Category: NFL

Raiders welcome the Steelers to the Black Hole Sunday

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Photo credit: @mohurstjr

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — In a game that was originally set for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, the Raiders will complete their two-game homestand when they will take on the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum this Sunday in a classic AFC tilt. Kickoff is set for 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX.

The Steelers are making their first trip to Oakland since 2013, where they lost the Raiders 21-18. Oakland holds a slim 12-10 record over Pittsburgh all-time in 22 meetings, and are riding a three-game winning streak over the Steelers at home.

Oakland (2-10) lost to their bitter AFC West rival, the Kansas City Chiefs in a 40-33 shootout last Sunday at home in Week 13. The Raiders’ offense was humming, with big performances by quarterback Derek Carr, tight end Jared Cook, wide receiver Jordy Nelson, and running back Jalen Richard.

Carr threw for 285 yards on 29-of-38 passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions. With his 14th completion of the day, Carr moved into second place in NFL history for most completions (1,655) through a player’s first five years, trailing only Peyton Manning (1,749) with four games remaining this season per the Elias Sports Bureau. Carr also moved into second place on the all-time passing list for the franchise with 17,802 yards, passing Rich Gannon.

Cook hauled in his sixth touchdown catch of the season, establishing a new career-high. The tight end finished with seven catches for 100 yards. Nelson tied a team season-high 10 catches in the game, six of them going for first downs.

Richard showed great versatility against the Chiefs, finishing with 126 yards from scrimmage, including a career-high 95 yards on the ground on six carries for a 15.8 yards per carry average for the game.

But it wasn’t all great for Oakland offensively, as the team fumbled the ball four times (losing three), all coming from Richard and fellow running backs Doug Martin and DeAndre Washington.

The addition of running back C.J. Anderson, whom the team signed on Wednesday for depth, will be interesting to watch down the home stretch of the regular season.

Anderson, a six-year veteran who is just 27-years-old, was most recently with the Carolina Panthers this season appearing in just nine games with just 24 carries for 104 yards. Anderson signed with Carolina in the offseason after being released by the Denver Broncos.

In his first five seasons with the Denver Broncos from 2013-17, Anderson rushed for 3,051 yards and 20 touchdowns on 693 carries while earning a Super Bowl ring in 2015. During his final season in Denver, Anderson rushed for a career-high 1,007 yards and three touchdowns on 245 carries while starting all 16 games.

Pittsburgh enters Sunday’s contest losers of their last two games, the most recent to the visiting Los Angeles Chargers 33-30 at Heinz Field on Sunday Night Football. The Steelers (7-4-1) sit atop the AFC North heading into the final month of the regular season.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger leads an offense that ranks fourth in the NFL in scoring, averaging 28.8 points per game. Through 12 games this season, Roethlisberger leads the NFL in passing yards (3,945) to go along with 26 touchdowns, but his 13 interceptions are second-most behind Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold’s 14 for most in the league.

The bulk of the Steelers’ areal attack is highlighted by their explosive wide receivers in Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

The duo has combined for 164 catches (Smith-Schuster leads the team with 83 to Brown’s 81), for 2,132 yards (Smith-Schuster leads the team with 1,104 to Brown’s 1,028), and 16 touchdowns (Brown has 12 to Smith-Schuster’s 4).

Second-year running back James Connor has filled the shoes of dynamic running back Le’Veon Bell nicely this season. While Bell has sat out the entire season in a contract dispute with the organization, Connor is seventh in the NFL in rushing with 909 yards and 12 touchdowns on 201 carries.

Connor is third on the team with 52 catches.

Connor will miss Sunday’s game after suffering an ankle injury in Week 13 to the Chargers.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will travel to Cincinnati to clash with the Bengals in Week 15 to round out the AFC North portion of their schedule for 2018. Oakland will return home to face the Broncos on Christmas Eve in Week 16.

Pittsburgh will return home for a big AFC showdown with the New England Patriots in Week 15 before heading down to New Orleans to face off the Saints in Week 16.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Kings’ Hield helps lead with 20 points in win; Can Sharks bounce back after losing road trip?; Is the Giants’ Bum untouchable?; plus more

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Photo credit: @NBA

On Headline Sports with Tony Renteria filling in for London Marq:

#1 For the Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield 20 points, five rebounds and one assist to lead the Kings to their second straight win in a row beating the Phoenix Suns 122-105.

#2 Tony has seen the Kings over the course of this season and points out what the Kings have done to win games.

