Category: Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Carr’s come back prowess gives Raiders offense the confidence each time out: Oakland set for KC next Sunday

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AP file photo: Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) had six catches for 189 yards and one touchdown last Sunday against the San Diego Chargers at the Oakland Coliseum

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

The Oakland Raiders are coming off a huge successful win over the San Diego Chargers 34-31 last Sunday and a look at how important is it to win these division games. Also the Raiders missed some offensive opportunities in the first half on offense. It was anticipated to be a Raider blow out but turned out to be a nail biter.

Quarterback Derek Carr got an B+ from J Hawkes instant report card last Sunday for his performance. Carr went 25-40 on passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns. The Raiders behind 17-9 in the third quarter got back in the ball game with a 64 yard pass to wide receiver Amari Cooper to close the score to 17-16.

Also Joe takes a preview look at the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders for this Sunday’s game at the Coliseum

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commenatry: Only the NFL board of governors stands in the way of a Raiders move to Vegas

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AP file photo: In this file photo Apr 28th Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis “Just Move Baby” meets with Raiders fans in Las Vegas as the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee hosted a meeting with Davis as lawmakers consider funding for a $1.9 billion stadium and a $1.4 billion convention center on the strip in Vegas on Mon Oct 10th

On the podcast with Amaury, There’s zero chance that the city of Oakland builds a football and baseball only stadium that’s out of the question that’s not going to happen out of public revenue. The A’s have a much better shot than the Raiders. Before this Las Vegas idea came about because it’s baseball you play more games you going to generate more revenue and at home you play 81 games and the A’s look like the benefactor.

The way it looks right now it looks impossible to keep two teams to keep playing at the Oakland Coliseum. Major League Baseball doesn’t like the shared facility and that it could cause a serious injury to an outfielder with the torn field after a football game during baseball season when football gets started.  Also what would happen if the A’s were in the playoffs right now and you have the Raiders going at the same time? So there are problems with having two major franchises going at the same time.

The City of Las Vegas is prepared to put up the money in public funds to bring the Oakland Raiders to town. There is only one entity standing in the way of such a move the NFL Board of Governors. Former Oakland Raiders owner the late Al Davis tried to move the Raiders to Los Angeles and had to fight the NFL Board and sued to move. Will current Raiders owner Mark Davis be able to do the same thing if the NFL tries to block the Raiders from moving again?

Amaury discusses the future of the Oakland A’s and Raiders on today’s podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Raiders Instant Report Card: Cooper finally scores, Raiders tie Broncos for first place in AFC West with win over Chargers

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND, Calif — I guess the Raiders love winning games by the closest of margins this season.

In a match up teams going in opposite directions, Oakland prevailed over visiting San Diego, 34-31, Sunday afternoon. Oakland took advantage of four Chargers’ turnovers and a botched field goal attempt on San Diego’s final drive of the game.

All of Oakland’s games this season have been decided by seven points or less, leading to the Raiders (4-1) to a share of the AFC West lead with the Denver Broncos.

Denver (4-1) was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing at home to the Atlanta Falcons 23-16 Sunday. Atlanta (4-1) also defeated the Raiders 35-28 in Week 2, spoiling Oakland’s home opener.

Checkout each unit’s grade following the Raiders’ first win at the Oakland Coliseum this year:

Quarterback (B+) – Coming into the game Sunday, their was so much talk that Oakland would blowout San Diego, who are a depleted with 14 players on injured reserve but that was not the case.

Oakland missed opportunities in the first half on offense, settling for three Sebastian Janikowski field goals and trailing San Diego, 10-9 at halftime.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr seemed overly-excited in the first half in front of the sold out Raider Nation crowd, throwing only his second interception of the season on a shovel pass intended for rookie running back DeAndre Washington to Chargers defensive tackle Brandon Mebane on Oakland’s first drive of the game.

But Carr rebounded, completing 25-of-40 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns against a Chargers secondary that were playing without Pro Bowl cornerback Jason Verrett, who was lost for the season with a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

With Oakland trailing 17-9 in the third quarter,  Carr threw a beautiful pass to wide receiver Amari Cooper down the Chargers’ sideline for a 64-yard score to pull Oakland closer, 17-16.

