 41 touchdowns against Oakland are tied with the Denver Broncos for the most touchdown passes against one team for Rivers.

Running back Melvin Gordon had a productive day against San Francisco, rushing for 104 yards on 14 carries. Gordon also hauled in seven catches (tied for the game-high with wide receiver Keenan Allen) for 55 yards and one touchdown.

Gordon can do it all for the Chargers both as a runner and pass-catcher out of the backfield. In fact, Gordon is tied with Allen for the team lead in catches (24) and tied with wide receiver Mike Williams for the team lead in touchdown catches with three through four games.

The fourth-year running back from Wisconsin is the team’s leading rusher with 54 carries for 276 yards and two touchdowns.

Allen leads the team with 282 receiving yards this season.

In the past, the Chargers’ defense were headlined by defensive ends Melvin Ingram and Joey, but rookie safety Derwin James has become a force for Los Angeles this season.

The 6’2″, 215-pound James leads the team with 20 tackles, one interception and has recorded three of the Chargers’ eight sacks this season. The Chargers have been thrilled with the Florida State product the they selected him 17th overall in April’s draft.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will travel to London, England for a “home” game against the Seattle Seahawks at Wembley Stadium in Week 6, the third straight season the Raiders will play in the United Kingdom.

The Chargers head to Cleveland to take on the Browns on Sunday, October 14 at 10:00 a.m. PT.

Raiders three-point stance: Three takeaways from Raiders’ OT win over Browns

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @theorganicfrost

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif — The Raiders can finally breathe a little bit after picking up win No. 1, defeating the visiting Cleveland Browns 45-42 in overtime in front of an announced crowd of 53,387 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sunday.

It was a roller-coaster fourth quarter for the Silver and Black, who held a six-point lead with 10 minutes to go, but managed to let it slip away.

Cleveland scored two unanswered touchdowns, but the Raiders (1-3) managed to tie the game with 30 seconds remaining and force overtime where they won the game behind rookie kicker Matt McCrane’s 29-yard field goal.

McCrane missed a 50-yard field goal attempt on the Raiders’ first possession of overtime, but Oakland’s defense forced the Browns to punt and quarterback Derek Carr drove the Raiders into position to kick the eventual game-winning field goal.

Here are my three takeaways from the Raiders’ win over the Browns:

Derek Carr needs to tame the turnovers
Sure, Carr completed 35-of-58 passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions. In the four games he’s played this season, Carr has thrown two or more interceptions in three of them.

No other quarterback in the league has more interceptions than Carr, who leads the NFL with seven interceptions. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Carr has thrown four of those interceptions on first down.

I get it, Carr is going to take chances to make the big-play, but not every throw needs to be risky. The pair of interceptions that Carr threw today put the Raiders in tough spots.

With Oakland trailing 17-14 and looking for points late in the first-half, Carr tried to hit tight end Jared Cook that would’ve set Oakland up in field goal range, but the ball bounced of Cook’s hands and landed in Browns cornerback E.J. Gaines’s hands that thwarted any scoring chances for the Silver and Black.

Carr’s second interception came on Oakland’s first possession in the third quarter. Oakland was driving before Carr lofted a pass down the left sideline into double-coverage that was intended for wide receiver Martavis Bryant that would be picked off by cornerback Damarious Randall. Randall would return the interception 50 yards to set up Cleveland for an easy score.

Three plays later, Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield found wide receiver Jarvis Landry for a two-yard score that gave Cleveland a 14-point lead.

Marshawn Lynch should be averaging 20 carries a game
With the NFL turning into a passing league with teams opting for multiple wide receiver formations, it was good to see a running back get 20 carries in a football game.

In the midst of Carr throwing the football 58 times, running back Marshawn Lynch rushed for 130 yards on 20 carries, his most productive game in four years. Lynch’s 52-yard blast down the Browns’ sideline late in the third quarter was vintage ‘Beast Mode’ as he alluded a bevy of Cleveland defenders before being brought down.

The run would setup a 29-yard field goal by Matt McCrane that cut Cleveland’s lead 28-24.

With each game, Lynch’s carries and workload has increased:

  • 11 carries for 41 yards and one touchdown in 33-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at home in Week 1.
  • 18 carries for 65 yards and one touchdown in 20-19 loss to the Broncos in Denver in Week 2.
  • 19 carries for 64 yards and one touchdown in 28-20 loss to the Dolphins in Miami in Week 3.
  • 20 carries for 130 yards in 45-42 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 4.

