Category: NFL

Nowhere to go, but up for the 49ers

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Photo credit: espn.com

By Jeremy Harness

Four weeks ago, 49ers fans had reason to hope for big things to happen this year. Now they have this to process:

The 49ers have been reduced to a very good practice squad team, thanks in much part to injuries, and then this development: The 49ers just lost to a winless team.

That’s right, they gave the Arizona Cardinals their first win of the season last Sunday, and things do not figure to get any better for the 49ers this season, making 1-15 a very distinct possibility. They are not favored in any of the remaining 11 games, and to say that they face a daunting task at Green Bay this Monday night would be an understatement.

Here’s reason No. 1: If you put on a 49ers uniform, apparently you’re much more susceptible to getting seriously injured than any other team in the NFL. The proof is in the ever-growing injury report each week, not to mention losing their starting quarterback in the second week and your starting running back before the season even began.

In the latest episode of “ER” — masterfully disguised as a football game — Matt Breida had to leave Sunday’s game with an ankle injury and did not return. Thankfully, it did not turn out to be a high ankle sprain – which takes several weeks to recover from – but it is serious enough that he will likely not play Monday night.

Meanwhile, receiver Dante Pettis will miss Monday night’s game as well due to the knee injury he suffered against the Chargers a week and a half ago. Another blow has been dealt to the already-hurting offense, as receiver Marquise Goodwin has a hamstring issue that threatens to keep him out against the Packers.

All of this means that the C.J. Beathard really has no big-play receivers or backs to go to, not a good sign for a backup quarterback that needs all the help he can get right about now, especially going into a place that the 49ers have seldom won over the years.

The Packers are dealing with some injuries of their own, but they are fairly manageable, especially compared with what the 49ers are facing. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is listed as questionable for Monday night with a knee injury that he has been battling for a couple of weeks. However, he is expected to suit up against the 49ers.

Receiver Randall Cobb, like Goodwin, is attempting to fight off a pesky hamstring issue, but he is reportedly hopeful to play this Monday night.

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

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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.

Headline Sports with London Marq: Sox move onto ALCS; Does LeBron have a supporting cast?; Steelers’ latest distraction; What’s up with Carr?

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Photo credit: @TheClemReport

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Boston Red Sox took three out of four from the New York Yankees in the ALDS to move onto the ALCS to face the Houston Astros.

#2 How effective do you think LeBron James will be for the Los Angeles Lakers and does he have the support around him?

#3 At 10:08 AM on April 24th, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown threw large items including two vases and furniture from 14 floors above nearly hitting a grandfather and his two-year grandson. Brown was upset that he was accused of stealing $80,000 and a gun. Brown said he has been followed by the fans and media since the incident as he currently faces two lawsuits for “‘damages in excess of $15,000,’ exclusive of’ attorney fees and interest.”

#4 The Oakland Raiders fell to 1-4 after a 26-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers threw for 339 yards along with 22-27 completed passes.

#5 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr got sacked three times and turned the ball over twice.

London Marq does the Headline Sports podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Who’s really to blame for the 49ers’ loss to the Cardinals Sunday?

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Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports photo: San Francisco 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard hopes to get things turned around on Monday Night Football Oct 15th at the Frozen Tundra in Green Bay’s Lambeau Field

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 How much optimism if any walked out Levi’s Stadium after losing to a winless Arizona Cardinals team last Sunday? What’s the 49ers morale like now?

#2 Talk about the offense. Was it a matter 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard not getting any support because of five turnovers or was it was Beathard who let the team down?

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

Chargers’ 26-10 win drops the Raiders to 1-4 on the season

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Jeremy Kahn

Once again, the Oakland Raiders are full of excuses after yet another loss to a division opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, during the 2018 season.

Philip Rivers found Austin Ekeler for a 44-yard touchdown pass, as the Chargers broke a 3-3 tie on their way to a 26-10 victory over the Raiders at Stubhub Center on Sunday.

That touchdown from Rivers to Ekeler started a 19-0 run for the Chargers, as the Raiders fall to 1-4 on the season.

Ekeler’s touchdown reception began very strangely, as Rivers bobbled the snap on first-and-10; however, he was able to get rid of it, while getting away from three blitzing Raiders defenders. The running back got away from two Raiders at the 40 yard-line, and then got a key block from Keenan Allen on his way to the end zone to the give the Chargers the lead for good with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter.

That was one of four plays of 25 yards or more for the Chargers, who have 29 plays of 20 yards or more on the season. Only the Chargers cross-town rival, the Los Angeles Rams and long-time rival, the Kansas City Chiefs have more with 30.