Following a Philip Rivers’ 1-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Hunter Henry that pushed San Diego’s lead to 24-16, Carr found wide receiver Michael Crabtree for a 21-yard touchdown on 4th and 2 that trimmed the Chargers’ lead to 24-22 before Carr found Cooper on a quick slant for the two-point conversion that tied the score 24-24.

For the season, Carr has thrown for 1,383 yards, 11 touchdowns, and two interceptions while completing 67-percent of his passes.

”Sometimes you just have to find ways to win and get it done at the end,” Carr said after the game. ”It would be nice if we didn’t have to do all the stress and drama at the end. That would be nice.”

Running Backs (B) –Without starting running back Latavius Murray, the ground game was left in the hands of rookie running backs DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, and fullback Jamize Olawale.

The trio registered just 23 carries for 89 yards on the ground, with Richard leading the group with only 31 yards on eight carries.

Washington rushed for 23 yards on a team-leading nine carries. Olawale (six carries and tied for a team-high six catches) was the only back to score, a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter that gave Oakland a 34-24 lead.

Offensive line (C-) – After not giving up a sack last week in Baltimore and keeping Carr upright, the unit gave up three sacks to San Diego Sunday.

Rookie defensive end Joey Bosa, who was making his NFL debut after missing San Diego’s first four games, found himself getting well acquainted with Carr, sacking Carr twice.

Linebacker Jatavis Brown recorded a sack for San Diego.

Wide Receivers (A) – It took five games, but wide receiver Amari Cooper finally got into the end zone Sunday.

Cooper had his best game of the season, catching six passes for 138 yards, and a touchdown. Cooper blew past Chargers’ strong safety Adrian Phillips down San Diego’s sideline for a 64-yard score.

The Raiders’ second-year wide receiver was targeted a team-high 12 times Sunday, and now leads the team in targets (44), yards (456, pacing fifth in the league among wide receivers), and is second to teammate Michael Crabtree for the team lead in receptions (29 to 26).

Crabtree finished with three catches and 47 yards Sunday, but hauled in his fifth touchdown catch of the year. Crabtree is tied with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown for the most touchdown catches in the league with five.

In 21 games with Oakland since 2015, Crabtree has recorded at least three catches in all games played and his 13 touchdowns from the start of last season are tied for sixth in the league over that span.

Oakland’s 32nd ranked defense had another tough day, giving up 423 yards of total offense to a Chargers team that was missing star wide receiver Keenan Allen and versatile running back Danny Woodhead. Allen and Woodhead both were lost for the season with torn ACL’s.

Even in the win, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio wasn’t happy with his defense’s performance, Del Rio called out his defense, saying that they need to “Stop playing Santa Claus. Stop giving out presents.”

Defensive Line (B) – Defensive tackles Stacy McGee (1.5 sacks) and Dan Williams (0.5 sack), were key in stopping Melvin Gordon and the Chargers’ ground game.

McGee forced two of San Diego’s five fumbles on the day.

Oakland’s defensive front limited the former Wisconsin Badger to 16 carries for 69 yards rushing.

Linebackers (A) – Newly signed linebacker Perry Riley, Jr. played great in his debut in Silver & Black, leading the team with seven tackles (six solo).

The former Washington linebacker started next to rookie Corey James for the injured Malcolm Smith. Smith, who did suit up, was active but didn’t play any snaps.

Riley Jr. will get a lot of playing time and could possible remain the starter if Smith’s injury continues to derail his season.

Secondary (C-) – The “gifts” that Raiders head coach might be referring to is the abundance of passing yards the secondary has given up game after game, as evident of the 356 yards and four touchdowns that San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers threw on the rebuilt unit.

Free agent addition Sean Smith intercepted his second pass of the season and rookie Karl Joseph recorded both his first interception and fumble recovery, but Oakland couldn’t stop the Chargers wide receivers.

David Amerson, rated as the best cornerback in the league according to Pro Football Focus, was burned by wide receiver Tyrell Williams for a 29-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter that gave San Diego a 7-3 lead.

Williams and fellow wide receiver Travis Benjamin had 117 receiving yards each, while combining for 12 catches.

Oakland is surrendering 330 yards per game through the air per game, which is dead last and that needs to improve.

Special Teams (A-) – Kicker Sebastian Janikowski accounted for 14 points on 4-of-5 field goals on the day, while punter Marquette King had three punts for an average of 41.3 yards per punt.

