Author: psushawn

Photo: Indianapolis Colts

By Shawn McCullough

The Raiders defense gave up 212 yards on the ground as the Indianapolis Colts rolled to a 44-27 win over Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium.

It wasn’t good enough today,” said head coach Jon Gruden.  “Defensively we had no answer. You can’t give up that many yards rushing and not get to the quarterback and then lose the turnover margin and expect to win in this league.”

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor ran 20 times for 150 yard and two touchdowns, including a 62 yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr finished with 316 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“My job is to take care of the football and my job is to move the team down the field and score touchdowns and I didn’t do that good enough today,” said Carr.

Carr hit tight end Foster Moreau for a 47 yard touchdown in the first quarter, while connecting with wide receiver Nelson Agholor for a 21 yard score in the second quarter.

“This game is going to have a short shelf-life for us,” said Moreau. “Everyone is going to watch the film and we are going to need to make corrections, but we don’t have much time to harp on our mistakes, because we have to play a good Chargers team on Thursday.”

With the loss, the Raiders fell to 7-6 on the season heading into their next game on Thursday night at home against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Game Notes:

• The Raiders were outgained by the Colts, 456-424.
• Running back Josh Jacobs returned from injury, rushing 13 times for 49 yards.
• The Raiders turned the ball over three times, to Indianapolis’ zero.
  
  

By Shawn McCullough

The Raiders saved their best for last.

Trailing 28-24, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr hit wide receiver Henry Ruggs down the left sideline for a 46 yard touchdown with just five seconds left to lift Las Vegas over the New York Jets, 31-28, at the Meadowlands.

“We knew that we needed a play and coach dialed up the double move,” said Ruggs. “I got the DB to flip his hips and once I looked back, I felt like the ball was in the air forever.”

“We put ourselves in position,” said Carr. “I couldn’t believe that they all out blitzed us, but I was thankful.”

Carr finished the game throwing for 381 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Tight end Darren Waller had a career game catching 13 balls for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

“There was a lot of man to man coverage out there,” said Waller. “I try to win every single matchup when I go out there.”

“He is special,” said head coach Jon Gruden. “A lot of guys can’t even dream of doing what Darren Waller can do.”

Devontae Booker filled in for injured running back Josh Jacobs and ran 16 times for 50 yards.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 7-5 on the season.

“It will teach you as a Raider to never quit,” said Gruden. “It’s critical that we can go on the road after a humiliating loss to come from behind in a dramatic way and win.”

The Raiders will next return home to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday with four games remaining in the regular season.

Game Notes:

• The Raiders racked up 440 yards of total offense.
• QB Derek Carr has set a new NFL record for most fourth-quarter comebacks in league history through a player’s first seven seasons (20).
• The Raiders gave up 206 rushing yards to the Jets.
  
  

By Shawn McCullough

“We got punched in the face,” said Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.

Coming off a narrow defeat to the Chiefs last week, the Raiders didn’t show up in Atlanta in a 43-6 drubbing to the Falcons.

“Our fans deserve better than what we did today,” said Carr. “Our organization deserves better than what we put out there today.  That was a bunch of trash.”

The Raiders turned the ball over five times including four fumbles and a 67 yard interception for a touchdown.  In addition, Las Vegas was penalized 11 times for 141 yards.

“When you turn the ball over 5 times and have 141 yards of penalties, you have no chance,” said head coach Jon Gruden.

The Raiders were flat the entire game and Carr felt that coming throughout the week.

“I didn’t think that we had our best week of practice,” said Carr. “Anytime that you turn the ball over like that, you’re not going to win football games.”

Carr went 22 for 34 for 215 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception.

“It’s a gut punch for sure,” said Carr.

The Raiders only points came off the foot of kicker Daniel Carlson, who booted a 29 yard field goal in the 2^nd quarter and a 24 yarder in the 3^rd.

Running back Josh Jacobs was held to just seven carries for 27 yards, while hunter Renfrow led the Raiders catching seven balls for 73 yards.

With the loss, the Raiders fell to 6-5 on the season.

“We do a really good job of washing stuff away, win or lose,” said Carr about the loss.

The Raiders will next travel to New Jersey to face the New York Jets on Sunday.

Game Notes:

• The Raiders were outgained by the Falcons in total yards, 304-243.
• Las Vegas had only 13 first downs in the game.
• The Raiders have now lost two straight games.
  
  

By Shawn McCullough

The Raiders were 28 seconds away from sweeping the defending Super Bowl champions in the season series, but couldn’t hold on.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit tight end Travis Kelce for a 22 yard touchdown with 28 seconds left in the game to hand the Raiders a 35-31 loss at Allegiant Stadium.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our football team,” said head coach Jon Gruden. “I wouldn’t trade any of our players for anybody.”

Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr was masterful throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns including a 4^th quarter drive to take the lead late, resulting in a one yard touchdown pass to tight end Jason Witten.

“I felt like we were running efficiently and we were hitting some big plays in the passing game, but it just stinks, man, it wasn’t enough,” said Carr.