The Raiders need to give the ball to Lynch more as life for Carr will become that much easier. Simply put, feed the beast.

Oakland’s defense deserves a gold star for its efforts
The Raiders have been racked over the hot coals for the trading of premiere pass rusher in defensive end Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears a week before the start of the regular season, and rightfully so, but the effort and energy the unit played with today has to be recognized.

In the first three games, Oakland’s defense forced just one turnover before recording three on Sunday which kept the Raiders close throughout the game.

Second-year cornerback Gareon Conley delivered the game’s first score, by intercepting a Baker Mayfield pass that bounced off the hands of wide receiver Antonio Callaway and into Conley’s who returned the pass 36 yards for the touchdown.

Oakland forced a pair of second-half fumbles that set up the Raiders for scoring opportunities that kept the game tight. The Raiders did yield 487 yards of total offense to the Browns, including two long touchdowns, but did manage to force four turnovers (two force fumbles and two interceptions) off Mayfield.

Mayfield finished 21-of-41 for 295 yards and two touchdowns in his first-career start.

Linebacker Bruce Irvin and rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst each recorded a sack for Oakland.

Up next for Oakland: A trip to Los Angeles to take on AFC West rival the Chargers in Week 5, before flying over to London for a Week 6 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

Winless Raiders to host Baker Mayfield and the Browns in Week 4

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — With the first quarter of the season drawing to a close, the Oakland Raiders are in dire need of their first win…and they hope it’ll be versus the Cleveland Browns.

After playing two of their first three games of the season on the road, the Raiders return home to play two of their next three games beginning this Sunday when they will host the Browns and rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum.

Week 4’s matchup will mark only the second time since the Browns have traveled to the Black Hole and their most recent game, in 2015 at Cleveland, the Raiders defeated the Browns 27-20 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. PT. The Browns are 12-10 all-time versus the Raiders in the regular season.

Last week, Oakland (0-3) lost to the first-place AFC East Miami Dolphins 28-20 in South Florida. Wide receiver Jordy Nelson had the biggest day for the Raiders, hauling in six catches for 173 yards (28.8 yards per catch) and a touchdown. In his last two meeting with the Dolphins, Nelson has destroyed Miami catching 15 passes for 280 yards (18.8 yards per catch) and two touchdowns.

Nelson became just the third Raider pass-catcher this season to top 100 yards in a game, joining tight end Jared Cook (180 yards against the Rams in Week 1), and fellow wide receiver Amari Cooper (116 yards against AFC West rival Denver in Week 2), making Oakland one of two teams to accomplish the feat.

Quarterback Derek Carr threw for 345 yards on 27-of-39 attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions. It was Carr’s second 300-yard passing day of the season (Carr threw for 303 yards against the Rams in Week 1). Through the first three games of the season, Carr is sixth in the NFL in passing yards per game (302) and second in completion percentage (76.6).

Oakland held a 17-7 lead midway through the third quarter before the Dolphins scored 21 unanswered points in the second-half to overtake the Raiders. Before kicker Mike Nugent booted a 52-yard field goal, the Raiders didn’t score a single point in the fourth quarter in their previous two games.

Speaking of Nugent, the Raiders placed Nugent on injured reserve with a hip injury and signed kicker Matt McCrane. McCrane is in his first year in the NFL after signing as an undrafted free agent with Arizona at the conclusion of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Strangely, the Raiders have led after three quarters in each of their previous three games but have yet to notch a win this season.

The Browns (1-1-1) are coming off 21-17 victory over the New York Jets in Cleveland on Thursday Night Football. Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson is just 2-32-1 as he enters his third season at the helm. Jackson, who spent 2010 as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach in 2011 where he led the club to an 8-8 finish, but wasn’t retained as the team hired Dennis Allen heading into the 2012 season.

Allen finished 8-28 in his two-plus seasons in Oakland before being fired four games into the 2014 season as the team got off to a 1-10 start.

For Cleveland, quarterback Baker Mayfield will make his first-career NFL start when he leads the Browns into the Black Hole. Mayfield was selected first overall by the Browns in this year’s NFL Draft, but the Browns opted to start the season with Taylor under center and wanted Mayfield to watch and learn.

With Cleveland trailing 14-3 shortly before halftime, the rookie replaced veteran Tyrod Taylor, who was already playing poorly completing just 4-of-14 passes for 19 yards, when Taylor suffered his third concussion in the past 13 months.

In the second half, Mayfield energize that team and the home crowd, helping the Browns outscore the Jets 18-3. Mayfield threw for 201 yards on 17-of-23 attempts and even caught a two-point conversion from wide receiver Jarvis Landry that tied the game 14-14 in the third quarter.