The Raiders welcome another bitter division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs (2-2), next Sunday at 1:25 p.m. PT.

Kansas City was on a bye week.

 

 

 

Oakland Raiders-San Diego Chargers post game wrap: Raiders win a wild one

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By Jeremy Kahn

AP photo: The Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) and the San Diego Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward (26) talk during the post game meet and greet at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday

OAKLAND-Could this finally be the year that the Oakland Raiders make their first playoff appearance since advancing all the way to the Super Bowl back in 2002.

If the offense continues to play like this, the Raiders will definitely see the postseason and they can thank the right arm of Derek Carr and the right foot of veteran kicker Sebastian Janikowski.

Carr went 25-for-40 for 317 yards and two touchdowns, as the Raiders came back to defeat the San Diego Chargers 34-31 before a crowd of 54,275 at the Coliseum.

It looked like the Chargers were going to send the game into overtime with just over two minutes remaining in the game, but rookie Drew Kaser was unable to hold onto the snap from Mike Windt and it was recovered by Chargers tight end Sean McGrath; however the Raiders took over on downs.

Unfortunately, the Raiders were unable to run out the clock and gave the Chargers one more shot at tying or winning the game.

Philip Rivers was able to complete a pass to Travis Benjamin, but after multiple laterals, the ball bounced out of bounds and the Raiders improved to 4-1 on the season and the Chargers fell to 1-4.

Rivers went 21-for-30 for 359 yards passing and four touchdowns on the afternoon, as he passed both Warren Moon and Johnny Unitas on the all-time list.

The downfall for both the Chargers and the Raiders was the fact that the two teams combined for five fumbles and two interceptions.

Not only did Carr throw two touchdowns to Amari Cooper, the first touchdown of the season for the second-year wide receiver, but Carr also found Michael Crabtree that gave the Raiders the lead for good with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter.

As for the 17-year veteran Janikowski, he was up to old tricks, as he made 4-of-5 field goals on the afternoon, missing a 50-yard attempt that went wide right.

Three of Janikowski’s four field goals came in the first half, including a 56-yard field goal as the first half came to a close and cut the Chargers lead down to 10-9.

Cooper caught six passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, while Jalen Richard, starting at running back in place of the injured Latavius Murray also caught six passes for 66 yards. Richard also carried the ball eight times for 31 yards, while DeAndre Washington led the Raiders in carries with nine and gained 23 yards on the ground.

Janikowski opened up the scoring in the first quarter, as the Raiders took 8:01 off the clock, as the left-footed kicker nailed a 20-yard field goal.

Tyrell Williams gave the Chargers a 7-3 lead in the second quarter, as he was on the receiving end of a 29-yard pass from Rivers.

Josh Lambo kicked a 36-yard field goal to give the Chargers 10-6, but Janikowski got the Raiders within one point at the half.

Rivers stretched the Chargers out to eight points in the third quarter, as he found Melvin Gordon for an 18-yard touchdown pass on the Chargers first drive of the third quarter.

Just 66 seconds later, Carr found an open Cooper for a 66-yard touchdown pass to get the Raiders within one point.

Following the Carr to Cooper 66-yard touchdown pass, Rivers drove the Chargers down the field and concluded when the veteran found Hunter Henry from a yard out.

Which meant in the first 4:50 of the third quarter, the two teams combined for three touchdowns and then on the Raiders next possession, Janikowski kicked a 48-yard field goal to get within five points.

On the Chargers next possession, Gordon fumbled the ball and it was recovered by rookie Karl Joseph that setup the Carr to Crabtree touchdown on fourth down that gave the Raiders the lead for good.

Joseph also came up his first interception of his career near the end of the first half that setup Janikowski’s field goal to send the Raiders into the locker room trailing by one point.

Oakland Raiders-San Diego Chargers podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon Fri Oct 7th 2016 preview

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AP file photo: The Oakland Raiders wider receiver Michael Crabtree (left) and Vadal Alexander (74) jump for joy after a Crabtree touchdown in the first half of last Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens

On the podcast with Joe:

The Oakland Raiders Quarterback Derek Carr had himself an afternoon against the Baltimore Ravens in last Sunday’s game passing 25-35 for 199 yards, the Raiders couldn’t hold a nine point lead in the fourth quarter. Joe takes a look at how concerning that maybe for Carr and Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio. Carr however was brilliant when he engineered a six play, 66 yard drive that got him a 23 yard touchdown to wide receiver Michael Crabtree with 2:12 left in the Raiders victory over the Ravens. As the Raiders now prepare for the San Diego Chargers at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday.