Rivers ended the afternoon with 339 yards, and it was the 59th career 300-yard game since he joined the NFL in 2004. It was also the eighth 300-yard game against the Raiders, as he went 22-for-27 on the afternoon.

Melvin Gordon rushed for 58 yards and was on the receiving end for 62 yards, as he extended the Chargers lead up to 17-3 at the half on a one-yard touchdown run.

The Gordon touchdown was setup when Martavis Bryant fumbled the ball, and Jahleel Addae recovered the fumble at the Raiders’ 45-yard line.

Derek Carr was sacked three times, and the Raiders turned the ball over twice, giving the Chargers 13 points.

It was a tough night for Marshawn Lynch, who entered the game fourth in the NFL in rushing was held to just nine carries for 31 yards.

Carr went 24-for-33 for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception that of course brought another excuse from Jon Gruden.

With the ball on the Chargers one-yard line, Carr threw an ill-fated interception instead of handing the ball off to Lynch and was reminded people of the Pete Carroll call at the end of Super Bowl 49, when Russell Wilson threw an interception instead of handing the ball off to Lynch and ended costing the Seattle Seahawks a chance at their second consecutive Super Bowl Championship.

“We had bad plays today,” said Gruden. “I think we pressed a little bit. The play calling needs to improve. That’s my job. We’ve got to play better collectively than we did today.”

In all four of their losses, Gruden has made excuses and yet here is another one just five games into the season.

UP NEXT: After the short trip to Southern California, the Raiders return “HOME,” for their next home game on October 28th at 1:05 pm PT; however, the game against the Seattle Seahawks is in London next Sunday at 10:00 am PT.

This is the Raiders second trip to London, with their coming during the 2014 season, where the Raiders lost to the Miami Dolphins before a crowd of 83,436 at Wembley Stadium.

Overall, this the fourth game that the Raiders will have played since 2014, as they defeated the Houston Texans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, by the final score of 27-20 in 2016 and then last season, the Raiders returned to Estadio Azteca, where they lost to the New England Patriots 33-8.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in the 49ers’ 28-18 Loss to the Cardinals

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–Any optimism left in the 2018 season for the 49ers walked out of Levi’s Stadium disgusted on Sunday after the Arizona Cardinal’s picked up their first win of the season with a 28-18 victory over San Francisco.

The Niners can’t seem to shake the constants in their season that continue to cost them games. Injuries, penalties, turnovers, and missed tackles continue to be the Achilles heel of the red and gold, and there’s no sign of the bleeding to come to an end. On Sunday, injuries and turnovers once again delivered the knock-out blow.

The Ugly
Statistics show that when a team is minus-one in the turnover differential mark, they have an 80% chance of losing the game. On Sunday, the 49ers coughed up the ball five times, while the Cardinals didn’t lose the ball once.

Four of them came from C.J. Beathard with two interceptions and two strip sacks, including a scoop and score that gave Arizona a 21-12 lead and ended the game.

The other turnover came on Raheem Mostert’s first carry of the season before Patrick Peterson returned it 49 yards, setting up Arizona’s second TD.

The only reason Mostert even touched the ball was due to injury. After rushing eight times for 56 yards, including a long of 17 yards, it looked like Matt Breida was once again off to an explosive start. That is, until his eighth carry of the game, when he went down with a left ankle sprain that prevented him from returning.

The Bad
After the Niners scored first, they, of course, missed the extra point attempt due to a bad snap. Robbie Gould didn’t even attempt to kick it.

Arizona didn’t take long to come right back in it. On his best play of the day, Josh Rosen immediately went deep and hooked up with Christian Kirk on a 75-yard play action pass that found the end zone. The Cardinals did make the extra point to go up 7-6.

The 49ers pass rush remains one of the worst in all of football. Despite, holding Rosen to an abysmal 10-of-25 for 170 yards, the Niners were only able to sack him once and hit him four times.

The lone sack came from Cassius Marsh, caused by a bad snap that Rosen had to pick up. The three other QB hits came from DeForest Buckner, who remains the only playmaker the defense seems to have.

With a rookie quarterback that is struggling on the worst team in the league, the defense needs to be better. Instead, they let him walk in and collect the first win of his career throwing only nine completions for 95 yards after his first play of the game.

David Johnson found the end zone twice for the Cardinals. Thanks to excellent field position, he was held to a total of 55 yards, but still finished with a productive day with his second coming in garbage time in the fourth quarter to extend Arizona’s lead to 28-12.