“We really feel like we can play with anybody,” said Witten. “That’s the type of team that we expect to have.”

Tight end Derek Waller led the Raiders catching seven balls for 88 yards, including a three yard touchdown catch in the 4^th quarter.

“It’s tough,” said Waller. “Losing in any form or fashion is not fun whatsoever, especially like that.”

Running back Josh Jacobs rushed 17 times for 55 yards and scored the first points of the game on a two yard touchdown run.

With the loss, the Raiders fell to 6-4 on the season heading into their next game in Atlanta against the Falcons on Sunday.

Game Notes:

• The Raiders were outgained by the Chiefs in total yards, 460-364.
• The Chiefs executed 36 first downs.
• The Raiders fell to 2-3 at home at Allegiant Stadium.
  
  

By Shawn McCullough

Before last week’s Chargers game, head coach Jon Gruden said that the next three games against AFC West opponents would be a crucial stretch.  Well, the Raiders are delivering.

The Raiders improved to 3-0 in the division with a 37-12 win over the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium.

“To put 37 points up, I am excited with how we won the game,” said quarterback Derek Carr. “We are proving that we can win in any type of way, which is great.”

Carr went 16 for 25 and threw for just 154 yards and no touchdowns.

The defense held the Broncos to 66 total rushing yards and forced four Drew Lock interceptions.

“If we can get turnovers the way that we did today on defense, it will bode well for us in the future and making a run at what we really want to do,” said Carr.

Josh Jacobs led the Raiders, rushing 21 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns, while Devontae Booker rushed 16 times for 81 yards and also two touchdowns.

“The game starts with the run and ends with the run,” said Jacobs. “It’s good to see that we put our dominance on the game.”

Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson booted three field goals, one each from 22 yards, 24 yards and 52 yards.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 6-3 on the season heading into their next game at home against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

“6-3 and 3-0 in the division is a big deal,” said Carr. “But the division still goes through Kansas City and we get them next week.”

Game Notes:

• The Raiders outgained the Broncos in total yards, 357-313.
• Las Vegas forced five Denver turnovers.
• Raiders’ safety Jeff Heath came up with two big interceptions.
  
  

By Shawn McCullough

The Raiders started an important three game stretch against AFC West opponents on a high note.

The defense came up with a huge stop to end the game in a 31-26 win over the Chargers in Los Angeles.

With one second left in the game, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s 4-yard pass to Donald Parham Jr. was ruled a touchdown, but was reviewed and later ruled broken up by cornerback Isaiah Johnson to secure the win.

“Whenever we pull something out like that, it is so good for the team,” said Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.

Carr threw for 165 yards and two touchdowns, one each to Nelson Agholor and Darren Waller.

“Our defense got the one big stop that won us this game,” said head coach Jon Gruden.

Running back Josh Jacobs rushed 14 times for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Devontae Booker added a 23 yard touchdown run.

“I’m definitely proud of the team for how we fought and finished at the end,” said Jacobs.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 5-3 on the season heading into their next game at home against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Raiders will then face the Kansas City Chiefs at home the following Sunday.

“We are happy to win,” said Gruden. “We are just thrilled to win a game like that, it shows a lot of character.”

Game Notes:

• The Raiders were outgained by the Chargers in total yards, 440-320.
• Las Vegas had just two penalties for 10 yards.
• The Raiders have now won three of their last four games.
  
  

By Shawn McCullough

Las Vegas has now experienced a typical cold November day in Cleveland.

In wind, rain, sleet and snow, the Raiders defense held the Cleveland Browns to just 223 total yards as Las Vegas escaped with a 16-6 win in Cleveland.

“We will take any win that we can get,” said head coach Jon Gruden.

Raiders’ kicker Daniel Carlson nailed three field goals from 29, 33 and 24 yards despite the bad weather.

“Probably the windiest game that I have ever played in,” said Carlson. “I had some good operation, good holds, good protection and got some points on the board the rest of the game.”

“Credit to Carlson for being able to kick the ball and make some field goals,” said Gruden. “It was a real obstacle for the kickers.”

The lone Raiders touchdown came on a four yard pass from quarterback Derek Carr to wide receiver Hunter Renfrow.

“I thought that I got my hands underneath it,” said Renfrow. “It turned a little bit at the end, but it was a touchdown and it was good times.”

Carr finished the game going 15 for 24 for 112 yards and one touchdown.

“Whenever you are able to do it the way we did it, everyone has to deal with the conditions, but a team that comes from Las Vegas, the desert, and gets a win, that’s a good feeling especially on the road,” said Carr.

Running back Josh Jacobs led the Raiders on the ground rushing 31 times for 128 yards.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 4-3 heading into their next game on Sunday in Los Angeles against the Chargers.

Game Notes:

• The Raiders outgained the Browns in total yards, 309-223.
• Tight end Darren Waller led the Raiders with only 28 yards receiving.
• Nine different Raiders players caught at least one ball from QB Derek Carr.
• The Raiders have now won two of their last three games.