#3 The San Jose Sharks are coming off a long road trip of losing four of their last five games. They got a win in their final game on the road in Montreal but losing still hurts.

#4 The San Francisco Giants have been getting plenty of inquiries regarding pitcher Madison Bumgarner. Tony talks about Bumgarner if he’s untouchable or is he on the table too?

#5 Looking at the Oakland Raiders last loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at the Oakland Coliseum, was this more of a game that was half full? The Raiders played some close ball with the Chiefs, but in the end lost 40-33.

Tony Renteria filled in for London Marq who does the Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Niners just simply helpless in Seattle last Sunday; Sherman embarrassed by Hawks’ run game on the defense

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mercurynews.com photo: The San Francisco 49ers Richard Sherman (25) shakes hands with Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll who coached Sherman during the years he was with the Seahawks. It was Sherman’s first game back at Century Link since joining San Francisco.

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 After watching Sunday’s drubbing at CenturyLink Field 43-16 as the 49ers got mopped with the floor by the Seattle Seahawks. How many of the following factors played into the loss? The CenturyLink crowd loud as usual as the 12th man, the Seahawks defense kept 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens running all day, and even if they don’t admit it did the Reuben Foster case have an impact on this team?

#2 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, the former Seattle Seahawk, got an earful from the Seattle fans and also gave up an 18-yard touchdown pass to the Hawks’ Jaron Brown. How humiliating was this game for Sherman?

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

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Concussions, Protests and Domestic Violence…Where Is the NFL Headed?

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Photo credit: thesportsdaily.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The NFL is the second youngest of the four main professional sports leagues in the country. It was founded in 1920.

The NFL is also the richest sports league in the world with revenues above everybody else in the world of sports, and television ratings that beat just about everything that is on television. Not to mention the Super Bowl, which has become the most watched single sporting event on Earth.

Nonetheless, not everything these days is rosy when it comes to the NFL. They still have a problem with players suffering concussions (although the league have worked on the reduction of injuries), changing certain rules on the field to protect players and having a very big domestic violence problem. It seems like every week a player is suspended or fired from his team because he beat his wife or girlfriend. This is a bigger problem than the concussions on the field. Personal responsibility and behavior cannot be controlled by the team because when you take off your uniform and go home or to a bar, you are not playing football, you are just like any regular Joe out there and you are responsible for your action in your community like everybody else.

This past week, Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chief and Reuben Foster of the San Francisco 49ers were the latest two players accused of domestic violence and nobody can escape that these days. It goes online and millions of people can see what happened.

There have been protests, mostly fueled by the initial action of ex-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to take a knee during the playing of the National Anthem. This action immediately went viral in our social world, left the sports arena and went directly into the political realm. Obviously, this did not help the NFL. Kaepernick lost his job, but it planted the seed for a lot of division among the fans that pay to watch an NFL game. Two things that should unify all of us is the flag and the national anthem, and if we cannot respect that for three minutes, we are in trouble as a country. To the credit of the players association and some owners, these protests also brought more players and owners together in the need to help communities in their respective cities in many social issues–and that is a good thing.

All these problems have spooked a lot of their TV audience and attendance to the games. We live in a different world today, and the NFL better be careful not to continue going down that road, because is not headed to a good place.

A good friend or mine recently told me: “If Kaepernick had been accused of domestic violence, he would probably still be playing in the NFL, but he took a knee and that cost him his career. Yes, it is sarcasm, but it says something about the NFL today. And many people are talking about all these ‘issues.'”

In conclusion, the NFL can do a lot about injures and reduce the concussions in the sport, but the other stuff actually is hard to control. We can protest anything we want, after all this is America, and we have the right under our Constitution. When Kaepernick took his first knee I respected his right to do so, even though I wrote and talked about it. Back then, he was getting paid to play football and he could have called a press conference and said what he what he wanted.

Domestic violence is something that should never be tolerated by the NFL, any other sports franchise or anyplace else. But, then again, this behavior happens usually off the field, so it falls into the category of individual responsibility and accountability. This behavior is in our society, and this is the toughest problem this league has today.

Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes will be a longtime problem for the Raiders

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Photo credit: chiefswire.usatoday.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — There’s no question that after watching quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his first head-to-head matchup against the Raiders, he will be a thorn in the Silver and Black’s side for years to come.