Landry caught a game-high eight catches for 103 yards against the Jets, and leads the Browns with 20 catches for 278 yards. Rookie wide receiver Antonio Callaway has the Browns’ lone touchdown catch this season.

Running back Carlos Hyde rushed for 98 yards on 22 attempts and scored two touchdowns last week and given the Raiders inability to stop the run, (Oakland surrenders 116.3 yards on the ground per game, which ranks 22nd in the NFL), there could be some opportunities for Hyde to have another big game.

Defensively, Cleveland has some good, young players on that side of the ball that new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams can mold into a formidable group.

Second-year defensive end Myles Garrett has become one of the more feared pass rushers in the NFL. Garrett’s four sacks this season are tied for the most in the NFL with New Orleans defensive end Cameron Jordan, Chicago defensive end Khalil Mack (sorry Raider Nation), and Von Miller.

Garrett also has two forced fumbles.

Fellow defensive lineman in second-year defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi is quickly making a name for himself too, pacing second on the Browns with three sacks.

Rookie cornerback Denzel Ward, who the Browns selected fourth in the same draft as Mayfield, has played great for Cleveland so far this season. In his first pro game, Ward intercepted Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger twice.

Ward leads the team with two interceptions and along with fellow cornerback Terrance Mitchell, has solidified Cleveland’s pass defense.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders heads south to Los Angeles for a tough matchup in the AFC West against the Chargers in Week 5 before flying to London to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6, while Cleveland will head home to prepare for back-to-back visits from AFC North rival the Baltimore Ravens and Chargers.

Raiders will head to Miami for Week 3 tilt with Dolphins

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: nj.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif — If one road game wasn’t enough, how about a double-dip?

The Raiders are hitting the road once again this time, they are heading to South Beach where they will take on a surprisingly undefeated Dolphins team in a key Week 3 matchup for Oakland this Sunday.

Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. ET, which means 10:00 a.m. PT for West Coasters.

Last season, the two teams faced each other in Week 9 with the Raiders defeating the Dolphins, 27-24, behind a three-yard touchdown run by running back Marshawn Lynch late in the fourth quarter.

Oakland (0-2) lost a heart-breaker last week in Denver, 20-19, wasting an awesome performance by starting quarterback Derek Carr.

Carr was sharp all game, completing 29-of-32 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown. He’s the only quarterback in NFL history to complete 90 percent of his passes with more than 30 attempts, per ESPN. It was nice to see Carr bounce back from an ugly game in Week 1, where he threw three interceptions in Oakland’s 33-13 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Rams.

Out of those 29 completions, 10 were to wide receiver Amari Cooper, who also rebounded from a bad first game of the season where he posted just one catch for nine yards on three targets.

Against the Broncos, Cooper was targeted 10 times (catching each one) for 116 yards. It was a welcoming sign for Oakland, albeit in a loss.

Oakland held a 19-7 lead into the third quarter before the Broncos rallied with 13 unanswered points, including kicker Brandon McManus’s game-winning 36-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the game.

Without stud defensive end/outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who was traded to Chicago prior to the start of the regular season because the Silver and Black were hesitant to reward Mack with a new contract extension, Oakland’s defense has been a no show through the first two games of the season.

The Raiders have had a tough time generating any kind of pass rush this season. Only linebacker Bruce Irvin and rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst have recorded a quarterback sack, but that could change against Miami. Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been sacked five times this season, which ranks 13th in the NFL. Tannehill has also been hit nine times in the pocket.

Miami (2-0) defeated the Jets, 20-12, in New York at MetLife Stadium behind Tannehill and the NFL’s fourth-ranked scoring defense.

Tannehill completed 17-of-23 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Dolphins a 20-0 lead before halftime. Through two games this season, Tannehill has completed 31-of-57 passes for 398 yards with four touchdowns, two interceptions and a 104.9 passer rating.

Running back Kenyan Drake had 11 carries for 53 yards and one touchdown against the Jets. Drake leads the Dolphins with 25 carries for 101 yards this season.

Backup running back Frank Gore finished with just nine carries for 25 yards, but those yards were all he needed to pass Hall of Famer Curtis Martin (14,101) for fourth place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 14,103 yards. Gore, who is in his 14th season, signed a 1-year deal with his hometown Dolphins in the offseason.

