Category: Oakland Raiders

Pryor further proving himself with 93 yard keeper

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

raidersweb16s-2-web

by David Zizmor

ALAMEDA–Every win is kind of kind of unexpected the way the Raiders started this season nobody thought the Raiders were going to be any good in fact a lot of us including myself thought the Raiders were going to be among the worst teams in the league and while their not amongst the best teams in the league they are not among the worst either.

We were wrong on that this is actually a pretty feisty squad it’s actually the Pittsburgh Steelers who are among the worst teams in the NFL their not the worst that honor goes to the Jacksonville Jaguars. This game between the Raiders and the Steelers was not a battle of titans, it certainly has a lot of history locked up in it the Raiders and the Steelers were among the two best teams in the 1970s and battled each other on a regular basis in the some of the most famous games in NFL history.

This game last Sunday was not necessarily one those all time memorable games although it did have a historic play involved the Steelers are just in a down cycle it’s pretty rare for Pittsburgh to be in such a rare situation but they have had a couple of lousy drafts and suffered through some bad injuries and had some misfires and now their sitting with a lousy team record at 2-5.

The Steelers have had some misfires and it all means their all bottoming out right now, the Raiders already bottomed out that was already that kind of last season with the Carson Palmer deal and just everything going on in the off season when they cleaned house and they got rid of everybody the Raiders while their not a great team they have a lot of young feisty players and their in that rebuild process.

So what ends up happening is you get all these young players who are really fighting and clawing and scratching and trying to get themselves into the league and try to get themselves on the roster and get a job and it makes for desperate play and sometimes these guys are playing some desperate football end up playing decent football and that’s what the Raiders have done they have found a decent mix of players who really want to be there who are really receptive to coaching and learning.

Then the Raiders have found a quarterback who knew that former owner Al Davis’ last draft pick quarterback Terrelle Pryor would end up being such a solid player. He has a deficiency and you don’t look on this guy the same way you look at 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick when he broke on the scene last year and Pryor can play.

That 93 yard touchdown run by Pryor last Sunday shows why you want this guy on the field that threat of a guy who can make that kind of a play is something defenses have to respect and it makes you play the game differently if your a defensive coordinator you just have to prepare differently. You see it now with the 49ers now that Colin Kaepernick is 100 percent healthy.

It’s the same thing when you have a quarterback who can run in such a way that he can break a long run just as easily as any running back you have to devote extra resources to cover that guy. You have to have a spy on him and simply having that one guy on him and follow the quarterback around can open things up elsewhere.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Pryor goes for record run

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND-Terrelle Pryor grew up rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a child growing up in Jeanette,PA and on his first play from scrimmage against his boyhood team, Pryor put himself in the record books.

Pryor went weaving and scampering through the Steelers all the way to the end zone for a 93-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and the Oakland Raiders hung on to defeat the Steelers 21-18 before 52,950 at the Coliseum.

The 93-yard touchdown run by Pryor was not only the longest run play in Raiders’ history, but it was the longest run by a quarterback in NFL history.

Despite a big day on the ground, as he carried the ball nine times for 106 yards, Pryor went just 10-for-19 for 88 yards in the air with two interceptions.

“Like coach said, we started fast, the defense was playing good, It’s a team win. Our defense had a phenomenal second half. At the end of the day it’s a team win, very proud, we got a ‘w’ and that’s really it,” said Pryor.

Darren McFadden carried the ball a whopping 24 for just 73 yards, but scored two touchdowns on the afternoon.

McFadden gave the Raiders a 14-0 lead halfway gone in the first quarter, as he ran through the Steelers defense for a seven-yard touchdown tun.

Shawn Suisham finally got the Steelers on the board with just 46 seconds off the clock in the second quarter, as he nailed a 47-yarder thru the uprights that cut the Raiders lead down to 14-3.

It was McFadden scoring on a four-yard run with 1:55 remaining in the first half, as he scored his second touchdown of the afternoon and gave the Raiders a 21-3 lead.

After the Steelers went three-and-out on the next series, Pryor and the Raiders got the ball back; however Pryor a huge mistake and Cortez Allen picked off the Pryor pass.

Ben Roethlisberger drove the Steelers all the way down to the Raiders 16-yard line, but Suisham missed a 34-yard field goal wide to the right.

