Category: Oakland Raiders

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

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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.

McCrane’s field goal wins it for the Raiders in overtime 45-42

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By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Despite the fact that the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns entered the game with a combined record of 1-4-1, this was a heavyweight bout that went the distance.

Rookie Matt McCrane kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:46 remaining in overtime, as the Raiders came back from a 14-point third quarter deficit to defeat the Browns 45-42 before a crowd of 53,387 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

McCrane, who missed a 50-yard field goal on the Raiders initial series in the overtime, but Derek Carr and the Raiders drove down the field after stopping the Browns on their only possession of overtime and the Raiders picked up their first win of the season.

It was a huge day for Carr, who went 35-for-58 for 437 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.

The win by the Raiders spoiled the starting debut of the Browns number one pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Baker Mayfield, who went 21-for-41 for 295 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Mayfield’s first interception gave the Raiders their first points of the afternoon, as Gareon Conley returned the Mayfield pass 36 yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders an early 7-0 lead with 10:01 remaining in the first quarter

On their ensuing possession, the Browns took over eight minutes off the clock and settled for a Greg Joseph 25-yard field goal to get the Browns within four.

After the Joseph field goal, the Raiders began to drive down the field; however, the drive stalled at the 29-yard line and the Raiders were forced to settle for a 48-yard field goal off the infield dirt and the McCrane field goal went wide left.

On the first play after the missed field goal, rookie Nick Chubb took the handoff and ran 63 yards for the Browns.

Unfortunately, the Raiders could not do anything on their next series and were forced to punt the ball back to the Browns.

Just four plays into the drive, Mayfield found Darren Fells for his first NFL touchdown and after the subsequent two-point conversion, the Browns led 17-7.

Carr drove the Raiders right back down the field and the drive ended, when Carr found Amari Cooper for an eight-yard touchdown pass to get the Raiders within three of the visitors from Cleveland.

Joseph gave the Browns a 20-14 lead on their first possession of the third quarter, as he hit a 28-yard field.

Carr then was picked by Damarious Randall on the third play of the next drive and returned the interception 50 yards to the Raiders’ 31-yard line, and the Browns immediately took advantage of the turnover.

Rashaan Melvin was called for a 24-yard pass interference penalty that gave the Browns a first-and-goal at the Raiders seven-yard line. Two plays later, Mayfield found Jarvis Landry for a two-yard touchdown pass and after it looked like, the Raiders stopped Duke Johnson on the two-point conversion, it was reviewed and the call was overturned to give the Browns a 28-14 lead.

After another punt by the Raiders, the Browns could have put the game away; however, that plan went awry.

Rookie Mo Hurst hit Mayfield, who fumbled the ball and Johnathan Hankins recovered the ball on the Browns seven-yard line.

Two plays later, Carr cut the Browns lead in half, as he found Jared Cook for a seven-yard touchdown pass.

Over the next three possessions, the two teams kept punting the ball back to each other that is until McCrane hit a 29-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Mayfield was then sacked again, and fumbled the ball and once again, and Hankins was all over it.

Carr then gave the Raiders the lead, when he found Jordy Nelson for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders a three-point lead.

After another three and out by the Browns, McCrane kicked a career-long 44 field goal to increase the Raiders lead up to six.

The Raiders almost got the ball back on the kickoff, as McCrane recovered the fumble by Antonio Callaway; however, the call was reversed and the Browns took over.

It was Mayfield, who looked like the veteran and not the rookie, as he found Callaway for a 59-yard completion down to the Raiders’ one-yard line.

Carlos Hyde then scored on a one-yard run to give the Browns a one-point lead with 8:11 remaining in the game.

Once again, the Raiders were forced to punt the ball after a three-and-out, they shot themselves in the foot with penalties.

Dwayne Harris committed fair catch interference on Jabrill Peppers, to give the Browns the ball at their own 37-yard line.

Hyde then went 16 yards, and then six before Chubb took the handoff for Mayfield and scored from 41 yards out to extend the Browns lead to eight points.

“That was exciting. I’m happy for him, definitely. He fed off of me, I feed off of him. We gotta keep it going. I love when he breaks those runs,” said Hyde.

After the Browns successfully stopped the Raiders on fourth-and-one at the Browns nine-yard line, the Browns took over and were primed to run out the clock.

Unfortunately, the Browns were unable to run out the clock, as what looked like a first down on a Hyde run was overturned by the officials.