Electric wide receiver Jarvis Landry was traded to Cleveland in the offseason, leaving the Dolphins with question marks at the position. Holdover Kenny Stills leads the Dolphins in receiving yards (123) and touchdowns (2) through two games, while free agent addition Danny Amendola leads the team in catches (8).

Amendola, who won two Super Bowl rings in four seasons with the New England Patriots, signed with the Dolphins this past offseason to give Tannehill another reliable target.

Middle linebacker Kiko Alonso and safety Reshad Jones are two of Miami’s prime defenders that Oakland must be aware at all times.

Jones is arguably the Dolphins most reliable playmaker, as he leads Miami with two interceptions this season. Last season, Jones led Miami in tackles with 122.

The two-time Pro Bowler will likely be following Raiders tight end Jared Cook, who has been explosive the first two weeks of the season. In 2017, Cook led all Raiders receivers with 688 yards and this season, he leads Oakland with 229 yards, which includes his franchise record-setting 180-yard performance in Week 1.

After posting back-to-back seasons of 115 tackles, Alonso is a major focal point for the Dolphins defense. Last week against the Jets, Alonso recorded a 13 tackles and two forced fumbles, coming up huge for Miami many times in that contest.

Sunday’s game in Miami is a must-win for Oakland. There’s no way to sugarcoat it.

Falling to 0-3 with a loss before coming home to take on a puzzling Cleveland Browns team in Week 4 at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum would be catastrophic.

Raiders travel to Denver looking to bounce back after home loss

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — After a very poor showing at home against the Los Angeles Rams, the Raiders travel to Denver to take on the Broncos in an AFC West matchup Sunday at 1:25 p.m. PT. The two teams will meet each other later this year on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on Christmas Eve in Oakland.

Last season, the two teams split their two-game series winning on their home turf.

The Raiders (0-1) fell flat on their faces to the Rams 33-13 in front of a sold out Raider Nation crowd of 53,857 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on ESPN’s Monday Night Football to closeout Week 1. Oakland held a 13-10 lead at halftime in head coach Jon Gruden’s return to the sidelines after a nine-year hiatus, before the wheels fell off for the Silver and Black in the second half as the Rams scored 23 unanswered points to claim the victory.

In the battle of franchise quarterbacks, Rams signal-caller Jared Goff clearly outplayed Derek Carr in front of a nationally televised audience. Both quarterbacks played a handful of snaps in the preseason and there was bound to be some rust in the first game.

For Goff, he completed 18 of 33 passes for 233 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions picking up right where he left off engineering the NFL’s top scoring offense from a season ago. The Rams averaged 29.9 points per game last year.

Oakland’s defense couldn’t generate a consistent pass rush against Goff, only sacking him once in the game by Bruce Irvin.

Neither could they stop last year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley. The Rams running back looked in midseason form, carrying the ball 20 times for 108 yards. Gurley also hauled in three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.

After a hot start to the game where he completed 20 of 24 passes for 199 yards, Carr played pedestrian finishing 29 of 40 for 303 yards and three interceptions. Carr did have good chemistry with tight end Jared Cook, who caught a game-high nine balls or a league-high 180 yards.

Seven of Cook’s catches went for first downs, which tied for the most in Week 1.

Cook’s 45-yard catch-and-run down the middle of the field in the first quarter on the Raiders’ opening drive did set up Oakland’s first touchdown of the season, a 10-yard powerful run by running back Marshawn Lynch that gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead, but those were the only real highlights for the Raiders offensively as Oakland settled for two Mike Nugent field goals.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper, who Gruden said would be a “focal point” to the offense this season, was missing in action as he caught just one pass for nine yards.

Cooper looked out of place on opening night, matched up with cornerback and Oakland native Marcus Peters for most of the night. If you go back and look at the game film, Cooper appeared open down the field on occasions but for some strange reason, Carr couldn’t get him the ball.

Peters would take Carr’s third interception 50 yards for a touchdown that punctuated a night to forget for Carr.

Oakland could find it difficult to get back on track against Denver (1-0), who prevailed over the visiting Seattle Seahawks 27-24 last Sunday at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.

Broncos starting quarterback Case Keenum completed 25 of 39 passes for 329 yards, with three touchdowns and three interceptions in his first game with the team.

Keenum enjoyed a career-year last season in Minnesota, throwing for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns to just seven interceptions while leading the Vikings to a 13-3 regular season record, an NFC North title, and appearance in the NFC Championship Game before signing a two-year, $36 million (with $25 million guaranteed) with Denver in the offseason.

