Category: NFL

Raiders’ playoff hopes still alive after road win 24-17

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Jeremy Kahn

Who would have thought after losing their last two games, the Oakland Raiders would still be in the hunt for the final Wild Card spot in the AFC Playoffs?

Derek Carr threw for 291 yards, as the Raiders defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 24-17 in the final game at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Coming into the game, the Raiders playoff hopes were on life support, but losses by both the Pittsburgh Steelers to the New York Jets and the Tennessee Titans to the New Orleans Saints, those playoff plans stayed alive. If the Raiders win next Sunday against the Denver Broncos on the road, and get a lot of help, the Raiders would clinch the last spot in the AFC and would be only their second playoff appearance since 2003.

Carr went 26-for-30 on the afternoon, and 86.7% is the second highest for the six-year pro since coming into the league in 2014. This was also the fifth time in his career that Carr topped the 80% completion rate in his career.

Hunter Renfrow returned to the field after missing last weeks loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and ended up with seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. It was the first 100-yard game for Renfrow.

DeAndre Washington was the leading rusher for the Raiders, who were without the services of rookie Josh Jacobs, who sat out the game with a shoulder injury. Washington gained 85 yards on 23 carries.

In what was supposed to be a good season for the Chargers continues to go downhill, as they fell to 5-10 on the season and have lost five out of their last six.

Melvin Gordon scored two touchdowns for the Chargers, and Philip Rivers went 27-for-39 for 279 yards in what could be his last game for the Chargers. Rivers, who was traded to the Chargers from the New York Giants for Eli Manning after the 2004 draft, will see his contract expire after the season.

Before a pro-Raiders crowd in Carson, the Raiders got it going early, as Carr found Renfrow for a 56-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game.

Daniel Carlson, who missed a big field goal in last weeks game against the Jaguars essentially clinched the game, as he hit a 48-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 24-14 lead.

Michael Badgley cut the Raiders lead down to seven with 1:29 in the game, as he nailed a 27-yard field goal; however, the Raiders recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

NOTES: To make the playoffs, the Raiders would need to win on the road against the Broncos, and need losses by the Titans against the Houston Texans, the Steelers against the Baltimore Ravens and a win by the Indianapolis Colts over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

That would create a four-way tie, and the Raiders would win the tiebreaker over the Steelers based on strength of victory and the Colts by virtue of its win in Week 4. The Colts would eliminate the Titans by having a better division record.

Trayvon Mullen left the game after colliding with Curtis Riley on a catch by Andre Patton in the fourth quarter, and was taken off the field on a stretcher.

Next season, the Chargers will move into the brand new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on the site of the old Hollywood Park race track, where they will share the stadium with the Los Angeles Rams.

UP NEXT: The Raiders close out the regular season with a road game against the Broncos on December 29.

Despite tragedy, Niners triumph in shoot-out 31-28

Published on by jeremy2878Leave a comment

sfgate.com photo: San Francisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould (9) is congratulated by teammates after kicking the game-winning field goal against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019.

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA – George Kittle woke up Saturday morning to find out that the brother of his college, and current 49er, teammate C.J Beathard had been fatally stabbed. He said that for this reason, Saturday night’s game against the Rams “the hardest of my career.”

“(The day) sucked all around,” Kittle said. “Overall, it was a brutal day.”

Facing this, as well as a resilient Los Angeles Rams team that was fighting for a playoff spot, Kittle and the rest of the 49ers were able to band together and rally from an early deficit and some late-game struggles to pull out a 31-28 win at the horn, keeping their hopes for the NFC West division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs alive and sinking the Rams’ postseason aspirations altogether.

With the game tied in the final minutes, they faced a pair of third-and-16’s and converted both of them. Garoppolo found receiver Kendrick Bourne – who has developed a real knack for making big catches when they are most needed – and three plays later, he found a streaking Emmanuel Sanders, who had gotten deep behind corner Jalen Ramsey, with just under a minute to go.

That put the ball at LA’s 23-yard line, and from that point, the 49ers just ran a couple of plays in the middle of the field to set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning 33-yard field goal.

“This week, we made sure we knew what was on the line,” said linebacker Fred Warner, whose interception return for a touchdown late in the second quarter gave the 49ers a 24-21 lead at halftime. “We could have been way cleaner, but it’s all about (putting one) in the win column.”

The 49ers will now have eight days to prepare for a matchup in Seattle for the division title. The Seahawks currently hold the tie-breaker over the 49ers, so a victory is a must if they hope to get home-field advantage and a first-round bye. If they lose next Sunday, they will have a wild-card matchup on the road against the eventual NFC East champion.

“We know it’s going to be loud, we know it’s going to be a hostile environment,” quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. “I can’t wait for it. It’s going to be awesome.