Joe Hawkes Beamon has all the latest on the Raiders on the podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland Raiders-San Diego Chargers preview: Raiders host Chargers in AFC West battle

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

AP file photo: Oakland Raiders Michael Crabtree (15) runs a pass route against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday Crabtree who scored three touchdowns is looking forward to the challenge of the San Diego Chargers next Sunday

OAKLAND, Calif — It’s been three weeks since Raider Nation has seen their team up close, and the last time the Silver & Black were at the Oakland Coliseum, their home opener, they lost to the Atlanta Falcons 35-28 in Week 2 dropping Oakland’s record to 1-1.

After playing three of their first four games on the road, Oakland (3-1), will play their next two games at home, both against AFC West opponents, first hosting the San Diego Chargers Sunday in Week 5 action at 1:25 p.m. PT.

Oakland welcomes the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 16 (Week 6).

The Raiders slipped by the Ravens, 28-27, in Baltimore last Sunday.

Quarterback Derek Carr, as cool as a cucumber, drove Oakland 66 yards in six plays, and found wide receiver Michael Crabtree tip-toeing the back of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown with 2:12 left in the fourth quarter.

The third-year quarterback from Fresno State has played more like a 10-year veteran during the first month of the season,  throwing for 1,066 yards, nine touchdowns, to just one interception.

“He is a guy that is very well-prepared,” Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said via CBSSports.com. “He’s really, I think, taken a step forward in terms of emotional control, the poise to be, kind of, surgeon-like and just be accurate with the ball and let his playmakers do their thing.”

Crabtree, who is off to a tremendous start to the season as well, dominated the Ravens’ second-ranked defense, scoring three touchdowns on seven catches for 88 yards.

The eight-year veteran from Texas Tech has become Carr’s big-play guy, leading the Raiders in receptions (26), touchdowns (4), and is second behind fellow wide out Amari Cooper (318) in receiving yards with 308.

Rookies are being thrust into live action for Oakland, especially as injuries begin to pile up.

The Raiders’ fifth-ranked rushing attack could be down a man Sunday, as starter Latavius Murray (toe) is not expected to play, so Oakland will rely heavily on rookie running backs DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard.

Washington, who will likely start, is second on the team with 147 rushing yards on 23 carries, while Richard is third with 144 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.

Middle linebacker Ben Heeney and tight end Lee Smith, who were both placed on season-ending injured reserve this week, will rely on rookie middle linebacker Corey James to fill Heeney’s void.

James, who took over for Heeney during Oakland’s 17-10 road victory in Tennessee during Week 3, recorded a team-high 15 tackles (3 assisted) in Week 4.

Smith, who was key in Oakland’s ground game with his strong blocking, leaves those duties to second-year tight end Clive Walford and fourth-year tight end, Mychal Rivera

The offensive line has been dealing with some injuries at tackle with Menelik Watson and Austin Howard. Rookie Vadal Alexander stepped in against Baltimore and solidified a unit that didn’t allow a sack in the game to a Ravens team that entered Week 4 with six sacks.

San Diego (1-3) travel to Northern California as a broken down team,  blowing three leads in the fourth quarter in the team’s final five minutes of the game this season.

The Chargers blew a 13-point second half lead in a 35-34 loss to the New Orleans Saints, thanks to fumbles by wide receiver Travis Benjamin and running back Melvin Gordon.

Benjamin, who signed with San Diego in the offseason following four years in Cleveland, leads the Chargers with 21 catches for 277 and two touchdowns.

San Diego’s season has been decimated by injuries, with 14 players on injured reserve.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries have taken out top-flight wide receiver Keenan Allen and running back  Danny Woodhead on the offensive side, but that doesn’t seem to bother Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

Despite all of the season-ending injuries, and with security blanket in tight end Antonio Gates dealing with a hamstring injury, Rivers has continued to put up arcade-like numbers throwing for 1,110 yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception.