“I definitely thought that we had the first down. But they changed he call, We got to get it right there. If we’re going to win the game, we gotta get that one,” said Hyde.

The Raiders drove right down the field with no timeouts, and Carr found Cook for a seven-yard touchdown and the two-point was good to tie up the game with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

Mayfield and the Browns got the ball back, but Mayfield threw his second interception and then Carr kneeled on the ball to send the game into overtime.

The Raiders got the ball in overtime, but McCrane missed the 50-yard field goal and the Browns were unable to capitalize, as they went three and out to give the ball back to the Raiders.

Carr drove the Raiders down the field, and McCrane ended the game with the 29-yard field goal and Jon Gruden was a winner on the Raiders sideline for the first time since the 2001 AFC Playoffs.

NOTES: Donald Penn was forced to leave the game with a leg injury in the second half, while the Browns lost Safety Terrance Mitchell to a broken wrist in the first half.

UP NEXT: The Raiders head to Los Angeles, where the Raiders will face the Los Angeles Chargers at the Stubhub Center next Sunday at 1:05 pm PT.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders and Carr battle to get first season win–this time, at home against the Browns

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On the Raiders podcast with Joe:

The Oakland Raiders are winless 0-3. They’re coming on to face the Cleveland Browns at the Coliseum. Can the Raiders win one at home this Sunday? For Browns head coach, Hue Jackson, it’s a return of glory of sorts to face his former team, the Raiders, and to coach against them in Oakland. The Raiders’ Jordy Nelson went for 173 yards and six catches great game last Sunday against a rugged Miami club.

For the Raiders, there’s a different receiving star each week Jared Cook with 180 yards vs. the Rams in Week 1, wide receiver Amari Cooper with 116 yards vs. Denver in Week 2. For the Raiders quarterback. Derek Carr with 345 yards, 27-39 with one touchdown. Can Carr lead this team to their first victory this Sunday?

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

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Will Carr need to adjust anything on offense in preparation for Sunday’s game?

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On the Raiders podcast with Tony:

#1 The Raiders must like the first half of football games because they always take the lead and lose them in the second half.

#2 Things were so bad for the Raiders in their 28-20 loss in Miami that Dolphins wide receiver Albert Wilson threw a 52-yard touchdown and also caught a 74-yard touchdown to come back from being down 17-7.

#3 The Miami Dolphins’ Xavien Howard played some good defense stopping quarterback Derek Carr’s throws. Howard also stuck the Raiders from scoring a goal line touchdown in the second quarter.

#4 Carr had a 27-39 day for 345 yards and got picked off twice. What does Carr needs to improve for this Sunday after the Raiders have now gone to 0-3?

#5 The Raiders’ Jordy Nelson was the Raiders’ top receiver with six passes for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Tony does the Raiders podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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

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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’ halftime lead disappears once again in 28-20 loss to Dolphins

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By Jeremy Kahn

It seems that the Oakland Raiders just like playing in the first half and not in the second half of games…even when they knew about the Miami Dolphins in advance.

Once again, the Raiders went into the locker room at the end of the first half with the lead; however, the lead slipped away again for the third straight game.

Wide receiver Albert Wilson threw a 52-yard touchdown pass, and sealed the game with a 74-yard touchdown catch and the Dolphins came back from a 17-7 halftime deficit to defeat the Raiders 28-20 at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

With the victory, the Dolphins improved to 3-0 for only the third time since the 1998 season and the Raiders are 0-3 out of the gate for the first time since the 2014 season, when they started the season 0-10.

Xavien Howard picked off two Derek Carr passes in Dolphins’ territory, who also came up with a huge goal line stop on fourth down that kept the Raiders out of the end zone in the second quarter.

Carr ended the day going 27-for-39 for 345 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Jordy Nelson was the top wide receiver for Carr on the afternoon, as he caught six passes for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Through the first 10 minutes of the game, Nelson caught three passes for 139 yards, but could only catch four passes for 34 yards over the final 50 minutes.

Ryan Tannehill went 17-for-23 for 289 yards and three touchdowns and no turnovers for the undefeated Dolphins.

Tannehill also carried the ball three times for 26 yards, while former San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore was held to just 12 yards on six carries, as the Raiders rush defense held the Dolphins to just 41 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Marshawn Lynch led the Raiders in rushing with 64 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, as he scored from one yard out to give the Raiders a 17-7 with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter

On their ensuing possession, the Dolphins drove right down the field and scored when Jakeem Grant caught a 18-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill to cut the Raiders lead down to three at the end of the third quarter.