Mahomes, who completed 23-of-38 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns, led the Chiefs to a wild 40-33 victory over the Raiders on Sunday that moved Kansas City to an AFC-best record of 10-2. Mahomes did miss a couple of deep passes to blazing wide out Tyreek Hill at various points of the game that could’ve really put the game away early for the Chiefs, but didn’t seem rattled by the 54,255 paid crowd at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum.

Oakland’s 31st ranked defense couldn’t find any answers in stopping Mahomes and the Chiefs’ 2nd ranked offense all day, as the Raiders allowed 442 yards of total offense to the Chiefs and didn’t generate a sack against Mahomes in the contest.

After the Raiders cut Kansas City’s lead to 13-7 behind running back Doug Martin’s 1-yard touchdown shortly before halftime, Mahomes and Chiefs would run five plays in 57 seconds to drive the length of the field.

Mahomes found wide receiver Demarcus Robinson for a 38-yard catch, scrabbling the entire width of the field before going out of bounds with 12 seconds remaining in the second quarter. On the next, Mahomes would find tight end Travis Kelce on a 6-yard score for Kelce’s second touchdown of the day. Arden Key would block the extra point, keeping the score 19-7.

Kelce was the main beneficiary of Mahomes’ passes, hauling in 12 catches for 168 yards, eclipsing 1,000 yards receiving for the third-straight season.  Kelce joined Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen (2014-16) as the only tight ends in NFL history to accomplish that feat per the Elias Sports Bureau.

The sixth-year tight from the University of Cincinnati rebounded nicely after fumbling on Kansas City’s first play of scrimmage following a 24-yard catch-and-run.

Mahomes has now thrown 41 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions on the season through 12 games played for Kansas City, joining future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (44 in 2004, 41 in ’13) and Tom Brady (44 in 2007) as the only quarterbacks with at least 40 touchdowns in the first 12 games this season, according to ESPN Stats and Information Research.

With 4,207 passing yards on the season, Mahomes became the fastest quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards through 12 games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

As he continues to grow under head coach Andy Reid, one of the NFL’s best creative offensive minds,  the second-year pro in Mahomes will only get better and that much harder to stop.

The Raiders will continue to see Mahomes’ progression for years to come, having to play the Chiefs twice a season. The two teams wrap up the regular season at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in Week 17.

Seahawks Move into Playoff Spot with 43-16 Win Over 49ers

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Photo credit: @Seahawks

By: Joe Lami

Make it seven straight years since the 49ers have won in Seattle, as they were annihilated on Sunday 43-16. Nick Mullens threw 30 completions for 414 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick in the loss. Even with many of his yards coming in garbage time, he looked decent in the second half minus a 98-yard pick-six to Bobby Wagner.

The 49ers were abysmal in the first half and avoided a shutout thanks to a Robbie Gould 45-yard field goal to make it 20-3. Things didn’t get too much better in the second for San Francisco, as they were torched in every facet of the game.

Seattle opened the second half with an 84-yard return from Tyler Lockett that ended a chance of a comeback. Rashaad Penny found paydirt on the very next play from 20 yards out for his only touchdown of the day. He finished with 65 yards on 13 carries while Chris Carson ran for 69 yards. Seattle ran for 168 yards on the contest.

Russell Wilson was his usual self, throwing 11 of 18 for 185 yards and four touchdowns.

Dante Pettis was the best player in red and gold. Contributing to the 49ers’ only two touchdowns, he also caught for 169 yards, becoming the first rookie since 1969 in franchise to catch two touchdowns and 100 receiving yards in a game.

Terrell Owens was the last rookie to catch for 100 yards for the 49ers when he did it in 1999.

Stone Cold Geroge Kittle continues to explode onto the scene, catching six balls for 70 yards.

Rookie running back, Jeff Wilson Jr. continues to excel out of the bye week. He showed even more on Sunday with 134 combined yards and proved to be a great check down for Mullens. Though, his fumble counted towards the three turnovers San Francisco committed.

Seattle used those turnovers to start in great field position, averaging at their own 33. San Francisco’s defense failed to slow down the Seahawks and once again went without a takeaway.

Richard Sherman wasn’t a factor in his return to Seattle, not showing on the stat sheet following the game.

The lone bright spot on defense was once against DeForest Buckner, picking up two of the 49ers’ three sacks. Donald Blair gained the other one on a 16-yard mistake by Wilson.

The Seahawks have now won three-straight games (7-5) and climbed into a Wild Card spot with the victory.

The offense didn’t quit in the second half, scoring two touchdowns with the Pettis’ emergence appearing, but for the second straight week were embarrassed. Kyle Shanahan was blowing leads earlier in the year, but now he can’t even get a lead with maybe one winnable game remaining on the year next week against Denver.