Rivers’s 104.5 passer rating ranks seventh in the league behind Carr’s 104.6, while engineering an offense that averages 30.2 points per game.

Defensively, San Diego lost star linebacker Manti Te’o (Achilles) in the third game of the season, but linebackers Denzel Perryman and Jatavis Brown have filled in nicely combining for 44 tackles and two sacks.

The loss of Pro Bowl cornerback Jason Verrett for the season with a partially torn ACL really hurts San Diego’s pass defense, especially against Cooper and Crabtree.

Cornerback Casey Hayward has recorded three of the team’s six interceptions, while outside linebacker Melvin Ingram is the team leader with three sacks.

On paper, Oakland should dominate San Diego, but Rivers, who is 14-6 with 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions for his career against the Raiders, is the quarterback who can prevent Oakland from earning their first win at home Sunday if he gets hot.

Oakland took both meetings last year against San Diego.

 

Oakland Raiders-Baltimore Ravens game wrap: Another road win for the Silver and Black

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By Jeremy Kahn

AP photo: Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) threw under pressure for most of Sunday to help the Raiders just get by the Baltimore Ravens

Once again, the Oakland Raiders took the road and once again it will be a happy plane ride for the Silver and Black.

Derek Carr threw four touchdowns, including one to Michael Crabtree with 2:12 remaining in the game and the Raiders cans back to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 28-27 at M&T Bank Stadium, knocking the Ravens from the ranks of the unbeaten.

The Ravens took the lead with 3:30 remaining in the game, as they came back from a nine-point deficit. After the Ravens took the lead, Carr drove the Raiders down the field in 1:18 and a 66-yard drive that ended with Carr finding Crabtree for a 23-yard touchdown.

You have to go back to the 2002 season, when the Raiders made it to the Super Bowl to see when they won their first three road games of the season.

Carr ended the afternoon, going 25-for-35 for 199 yards with those four touchdowns, three of them went to Crabtree, who finished the game with seven catches for 88 yards and three touchdowns.

The Ravens, who fell to 3-1 on the season, trailed early in the second quarter by the score of 14-3 and then 21-12 with a little over 11 minutes remaining in the game.

Joe Flacco cut the Raiders lead down to 21-19 when he found Steve Smith, Sr. for a 52-yard touchdown pass. After the Raiders got the ball, the Ravens defense led by Lawrence Guy forced a fumble by DeAndre Washington, and the Ravens recovered it at the Raiders 17.

Terrance West scored four plays later from the three-yard line to give the Ravens their first lead of the afternoon.

Flacco ended the game by going 32-for-52 for 299 yards passing, as the Ravens as a team accumulated 412 yards of total offense against a Raiders defense that is one of the worst in the NFL.

Raiders Instant Report Card: Carr and Crabtree lead Oakland past Baltimore

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

AP photo: The Oakland Raiders wide receiver looks relieved, cool and collected after a narrow win against the Baltimore Ravens at the post game press conference on Sunday for the Raiders third straight road win

BALTIMORE, MD — Winning on the road in the NFL is a tough feat for any team to accomplish.

The Oakland Raiders are demonstrating that they have no problems winning on the road, after picking up their third win of the season with a 28-27 nail-biting win over the Ravens in Baltimore. Oakland won in New Orleans (Week 1) and in Tennessee (Week 3).

The Silver & Black (3-1), are off to their best start since 2000.

Checkout each unit’s grade following Oakland’s (3-1) road victory Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium:

Quarterback (A+) – What more can you ask Derek Carr to do on Sunday?

The Raiders starting quarterback played quite well, tying a career-high with four touchdown passes on 25-of-35 passes for 199 yards. But the game was not for the faint of heart, as Oakland couldn’t maintain a nine-point fourth quarter lead.

With Baltimore now clinging to a 27-21 lead in the fourth quarter, Carr engineered a 6-play, 66-yard drive that resulted in a 23-yard strike to wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the back of the end zone with 2:12 left.

For the season, Carr has thrown for 1,078 yards, nine touchdowns, and just one interception, giving Raider Nation confidence that Carr is the real deal.

In 11 red zone possessions this season, Oakland has scored 10 touchdowns which leads the league.

Running Backs (C) – Oakland’s ground attack mustered up just 62 yards, 28 of those by rookie DeAndre Washington who led all Raider rushers with 30 yards.