“Every week is a big game. This time of year, they all are.”

But first, the 49ers needed to win Saturday night, but the Rams gained the upper hand early, frustrating the defense with bootleg action to get down the field and grab a 21-10 second-quarter lead while the offense struggled to find its footing.

Garoppolo himself was not sharp at all in the first quarter. He found Deebo Samuel for a 9-yard hookup to start his night but did not complete another pass for the rest of the quarter. He was also picked off by Jalen Ramsey to kill the team’s third drive and finished the game with two interceptions.

However, Garoppolo got things together to start the second quarter, using the play-action that LA had used on the 49ers defense to march down the field. Samuel capped off the drive with a 19-yard fly-sweep run to narrow the Rams’ lead to 14-10.

The 49ers defense had major issues in the first half, as the vaunted defensive line was unable to get any pressure on Goff, and the secondary was picked apart as a result.

The 49ers got tired of the screen passes and dump-offs, and Warner did something about it with a minute left in the second quarter by jumping a screen route in the flat and returned it 46 yards for a score, giving his team its first lead of the night, 24-21.

Late in the third quarter, the Rams regained the lead on a seven-play 68-yard scoring march that saw right corner Ahkello Witherspoon get victimized by a pair of significant pass plays, including the 22-yard touchdown by Cooper Kupp.

As Goff used his tight ends to get ahead in the first quarter, Garoppolo utilized his in a lead-taking scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. He found Ross Dwelley deep over the middle to put the 49ers in scoring position while George Kittle, who is widely considered as the best tight end in football, broke free for a pair of big plays, including the 7-yard score that gave the 49ers a 31-28 advantage.

49ers quarterback CJ Beathard’s brother murdered in double stabbing

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from Nashville Police: Metro Nashvillle Police released this photo and asked the public for any information that would help identify the person of interest. A Rhodes College student and the brother of a San Francisco 49ers quarterback were fatally stabbed outside of a Nashville bar.

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA–San Francisco 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard’s brother Clayton Beathard, 22, and his friend Paul Trapeni III, 21, were both stabbed in their sides and later died after being rushed to a local Nashville hospital. The stabbing apparently was caused over a woman. Beathard and Trapeni were inside a midtown bar and went outside when the confrontation turned physical.

The suspect was identified as a student at Rhodes College, who is still at large. Clayton comes from a football family Clayton’s grandfather was a former NFL executive and Beathard is a current Niner quarterback.

Police said, “The fatal stabbings appear to have resulted from an argument over a woman that began inside Dogwood Bar and then turned physical when the parties went outside.”

No word from Beathard, the 49ers backup quarterback who is with the team playing the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday. Beathard could be leaving for Nashville right after tonight’s game.

Jeremy Harness is a 49ers analyst for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast: Championship Week

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

maxresdefault

Your hosts Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty and Dr. Charlie O

Will Jameis Winston be a could play at QB this Saturday?

Matt Ryan is a must start vs. the Jags

Ryan Tannehill could put up some big numbers against the Saints

Can old man Fitzpatrick do again vs. the Bengals?

Avoid Goff and Garoppolo !!!

It’s Le’Veon Bell revenge week vs. the Steelers – PLAY HIM!

This could be the game Todd Gurley finally runs for 100+ yards

Odell Beckham is overdue for a big game

The Rams receiving corps is back to full strength

Push play & get ready to win!!!

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes: Can Raiders break the losing spell as the enter LA with a four-game losing streak?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: foxnews.com

On the Raiders podcast with J. Hawkes:

#1 Coming off the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and playing their final game in Oakland in franchise history going forward with just two games left on the road, can the Raiders regroup?

#2 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was miserably booed after the game against Jacksonville last Sunday. Would you say the main reason being lack of effort or Raiders fans just expected a better effort considering it’s the last game of the season?

#3 Talk about the huge defensive let down by the Raiders in that four quarter allowing the Jaguars to score two touchdowns to clinch the game.

#4  Sunday’s Raiders game was that the Raiders didn’t get any offense going in the fourth quarter and Carr just couldn’t get the Raiders on the scoreboard.

#5 The Raiders will play the Chargers in Los Angeles Sunday at 1 pm. Just for pride’s sake, do the Raiders have a chance to snap this current four-game losing streak?

Joe Hawkes is a Raiders analyst, join Jeremy Kahn for exclusive coverage this Sunday. All on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Will loss to the Falcons be something Niners can shake off?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: nbcsports.com

On the 49ers podcast with Joe:

#1 After a close loss to the Atlanta Falcons, will there be much recovery for the 49ers coming off the loss mentally and physically?

#2 Close contest as Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had himself an afternoon throwing against the 49ers defense throwing 25 for 39 for 210 yards but the key play for Ryan was his five-yard pass to Julio Jones for the gamer.