The Steelers got the ball to open the second half, and with the help of a 15-yard facemask penalty on Mike Jenkins, the Steelers were in business.

Unfortunately, the 16 play 66 yard drive that took nine minutes and six seconds off the clock was all for naught, as Suisham missed a 32-yard field goal wide to the right.

“Look, it’s no secret, the impact my missed field goals had on the game. We’d have won the game if I made those field goals. It’s a tough one to swallow. No choice but to do it. I should have been better today and we lost because of it,” said Suisham.

Following a Jenkins interception in the beginning in the fourth quarter, Pryor threw a pass that Jacoby Ford caught, but on the play, the wide receiver fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Brett Keisel at the Raiders 11-yard line.

After a Roethlisberger touchdown pass to Heath Miller was overturned, the quarterback regrouped and two plays later, he found Emmanuel Sanders for a nine-yard touchdown pass to get the Steelers within 11 points.

Unfortunately, the Raiders were unable to put the game away, as they went three and out on their next three possessions, giving the Steelers a glitter of hope.

With just under two minutes remaining in the game, rookie Le’Veon Bell scored on a two-yard run and Sanders added the two-point conversion that got the Steelers within three.

Rashad Jennings was able to recover the onside kick, but like all their drives in the fourth quarter, the Raiders went three and out and the Steelers got the ball back with 18 seconds remaining on their own three-yard line and no timeouts.

Roethlisberger found Sanders down the middle for 33 yards, but the clock ran out before the Steelers could get lined up and the Raiders escaped with a three-point victory.

 

Raiders, Steelers set to battle in Oakland Sunday

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By. Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Fresh off their bye week, the Oakland Raiders will look to get back on the winning track when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at O.co Coliseum.  The game is sold out and will be seen locally on CBS affiliate, KPIX Ch. 5. Kickoff is at 1:05 p.m.

Oakland (2-4), leads the all-time series, 11-9, and hold an 8-5 edge in home games over the Steelers. The Silver and Black have not lost to the Steelers at O.co Coliseum since 1995.

In last year’s meeting in Oakland, the Raiders dropped the Steelers 34-31 behind a 43-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski in the final seconds of a tough battle. Running back Darren McFadden had a great day, carrying the ball 18 times for 113 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown run.  Oakland will need a healthy McFadden against the sixth ranked Steelers defense.

Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor spent the bye week working with quarterbacks coach, Tom House refining his mechanics. Pryor worked with House during this past offseason, and House has worked with quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Drew Brees.

Pittsburgh (2-4), started the season 0-4, but are coming along after winning their last two games, including a 19-16 victory over their AFC North foe, the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

It’s no secret that the Steelers will only go as far as the right arm of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can take them.

Roethlisberger is coming into Sunday’s game completing 66-percent of his passes for 1,655 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Owner of two Super Bowl rings, Roethlisberger is a top-five quarterback in the NFL and the Raiders are going to have their hands full with him, but if Oakland is going to have any success, it will be on the defensive front.

Defensive ends Lamarr Houston (team leader with three sacks) and Jason Hunter (two sacks), will have their chances to get their hands on Roethlisberger, especially with the anchor of the offensive line, center Maurkice Pouncy, on injured reserve with a torn ACL.

Roethlisberger has been sacked 21 times this season (third behind New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (25 times), and Miami Dolphins quarterback  Ryan Tannehill (26 times)). Oakland has been getting after the quarterback this season, sacking the opposing quarterback 16 times through six games.

In order for Oakland to have a chance at moving to 3-4, they will need to apply pressure on Roethlisberger and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. Defensive Coordinator Jason Tarver will need to be creative in concocting blitzes if Oakland is going to have chances at throwing Roethlisberger’s timing off to his wide receivers, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders.

Sprinkle in a few timely plays by Pryor and the offense, Oakland has a legitimate shot at winning Sunday.

 

 

Raiders coming off bye could give tired Steelers a fight

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by David Zizmor

ALAMEDA–The Raiders have a chance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in their next game on Sunday there is really no games where the Raiders can sit back and claim it to be a sure thing to win it’s not like the 49ers playing Jacksonville where it’s a 99 percent chance the Niners will beat Jacksonville in London. The Raiders won’t have that this year their just not a good enough team.

On the other hand they are playing Pittsburgh and the Steelers have been struggling as well they are coming off a victory from the defending champions the Baltimore Ravens. So the Steelers definitely have a feather in their cap right now and their feeling good about themselves. The Steel curtain is having a lot of similar problems to the Raiders.