Washington’s fumble in the fourth quarter almost proved costly for the Raiders, after the fumble would set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Ravens’ running back Terrence West.

Starter Latavius Murray (eight carries for 19 yards) and rookie Jalen Richard (two carries for 15 yards), rounded out the rushing yards for Oakland.

Richard did factor in on Oakland’s first score of the day, returning a 47-yard punt to the Ravens’ six-yard line. Carr would find wide receiver Seth Roberts for the touchdown on the next play, giving Oakland a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Offensive line (B) – A group that was missing left tackle Menelik Watson, the offensive line kept Carr up right for the majority of the day, yielding no sacks to a vaunted Ravens defensive front anchored by linebacker Terrell Suggs and defensive lineman, Timmy Jerningan. Both Suggs and Jerningan entered Sunday’s contest tied for the team lead with three sacks each.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends (A-) – Crabtree has turned into Carr’s favorite target, as evident of the 12 times the Raider signal-caller target the talented wide receiver.

Crabtree was unstoppable against Baltimore, hauling in seven passes for 88 yards and three touchdowns and looking more and more like a game-changer the Raiders envisioned. With seven catches Sunday, Crabtree has gone 21 straight games where he’s caught at least three passes in a game.

The two-time Fred Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation’s top wide receiver in 2007 and ’08 out of Texas Tech, leads all Oakland wide receivers in catches (26) and touchdowns (4), and is second behind fellow wide receiver Amari Cooper’s 318 yards with 308.

Cooper finished with five catches (six targets) for 48 yards, and is still looking for his first receiving touchdown of the season after catching six in his rookie campaign last season.

Seth Roberts is second among Raider wide receivers with three touchdowns catches this season.

Starting tight end Lee Smith (right ankle) left the game in the second quarter and didn’t return, while backup Clive Walford came in and caught two passes for five yards.

Defensively, Oakland yielded 412 total yards and 25 first downs to Baltimore. Oakland’s defense did slow down Baltimore in the first half, surrendering just six points on seven offensive drives for Baltimore and forcing the Ravens to punt five times.

Defensive Line (C+) – The defensive line allowed running back Terrence West to rush for 113 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown Sunday. Oakland is still allowing physical running backs to run right through them, even though having defensive tackle Mario Edwards out does hurt stopping the run.

But seeing defensive end Khalil Mack record his first sack of the season in the fourth quarter off Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco was a tremendous site for Oakland. Mack was having trouble getting to the opposing quarterback this season as he finish with 15 sacks, second in the NFL to J.J. Watt’s 17.

Linebackers (B-) – Bruce Irvin recorded his third forced fumble in the fourth quarter (one of two  off Flacco in Ravens’ territory was a huge turning point for Oakland, who was holding on to a 14-12 lead.

Irvin, who also recorded his second sack of the season,  has been a nice addition for Oakland this season after spending his first four seasons in the NFL in Seattle and was part of the Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII.

Rookie linebacker Corey James led all Raider defenders in tackles with 12 (three assisted).

Secondary (B) – Things got dicey for the Raiders in the fourth quarter, trying to maintain a nine-point lead at 21-12, especially trying to stop Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr.

Smith Sr. took a Flacco slant pass 52 yards for his first score of the season, cutting Oakland’s lead to 21-19 following the extra point. The 16-year vet finished with eight catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.

The secondary held Flacco to 298 yards on 32-of-52 passes. On 30 dropbacks in the first half, the Raiders harassed Flacco, hurrying him seven times, and hitting the Super Bowl winning quarterback four times.

The Raiders now head home for a date with their AFC West rival, the San Diego Chargers next Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum.

Kickoff is set for 1:25 p.m. PT.

 

 

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders face their toughest opponent yet the undefeated Ravens in another road game challenge

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AP file photo: The Oakland Raiders hope to get a grip on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) much like the St Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) did in this November 22nd game from last season

On the podcast with Joe, the Raiders (2-1) get set to face  the Baltimore Ravens (3-0) and their head coach John Harbaugh Joe takes look on how these two teams match up. The Raiders will be trying to stop successful Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco who has put 774 yards and an game average of 77.4 yards in three games together. Flacco has thrown three touchdown passes and the team is perfect thus far going into week four in preparation of hosting the Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders two wins have come from their two road trips against post season teams the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers. The Raiders don’t seem intimidated from being the road team and if they can hold off the very mobile Flacco and get in the win column against the Ravens then it could set a new course for the Raiders season.