#3 Injuries are insurmountable against the 49ers, but cornerback Richard Sherman (hamstring) and nickle corner K’Waun Williams (concussion) are both scheduled to return to practice after they sat on the sidelines last Sunday.

#4 With defensive end Dee Ford (hamstring) out for the rest of the season, the 49ers were trying to acquire pass rusher Terrell Suggs, a seven-time Pro Bowler. Suggs was snapped up by the Kansas City Chiefs.

#5 The 49ers have four players going to the Pro Bowl in edge rusher Nick Bosa, Sherman, tight end George Kittle, and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Joe Lami does the 49ers podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers preview: Rams Seek Revenge While Niners Need to Get On Track

Published on by joelamiLeave a comment

file photo from 49erswebzone.com: 49ers corner Richard Sherman (left) and tight end George Kittle (right) pose for a selfie with fans

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA — The Niners stumbled in a trap game, yet still, control their own destiny to the NFC one-seed. If they win out, they take the top seed. A loss to the Rams before the NFC West winner-take-all matchup with the Seahawks would give home-field to either Green Bay or New Orleans. Even with a loss this week, San Francisco would win the NFC West with a win in Seattle, thanks to a tiebreaker.

The importance of retaining the #1 seed is crucial for San Francisco. Three of the five 49ers’ Super Bowl victories came when they were the top-seed in the conference.

The good news for San Francisco is they are beginning to get healthier. Both Richard Sherman and K’Waun Williams are set to return this Sunday after missing Sunday’s loss. The return of Sherman will be important to get him game time before next weekend’s gauntlet in Seattle. Guard, Mike Person is listed as questionable, fighting a neck injury. Jaquiski Tart (broken ribs) and Dee Ford (quad, hamstring) are listed as out.

The Niners will use this matchup against the Rams to get back on track. San Francisco’s won five of their last eight games against LA, including this year’s week four 20-7 win.

In that win, San Francisco’s defense completely shut down Jared Goff, allowing only 78 passing yards on 24 attempts. The Niners shutout the Rams on third-down, holding them to 0-for-9. The offense was just okay, as Garoppolo threw for 243 yards, 101 of them were caught by George Kittle, of course. Even though Jimmy didn’t throw a TD, he rushed one in San Francisco’s second touchdown of the afternoon.

The Rams have been Jekyll and Hyde this season, looking great at times, beating the Seahawks and Saints, but then getting boat raced by the Cowboys.

Kyle Shanahan mentioned last week about preparing for Atlanta’s Super Bowl. His team didn’t answer, and they’ll face another desperate team this week. LA’s playoff hopes have pretty much gone up in smoke, as they need to win out and pray for a miracle that Minnesota doesn’t beat the Packers or Bears. They hold the final tiebreaker over the Vikings.

His team will need to be ready for everything that the Rams will bring. Todd Gurley has been much more active these last three weeks, nearly totaling 200 yards and three touchdowns. He was inactive when the Niners completely shut down the Rams in week six, expect him to get a lot of carries on Saturday.

Jared Goff is currently fourth in the NFL in passing yards, just shy of 4,000. His 17-15 TD to INT ratio is shocking, however, and can be taken advantage of a hungry 49ers’ defense.

The Niners offense fell back to earth last week, scoring just 22 points. After the best month of his career, Garoppolo finished with 200 yards and a touchdown for a 90.3 rating, the lowest in the last five games. It was also the second-lowest in the last eight weeks. TLDR, Garoppolo has been one of the best QBs in the second half of the season.

If the Niners can contain Gurley, and get to Goff, like they did four times already this year, they should be able to slow down LA’s offense. Meanwhile, their defense is susceptible to the run. Breida only had four carries last week, while Raheem Mostert had 14. Mostert’s been excellent these past few weeks, giving the Niners a multi-headed monster in the backfield.

Raiders head down south for final matchup with the Chargers this year

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — With their final regular-season home game of 2019 in their rear view mirror, the Raiders will travel south to Los Angeles to face the Chargers in an AFC West battle at ROKiT Field at Dignity Health Sports Park in Week 16. Sunday’s game marks the final game between the two clubs this season, with the Raiders winning the first meeting, 26-24, back in Week 10 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The win for the Raiders gave the Silver and Black a 63-54-2 advantage over the Chargers in the all-time series.

Kickoff for Sunday’s game is set for 1:05 p.m. PT with Greg Gumbel and Trent Green on the call, and Melanie Collins reporting from the sidelines.

In Week 15, the Raiders snatched defeat from the clutches of victory, losing to the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars 20-16 in the final home game for the Silver and Black in Oakland to fall to 6-8 on the year. The Raiders held a 16-6 lead in the fourth quarter, before the Jaguars scored 14 unanswered points thanks to two touchdowns from rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew to wide receiver Chris Conley to steal the victory from Oakland.