The Raiders are a team that’s going through a big rebuilding process, Pittsburgh kind of are on the other side of that they are a team that’s probably about to go through a big rebuilding process. They’re just aging at a number of positions and probably need to revamp this squad. On the other hand the Steelers have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger whose one of the better quarterbacks.

Roethlisberger has won a couple of Super Bowls you can trust him but their biggest problem is the Steelers offensive line has just been terrible. They don’t have much of a running game this season and it means their passing game is suffering because Roethlisberger simply didn’t have time to throw the ball. There’s just a lot of age on the Steelers defense.

If the Steelers have a lot of different problems the Raiders can’t take advantage of that the fact their coming off a bye week and had two weeks to prepare for this game should definitely helped them out as well for the fact the Steelers have to travel cross country for this one after playing a very physical game against Baltimore. Those Steelers-Ravens games are always tough and physical and they take a lot of energy out of you and you throw in a cross country trip for Pittsburgh their going to be in a tough spot.

It’s going to be tough for them to recover in that game against Baltimore, You wonder if their going to have the energy to really fight the rested Raiders team. Of course the Raiders have their own issues their still a very inexperienced team and as you watch them in that game against Kansas City you notice they have a lot of injuries especially along with their own offensive line.

Not all those problems have been rectified the players on the offensive line have not fully recovered from their injuries so it’s anybody’s guess as to how healthy they will be this coming Sunday and if that’s the case all bets are off.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Playoffs for the Raiders? Pump the brakes Pryor.

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By. Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Following Oakland’s 24-7 road loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that dropped Oakland to 2-4, Raiders starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor made the boldest prediction to date in his young career.

“We have to come together and start creating…We’ll be back; 2-4; we’ll get to the playoffs,” Pryor said per CSN Bay Area.

As a die-hard Raiders fan, you got to love Pryor’s confidence following a tough battle with a bitter rival, but the playoffs for the Raiders this season is out of the question this season. There are too many hurdles for them to climb over.

Oakland winning the AFC West?

Not going to happen.

Denver and Kansas City both sit perched a top the division as the two lone undefeated teams in the league at 6-0 and Oakland is 0-2 against both this season.

Even though Oakland holds a 27-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers at home, San Diego is 3-3 after dispatching Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts 19-9 before a nationwide audience on Monday Night Football.

Clinching a wild card berth may be even tougher this season with a stacked AFC. Teams like Miami (3-2), Baltimore (3-3), Cleveland (3-3), and the New York Jets (3-3) all currently having better records than Oakland so enough with the playoff talk already.

Pryor should use Oakland’s bye week to figure out how he is going to survive the season behind a shaky and injury-plagued offensive line. Kansas City brutalized Pryor, sacking him 10 times and knocking him down 16 last Sunday but Pryor didn’t point fingers.

“This loss is on me. I’ll take it,” he said. “I’ll make sure we get better. As the leader of the offense, I have to make sure it happens. It will.”

With the 13th ranked defense in football, Oakland knows it will be in most games this season. Outside of the 37-21 loss in Denver in Week 3 where Pryor left the game with a concussion, Oakland has remained competitive in each game this season.

But again, the spotlight will be on Pryor to continue to “get better” and have Oakland heading in the right direction.

Give Pryor credit on one thing: he knows that in order for the Raiders to be better offensively (27th overall), it falls on his shoulders, but not his alone.

The continued growth of wide out Denarius Moore would be good. A healthy running back by the name of Darren McFadden would be an even bigger help.

It will be interesting when the Raiders take the field after the bye week when they host the 1-4 Pittsburgh Steelers because Pryor has but himself and the Raiders on notice.

It’s playoffs or bust.

But don’t get fooled.

Oakland has too many hurdles to climb and too many teams to overtake to make the playoffs this season.

 

 

Pryor needs to avoid the blitz and a collapsing pocket

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by David Zizmor

ALAMEDA–The Raiders have had some problems with the offensive line with injuries and that really came to bear in this game against the Chiefs and let’s not give credit to Kansas City their one of the top defenses in the league this season they’ve done a great job pressuring the quarterback. The Raiders probably should have been a little bit more diligent in their blocking.