Mahomes throws for four touchdowns in Chiefs’ 40-33 win over the Raiders

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Photo credit: @JustNowSports

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Whenever the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs meet on the football field, you can throw out the scorebook.

Patrick Mahomes joined some elite company, as he threw four touchdowns, becoming third quarterback in NFL history to throw 40 touchdown passes in 12 games and the Chiefs defeated the Raiders 40-33 before a crowd of 54,255 at the Coliseum.

The second-year quarterback out of Texas Tech joins Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in this elite club.

Mahomes went 23-of-38 for 295 and four touchdowns, and also led the Chiefs in rushing with 52 yards rushing on nine carries.

It was just another day at the office for Travis Kelce, as he caught 12 passes for 168 yards and three of Mahomes four touchdowns.

Derek Carr threw three touchdowns, as he threw for 285 yards, as he went 29-for-38 on the afternoon.

Jalen Richard led the Raiders in rushing, as he gained 95 yards on just six carries.

Jordy Nelson led the Raiders in catches with 10, and gained 97 yards, while Jared Cook caught seven passes for 100 yards.

With the victory, the Chiefs are now 10-2, while with the loss, the Raiders fall to 2-10 on the season.

This was first game for the Chiefs without the services of their explosive running back Kareem Hunt, who was released from the team on Friday after a video showed Hunt shoved and kicked a woman back in February. TMZ released the nine-month video, and the Chiefs released the running back after he misled the organization about what occurred that night.

Things began well for the Raiders, as they recovered a fumble on the first play of the game, as Mahomes’ pass to Kelce was fumbled, and Nick Nelson recovered the ball at the Raiders 44-yard line.

Unfortunately, the Raiders could not take advantage of the early turnover and went three-and-out on their first series.

Johnny Townsend did not punt the ball long, as his punt traveled just 22 yards and the Chiefs took over at their own 35-yard line.

Tyreek Hill took the handoff and before you knew it, the speedy wide receiver picked up 33 yards down to the Raiders 32.

On the next play, Nelson, who recovered the Kelce fumble on the Raiders initial series on defense picked up an ill-advised penalty, as he picked up a pass interference penalty that gave the Chiefs the ball at the six-yard line. Arden Key then was caught in the neutral zone, and the Chiefs moved up an additional three yards.

Mahomes found Kelce for a three-yard touchdown pass to get the Chiefs on the board.

Just three plays into the Raiders next series, it abruptly came to an end, as Doug Martin fumbled the ball and Justin Houston recovered the loose ball at the Raiders 49-yard line.

The Chiefs took over, and got down to the Raiders 10-yard line, as the drive stalled there and Harrison Butker gave the Chiefs a 10-0 lead, as he hit a 29-yard field goal.

Spencer Ware, who was Hunt’s backup and will now get more of the first team reps in practice came up with the big play on the driver, as he scampered 17 yards thru the Raiders defense.

Butker stretched the Chiefs lead up to 13-0 in the second quarter, as he hit a 50-yard field goal and it looked like the rout was on, but that was not the case.

The Raiders consumed the ball for the nearly six minutes, and it ended with a Martin touchdown run from one yard out to get the Raiders on the board.

Mahomes then led the Chiefs on a quick drive that saw him connect with Kelce for the second time in the half, and the Chiefs went into the halftime break with a 19-7 lead after Butker’s extra point was blocked by Arden Key.

The Mahomes to Kelce touchdown pass was setup by Demarcus Robinson, who hauled in a Mahomes pass for 38 yards and was able to get out of bounds with 12 seconds remaining.

Daniel Carlson ended the Raiders first drive of the second half, as he nailed a 50-yard field goal to pull the Raiders within nine.

Like a game of pinball, the Chiefs marched right down the field and ended up scoring on a one-yard run to give the Chiefs a 26-10 lead.

Barely two minutes later, the Raiders cut the Chiefs down to 10, as Carr found Cook for a 24-yard touchdown pass; however, the two-point conversion run attempt by Martin came up short.

Mahomes threw his third touchdown pass of the afternoon, as he found Demetrius Harris from 13 yards out with just four seconds remaining in the third quarter. It was the second quarter in a row that the Chiefs scored in the end of the quarter.

Lee Smith got in on the act on the Raiders first series after Harris touchdown catch that gave the Chiefs a 17-point lead, as he caught a one-yard touchdown pass from Carr that cut the Chiefs lead down to 10.