For Oakland, tight end Darren Waller became just the second tight end in franchise history with 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, joining TE Todd Christensen (1983-84, 1986). In the contest, Waller recorded eight catches for 122 yards, tying a club record among tight ends for most 100-yard receiving games (four).

Rookie running back Josh Jacobs rushed for 89 yards on 24 carries, giving him 1,150 rushing yards on the season. Jacobs has the sixth-best rushing season in franchise history, and is the only rookie in team history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.

Defensively, rookie defensive end Maxx Crosby continues be an anchor on the defensive line for Oakland, recording a sack giving him 8.5 for the season. Crosby, who ranks third among rookies in sacks behind 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (9.0) and Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen (10.0), needs just three more sacks in the final two games to move past defensive end Greg Townsend’s club record 10.5 sacks established in 1983.

The Chargers are coming off a game that they would like to forget, a 39-10 beating at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings at home in Week 15 to fall to 5-9 on the year.

Los Angeles shot themselves in the foot, committing seven turnovers in the game, four coming from quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers, who threw for 307 yards on 28-of-39 passing and one touchdown, also threw three interceptions and one lost fumble.

Not to be outdone by Rivers, running back Melvin Gordon had a turnover filled day against the Vikings, lost two fumbles after rushing for just 28 yards on seven carries.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will finish their 2019 season in the Mile High City where they will take on the Denver Broncos.

The Chargers will travel to Kansas City to face the Chiefs to conclude their season.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Will the 49ers’ 7-point loss burn into their psyche going forward?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: mercurynews.com

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 The 49ers clinched a playoff spot Sunday but not before they lost to the Atlanta Falcons 29-22. Is this a loss that should concern the 49ers?

#2 There’s a breakdown in the game plan that allowed Atlanta to get back into the game and all the Falcons’ Julio Jones had to do was score on a five-yard pass to end it and give the 49ers their third loss of 2019.

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers game report: Ryan’s five-yard pass to Jones gets Falcons by 49ers 29-22

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from sfgate.com: Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) sits next to the goal line after scoring against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019.

By Barbara Mason

On Sunday afternoon, the San Francisco Forty Niners took on the Atlanta Falcons at Levi Stadium. While most looked at this game as a walkover, we do have to remember that midseason the Falcons beat the New Orleans Saints. This is a league of “any given Sundays” and no team can be taken for granted.

Jimmy Garoppolo has been exceptional as has been the San Francisco defense so signs point to their 14th win of the season. A win today will mean a playoff berth for the team. This Sunday will mark the first time in nearly three years that quarterback Matt Ryan and Coach Kyle Shanahan have been on the same field. Shanahan and Ryan had a dream season prior to the devastating loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Atlanta is a 10 1/2 point underdog

The first quarter was a defensive effort by both teams. Matt Ryan would finish the quarter with 15 yards and Garoppolo would finish with 26 yards. The quarter would end with neither team finding the end zone although San Francisco was threatening deep in Atlanta territory.

The 49ers would start the second quarter with a Mostert rush for two yards and the first touchdown of the game giving San Francisco a 7-0 lead.. When it looked like the 49ers were taking control of the game, Matt Ryan would find Julio Jones for 5 yards and the touchdown to tie up the game at 7.

The Falcons were not finished. On their next drive Atlanta settled for a 43 yard Younghoe Koo field goal and the 10-3 lead. San Francisco would go to work with two minutes left in the half. Although unable to score the touchdown, San Francisco kicker Robbie Gould would kick a 22 yards field goal to tie up the game at the half 10-10.

Midway through the third quarter the teams remained tied at 10. That’s when it appeared that San Francisco was finally making their move. Robbie Gould kicked a 46 yard field goal taking a 13-10 lead. It was the fourth quarter that proved to be their undoing.

San Francisco scored a Garoppolo to Juszczyk touchdown from two yards out and the 49ers had their second score in a row for a 19-10 lead. Gould would miss the extra point. Atlanta answered and scored a touchdown with 5 minutes left. This game became very tight in the closing minutes 19-17. Robbie Gould would kick a successful 43 yard field goal to extend the 49ers lead 22-17. There was only 1:48 left on the clock.

When it looked like another San Francisco win, Matt Ryan would drive downfield and finish with a 5 yard pass Julio Jones for the go ahead touchdown 23-22. Their two point conversion attempt would fail. With seconds left on the clock a fumble return by the Falcons to score a touchdown gave them the win 29-22.

San Francisco had lost their third game of the season and dropped into a Wild Card spot in a real shocker. As I said “any given Sunday”!