Wide receiver Emmauel Sanders led the Broncos with 10 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown (fellow wide out Demaryius Thomas chipped in with six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown), while Denver’s ground game anchored by rookie running backs Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay (15 carries for 71 each), found holes to run through in Seattle’s defense. Lindsay also caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Keenum.

Denver’s defense had a huge day against Seattle forcing three turnovers and sacking Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson six times, three by linebacker Von Miller, who finished with six tackles (one assisted).

Miller also forced two fumbles, one of which where he ripped the ball away from running back Chris Carson for a Broncos takeaway.

Linebacker Todd Davis led Denver with eight tackles.

Following Sunday’s game, both teams head east as the Broncos travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens, while Oakland invades Miami for a matchup with the Dolphins.

Raiders to host Rams in regular season opener on Monday Night Football

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — Yes, the NFL regular season is finally here. No more of watching unwatchable preseason football and hoping that both teams put on solid efforts.

The Oakland Raiders will begin their 2018 regular season on Monday night when they will welcome the Los Angeles Rams to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The game between the two clubs will be the second game of ESPN’s Monday Night Football doubleheader, which kicks off at 7:20 p.m. PT.

The New York Jets travel to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions in Game 1. Kickoff for that game is at 4:10 p.m. PT.

The Raiders met the Rams in Week 2 of the preseason in Los Angeles. The Rams won a snore of a game, 19-15, with both teams opting to hold out their starters.

This time around, things will be different as this is the regular season and the games count more than they do in the preseason.

The big story surrounding the Raiders has been the trade of defensive end/outside linebacker Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears on Sept. 2. Oakland was unable to come to terms on a new longterm contract for the star defender.

The Raiders were hoping that Mack would return to the team and play under the franchise tag of $13.8 million but when it appeared that Mack wasn’t going to show up for any of Oakland’s training camp, head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Reggie McKenzie shipped the 27-year-old former NFL Defensive Player of the Year to the Bears for a boatload of draft picks: first- and sixth-round picks in 2019, and first- and third-round picks in 2020.

Along with Mack, the Bears received second- and fifth-round picks in 2020 as part of the deal.

Oakland will miss Mack no doubt. Mack amassed 40.5 sacks over the past four seasons for the Raiders and the name of the game on defense is to hit the quarterback and Oakland just let their best pass rusher walk out the door.

Last season, the Raiders finished 24th in defense last year despite Mack’s 10.5 sacks. This season, the Raiders will need to improve that ranking if they are to return to the playoffs after a dismal 6-10 season last year following a 12-4 campaign in 2016. That means rookies on the defensive line such as P.J. Hall, Maurice Hurst and Arden Key will be tasked to pick up the slack for Mack.

Quarterback Derek Carr is looking for a bounce back season of his own in 2018.

Last season, Carr’s numbers dipped a bit: throwing for 3,496 yards, with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a 86.4 passer rating after throwing for 3,937 yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions to go along with a career-high 96.7 passer rating in 2016.

With Gruden back in town (after taking over for the fired Jack Del Rio), Carr’s play is expected to take off. Gruden is credited as being an offensive genius when designing plays and Carr’s performance will be critical for the Raiders’ offense that finished  23rd in production in 2017.

The Rams defense finished in 12th in scoring defense (20.6 points per game) and are loaded.

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, leads the Rams into Oakland looking to build off of the team’s first postseason birth since 2004. Los Angeles won the NFC West title after finishing 11-5 last season and are one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2019.

Los Angeles added defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to play next to Donald in the offseason, along with cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters via trades to shore up their secondary.

The Rams have one of the best offenses in the league, led by third-year quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley.

After a subpar rookie season in 2016 in which he threw for just 1,089 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions under former head coach Jeff Fisher, Goff exploded in 2017 under first-year head coach Sean McVay throwing for career-highs in yards (3,804), touchdowns (28) and passer rating (100.5).

Goff threw just seven interceptions during the 2017 campaign.

Gurley had a bounce back season too under McVay after a disappointing 2016 season where Gurley rushed for a career-low 885 yards and six touchdowns. The fourth-year running back rushed for career-highs in yards (1,305) and touchdowns (13). Gurley finished second in the NFL in total rushing, falling just 22 yards short of league-leader in rookie Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Raiders could have their hands full with a Rams offense that finished first in scoring last season, averaging 29.9 points per game.

After Monday night’s game, both teams will begin their divisional schedule Sunday, September 16, with the Raiders traveling to Denver to take on the Broncos, while the Rams will host the Arizona Cardinals at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Games will be scheduled for 1:25 pm and 1:05 pm, respectively.