After a quick three-and-out, the Raiders went right down the field and ended up cutting the Chiefs lead down to three, as Carr found Marcel Ateman for a nine-yard touchdown pass that cut the Chiefs lead down to three.

Unfortunately, the hot hands of Mahomes continued, as he threw his fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon on the Chiefs next series, as Chris Conley snared a two-yard touchdown pass.

Despite trailing by 10, the Raiders would not give up, as they drove down the field and Carlson nailed a 43-yard field goal to get the Raiders within seven; however, his onside kick was recovered by the Chiefs and they kneeled three times to close out the victory.

NOTES: There was a skirmish between Cook and Eric Murray in the second quarter, and both players were assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

UP NEXT: Once again, a division leader will head into the Coliseum, as the AFC North Division leading Pittsburgh Steelers face the Raiders on December 9.

Originally, scheduled for 5:20 pm on NBC, the game was flexed out and will be played at 1:25 pm on FOX.

49ers Try to Pull the Impossible Against Seahawks on Sunday

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens rolls out during a drill at practice on Oct. 18, 2018. (Ryan Gorcey / S.F. Examiner)

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA — The rivalry is renewed this Sunday as the 2-9 San Francisco 49ers travel up to Seattle to take on the hated 6-5 Seahawks. The rivalry has been relatively one-sided of late with Seattle taking every game since 2013.

They’ve done an exceptional job defending Century Link with the assistance of the 12th man, as the 49ers haven’t won in Seattle in 2011. Much of this is thanks to Russell Wilson, who is 11-2 all-time against the red and gold. Wilson is once again having an incredible season, passing for 2,531 yards thus far with 25 touchdowns and five interceptions.

It’ll be an uphill climb for the 49ers’ defense that has only forced five turnovers all season, including just two interceptions all year. They’ll need a huge rebound after the worst performance of the season in an 18-point embarrassment where the defense failed to get a takeaway. It’s especially horrendous when it happens against the Bucs, who have been handing out turnovers like they’re Christmas presents with 29 on the season.

The Seahawks are right in the middle of the playoff fight, currently the first team out, but a huge win against an abysmal 49ers team will most likely bump them right back in.

This Sunday, we’ll learn whether or not last weekend’s performance was due to the Reuben Foster meltdown that occurred on Saturday night or if this team has quit on Shanahan and co. If it’s the latter, it’s time to recognize the hot seat.

One player that would love to go into Seattle and turn things around is Richard Sherman. The all-pro corner returns to his old stomping grounds for the first time in red and gold, chirping all week long in preparation.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: 49ers get ready for a noisy time in Seattle

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Photo credit: ninerswire.usatoday.com

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe:

#1 San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is so concerned about the noise level that they had to deal with at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay last Sunday. He plans to ask the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to have the very loud PA announcer to keep the volume down.

#2 Shanahan is quite familiar with the noise level at upcoming CenturyLink Field this coming Sunday-a place better know for the fans as the 12th man.

#3 The Seattle Seahawks have won seven straight home games, making the 49ers visit to Century Link tough enough in spite of dealing with the loud crowd.

#4 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens quarterback rating has taken a dive since his debut against the Raiders (151.9) against the New York Giants (73.3), and then it fell against Tampa Bay (62.1).

#5 The Reuben Foster signing by Washington took many by surprise and only two days after he was let go by the 49ers. Washington’s head coach Jay Gruden said the team will address the community saying the team will address the outcry and they’ll try and find out exactly what happened.

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

 

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Reid says Gruden is doing what’s right and has lots of respect for Chucky

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arrowheadpride.com photo: Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will lead his team onto the field at the Oakland Coliseum this Sunday against the Oakland Raiders

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe:

#1 The Raiders (2-9) host the Kansas City Chiefs (9-2) this Sunday this week the issue of Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has come up and questions about how he has coached this team and some even have said he doesn’t know what he is doing. We ask Joe if that’s not true.

#2 Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that it wasn’t true and that the Raiders have a good coach, someone that Reid said he respected and considers coach Gruden a friend.

#3 Gruden and Reid were assistant coaches together at Green Bay from 1992-94 and Gruden said of Reid that he’s a great friend of his.

#4 Joe talks about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has 3628 passing yards, 117.9 in passing, and has a league-high passing rating of 37 touchdowns.

#5 Chiefs and Raiders this Sunday. Joe tells us if the Raiders have a chance in this one.

Join Joe each week for the Raiders podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com