Joe Hawkes Beamon does the Raiders podcasts and previews and Jeremy Kahn does the Raiders game recap each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

Baltimore will be Oakland’s stiffest test of the season

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

AP file photo: Oakland Raider quarterback Derek Carr (4) during an audible against the Tennessee Titans Sun Sep 25th will throw against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday

OAKLAND, Calif — With all due respect to the Atlanta Falcons, who gave Oakland their only loss on the young season: you are still a suspect team with an inconsistent pass rush and a quarterback in Matt Ryan that is a great fantasy football league stat filler, not a championship quarterback.

Or the New Orleans Saints and the Tennessee Titans, whom Oakland has defeated this season.

Oakland faces their toughest test yet of the season, against Ravens team in Baltimore Sunday  in Week 4 in a game that could have a significant determine playoff seeding in the AFC.

Sunday’s game will showcase the NFL’s second-ranked offense in the Raiders, who are averaging 436 yards and 26.7 points per game (Atlanta leads the NFL, averaging 448 yards and 34.7 points per game), against Baltimore, who are just allowing 254.3 yards and 14.7 points game, second behind Seattle’s 250.3 yards and 12.3 points per game.

Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr lit up a depleted Ravens’ defense in the two team’s match up last season in Oakland, throwing for a career-high 351 yards on 30-of-46 passes, three touchdowns and one interception in the Raiders’ 37-33 victory.

Carr’s 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Seth Roberts with 26 seconds left in the game capped off a 9-play, 80-yard drive after Carr went 7-of-9 on the final drive.

Last week, Carr completed 21-of-35 for 249 yards, one touchdown, and one interception leading the Raiders (2-1) to a 17-10 victory in Nashville, their second road win of the season.

For the season, Carr has thrown for 867 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception.

Oakland’s ground game racked up 123 yards, with starting running back Latavius Murray scoring his third rushing touchdown on the season.

Oakland’s 32nd ranked defense, who gave up 500 yards of total offense in back-to-back games to start the season, held Tennessee to 393 yards.

Rookie safety Karl Joseph, making his first career start, led the Raiders with 10 tackles (4 assisted), and cornerback Sean Smith recorded his first interception as a Raider.

The Ravens are coming off a tight, 19-17, road victory in Jacksonville Sunday, thanks to a Justin Tucker 54-yard field goal with 1:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Baltimore is off to it’s third 3-0 start in franchise history, their first since 2009.

Baltimore starting quarterback Joe Flacco is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL entering his ninth season, already with six 3,000-yard passing seasons, a 10-5 playoff record, and a Super Bowl ring.

Even though Flacco has passed for 774 yards, he’s been uneven with the football, throwing three touchdowns and four interceptions, two against a young Jaguars’ defense last week.

However, Flacco was one pass away for tying an NFL record for consecutive completions in a game (22), but did break his own franchise record of 14 straight completions in a game, which he set in 2009.

Oakland should have their hands full with wide receiver Mike Wallace, who signed with Baltimore during the offseason.

Wallace, who is one of the more dangerous deep-ball receivers in the NFL, has caught all of Baltimore’s receiving touchdowns.

On the season, Wallace has 10 catches for 166 yards, while fellow wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. is second on the team (behind tight end Dennis Pitta’s 18 catches), with 16.

Smith Sr. registered 10 catches for 150 yards last year against Oakland and can go off in a heartbeat, if Oakland doesn’t loses track of him.

Baltimore’s defense were relentless in Week 3 against Jacksonville, holding the Jaguars to just 216 total yards. The Ravens held Jacksonville to just 2.3 yards per rush on 21 carries for 48 yards.

Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, now in his 14th year with Baltimore, is tied for the team lead in sacks with defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan with three.

Jernigan should see plenty of former Ravens’ offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele, who returns to Baltimore for the first time after signing a five-year, $58.5 million deal with Oakland in the offseason. Osemele spent his first four seasons with the Ravens from 2012-15.

Oakland, having to make the near five-hour cross-country flight, looks to improve on a 1-16 record in their last 17 games in the Eastern time zone with a victory.

Kickoff is at 1:05 p.m. ET.