On top of the missed PAT from Robbie Gould, he also missed a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that ended his franchise-long 33 straight field goals made.

The Good
There aren’t too many positives to take from San Francisco’s most embarrassing loss in recent memory, especially when you have five turnovers. However, on the drives where San Francisco didn’t turnover the ball, it wasn’t completely awful.

On the opening drive, Beathard found rhythm with Kyle Juszczyk connecting on two big plays for a combined 44 yards that led the team down the field. The Niners cruised down the field before Breida found paydirt on a quick shovel pass from Beathard for the opening score.

Juszczyk caught six of the seven passes sent his way for 75 yards.

Beathard’s numbers looked okay too (of course, minus the turnovers). He threw 34-of-53 for 349 yards and two touchdowns. He once again worked well with George Kittle, who’s beginning to look like the only weapon left on defense. Kittle caught five passes for 83 yards, including the Niners’ biggest offensive play of the day at 45 yards.

The Niners racked up 447 yards of total offense and held the ball for an astonishing 40:12, but again gave the ball up five times.

Of course, there’s no silver lining when your team loses at home to the worst team in football, except for the fact that the Faithful will give up on the season and pull for a better draft pick.

Hey, the Niners just moved ahead of Arizona on the draft board.

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

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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.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders head to Carson to face LA Chargers in West AFC battle

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raiderswire.com photo: Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has been some throwing some career-like games, but the best is yet to come in Los Angeles and London this Sunday and on October 14th.

On the Raiders podcast with Joe:

#1 The Raiders, who just got by the Cleveland Browns at the Oakland Coliseum, will play their third road game in four weeks and a fourth road game in London on October 14th. This will be a real road test for team.

#2 The last time these two teams met, the Chargers defeated the Raiders last season in LA by a score of 30-10. Do you see the matchup from last year to this year being any different minus no Khalil Mack?

#3 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr engineered a six-play, 53-yards in 58 seconds that wound up Carr throwing a seven-yard touchdown to Jared Cook that was crucial as every point counted in this one.

#4 How magical is Carr on setting up  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?

#5 So with Carr throwing some good ball, how’s this going to go down in the next two weeks with matches in LA and in London forthcoming?

Joe does the Raiders podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Lots of injuries, but Beathard hopes to persevere against the Cardinals on Sunday

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Photo credit: ninerswire.usatoday.com

On the 49ers podcast with Joe:

#1 The Arizona Cardinals have had problems all season, including taking a 0-4 record into Levis Stadium this Sunday against the 49ers. Can the 49ers get win number two against a wounded Cardinal team?

#2 Speaking of wounded, 49er quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had surgery on Wednesday morning for the torn ACL left knee. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said it was too early to predict when Garoppolo would be back.

#3 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon, who had his ACL torn on September 1st, was on crutches with a brace for his right knee related to Garoppolo’s injury, saying the only thing they could do is push each other during the next nine months to recover.

#4 C.J. Beathard had a good outing against the LA Chargers at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday. It may only be one game, but could that be an indication that Beathard will have the ability to make some plays this Sunday against the Cardinals?

#5 Left tackle Joe Staley, center Weston Richburg and right tackle Mike McGlinchey didn’t practice. All three suffered knee injuries during Sunday’s against the Chargers.

Joe Lami does the 49ers podcasts and is the 49ers beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders say they will leave Oakland after this season if city continues its lawsuit

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Las Vegas Review-Journal photo: A rendering of the Las Vegas Raiders stadium project. (MANICA Architecture)

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony:

The Oakland Raiders have made it clear that they will leave the Oakland Coliseum for other digs. The city is near filing a anti trust suit against the Raiders for leaving for Las Vegas after the 2019 season or 2020 season at the latest. The Cal Bears Memorial Stadium was thought to be a place where the Raiders could play in if they bolted the Coliseum after this season, but the Bears have said that they have limited parking and for an NFL game it wouldn’t be a suitable site to accommodate that many autos.

Any thoughts of the Raiders playing in the South Bay at either Levis Stadium in Santa Clara or at Spartan Stadium in San Jose were also out of the questions. The Raiders and 49ers front offices are noted for not getting along, Levi’s Stadium is out, and Spartan Stadium is too small to suit an NFL team as the Spartans’ capacity is 30,456. The Raiders’ only other option might be at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) if all else fails.

The Raiders’ narrow win to the Cleveland Browns 45-42–would that game be considered an improvement or they still have a long way to go? The Raiders play in Carson this weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5. For Week 6, they fly to London for a match with the Seattle Seahawks.

Tony Renteria does the Oakland Raiders podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com each Thursday