Wilson gave the Dolphins the lead for good with 7:18 remaining in the game, as he took a toss from Gore, who got the ball from Tannehill and Wilson thru the ball to a wide-open Grant.

Carr then began to drive the Raiders down the field on what could have the game-winning drive, but Carr’s pass into the end zone was intercepted by Howard and then the Dolphins clinched the game with Wilson’s 74-yard touchdown reception that saw him and Grant high five each other down the sidelines on their way to the end zone.

NOTES: Donald Penn was forced to leave the game in the first half after suffering a concussion, and Karl Joseph missed the second half with a lower leg injury.

UP NEXT: After a two-road trip, the Raiders return to the Coliseum, where they will face the Cleveland Browns and former head coach Hue Jackson on September 30 at 1:05 pm PDT. The Browns are coming off their first win in 635 days after a 21-17 victory over the New York Jets on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders need to button down the hatches on defense; Carr can beat the Dolphins

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On the Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 The Raiders continue their road trip. This time, Week 3 brings them to Miami as they come off a razor edge loss in Denver last Sunday 20-19.

#2 Last season in Week 9, both the Raiders and Dolphins played to a 27-24 Raiders win when Marshawn Lynch carried a three-yard, fourth quarter touchdown for the win.

#3 The Raiders lost on a game-winning field goal after leading the Broncos by as much as 17 points. Broncos quarterback Casey Keenum helped the Broncos’ down field to set up a score.

#4 After Khalil Mack went to Chicago, the Raiders’ defense has been suspect and that was evident after dropping the 17 points in the second half of Sunday’s game.

#5 The Raiders now face the Miami Dolphins (2-0) with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, whose 31-57 for 398 yards. Joe takes a look at these two teams matching up.

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

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders couldn’t seal the deal in Denver Sunday; look to Miami for first road win

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On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony:

#1 For the last six seconds of Sunday’s game in Oakland, the Oakland Raiders looked as if they had game in hand with a 19-17 lead, but Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal for the 20-19 win at Sports Authority Field.

#2 The Broncos led by quarterback Casey Kennum led the Broncos down the field with just 1:58 left in the game, Kennum threw to Tom Patrick for 26 yards in the closing moments of the game to get the ball and McManus into field goal range for the winning score.

#3 Tony talks about some of the numbers starting for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr going 29-32 for 288 yards, one touchdown and one sack. Impressive outing for Carr who did all he could do to win in the Raiders’ first road game.

#4 Wide receiver Amari Cooper tallied up some yards with 10 receptions for 116 yards. Although Cooper didn’t get a touchdown, he averaged 11 yards and topped the team for total yards.

#5 The Raiders get set for their next meeting against the Miami Dolphins, the Dolphins are 2-0 and have Ryan Tannehill, who’s averaging 199 yards with four touchdowns on the year. Tannehill and the Dolphins have been fierce. Will the Raiders defense have their hands full this Sunday? Tony takes a look.

Tony does the Oakland Raiders podcasts each Thursday and is a beat writer for the Sacramento Kings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports with London Marq: Garoppolo, 49ers look to avoid the INT Sunday; Halos look to be spoilers as A’s chase Yanks; Raiders drop to 0-2 in close battle with Denver; Quakes make a coaching change; plus more

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Photo credit: @KNBR

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 The A’s battle the LA Angels this week and the Angels want to be spoilers and try and set the A’s chase of the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card a peg or two.

#2 The Oakland Raiders played a nail-biter on Sunday, but lost to the Denver Broncos just by one point. Derek Carr looked and threw well, but the Raiders tried as hard as they could and lost their second game of the season, dropping them now to 0-2.

#3 With all the losses mounting, the San Jose Earthquakes fired head coach Mikael Stahre and assistant coach Alex de Crook. The Quakes have won only four games this season. When do you think Stahre should have got fired.

#4 The San Francisco Giants, who are a good 12 games out of first place, and their current hosts, the San Diego Padres, who are some 26 games out, will mostly look at their call ups during this series since the playoffs are dimming each day.

#5 The San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a rough outing against the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. The Niners had a 17-point lead, but lost it as their lead collapsed to just three points. If it wasn’t for a holding penalty late in the fourth quarter, the Lions would have been in field goal range or at best scoring range after picking off a Garoppolo pass.

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

Raiders will head to Miami for Week 3 tilt with Dolphins

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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.