For Kansas City to do this and have the game they did against the Raiders is not a big surprise. They’ve been one of the best teams in the league at pressuring the quarterback all season long. So the Raiders knew it was going to be a tough day going into Arrowhead. It’s a bit of a surprise because Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor is mobile.

He’s typically at least to this point in the season been able to escape serious pressure by his legs and his running ability to get outside the pocket. However Kansas City made a very specific point of collapsing the pocket around Pryor and he didn’t have anywhere to escape. That’s a lesson that he’s going to have to learn because teams are going to have to take that to heart in the coming weeks and follow the Chiefs example.

Pryor is going to have to face a lot more defensive fronts and face the exact same thing, the good thing is most teams don’t have a good front seven they can do what KC did and they’re going to have a lot more trouble doing it than the Chiefs. Nevertheless their going to have to worry about that. One of the things with any quarterback is growing developing and adjusting to the different things that defenses throw at you.

This is a league where if your successful people are going to keep book on you and they figure out what your weaknesses are. If they look at Pryor’s stats his weakness once he’s trapped in the pocket he can’t make a throw their going to do their best to trap him in the pocket each and every play. So he’s got to adjust and the Raiders know that and part of the problem is the blocking.

If the Raiders blocked a little bit better than giving up sacks it wouldn’t be an issue. The Raiders need to get a little bit healthy fortunately for the Raiders they have a bye week so they have a chance to rest up to heal, to get those injuries off the books and to get the players back on the field. If the Raiders do their job and watch tape and find out what went wrong and if they get their players healthy the can recover.

The Raiders can be competitive again but obviously when you get sacked ten times your not going to win, they’re playing well and they were in this game until fairly late when the Chiefs pulled away but their not going to be playing the Chiefs every week their only going to be playing them one more time. The Raiders have shown some improvement, so as long as they can keep Pryor from getting sacked that many times each week they’ll have a better chance at winning some of these games.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk radio

Winning streak snapped in the Heartland

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By Jeremy Kahn

After losing six in a row on their home turf to their most hated rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs sent the Oakland Raiders back to the Bay Area with a loss.

Jamaal Charles ran for two scores, while former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith threw for 128 yards and the Chiefs scored the final 24 points of the game, defeating the Raiders 24-7 at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs defense also came up big, as they sacked Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor 10 times and held Darren McFadden to just 52 yards rushing.

Pryor threw three interceptions on the afternoon, as the Chiefs scored 17 points off those three picks.

Charles made the Raiders pay after the first Pryor interception, as he scored the eventual game-winning touchdown in the third quarter.

The second interception setup a Josh Succop 33-yard field goal, and the third and final interception was returned 44 yards for a touchdown by Husain Abdullah.

DeNarius Moore got the Raiders on the board first, as he took a Pryor pass 39 yards to the end zone in the second quarter.

Pryor gained 60 yards on the ground, but penalties were a thorn in the Raiders side, as they were called for 11 penalties for 68 yards.

The Chiefs defense was so tough on the Raiders that on one series, after two penalties and two sacks, the Raiders were left with a fourth and 48 from their own 12-yard line.

Marquette King’s punt did not even get past the Chiefs 40-yard line, or the first down marker on that series.

Sent from my iPad

Chiefs could make Raiders pay dirt with thier perfect record

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By David Zizmor

ALAMEDA–Looking ahead to week six in the NFL the Raiders one of the bigger surprises in the league and so far they are facing one of the other big surprises in the NFL this season the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are sitting pretty at 5-0 this season and having won only two games last season that’s a bit of a shock to everybody following the NFL. Teams just don’t go from number one pick in the NFL draft to the playoffs it’s just pretty tough to do.

Kansas City is trying to do the impossible and their doing a pretty good job so far their sitting at 5-0 and tied for first place in the AFC west with the Denver Broncos and playing host to the Oakland Raiders this coming weekend. Kansas City has done it with improvements across the board the biggest one is one we all know here in the Bay Area is former 49ers quarterback and now Chief quarterback Alex Smith.

Smith replaces places all the different quarterbacks that played for the Chiefs last last year primarily former Chief quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn they just weren’t cutting it they were back ups at best and that’s what they’ve been doing this year . Smith comes into KC and provides stability and consistency he doesn’t turn the ball over and he executes Andy Reid’s ball control offense as well as well as anybody.

The Reid-Smith relationship is the perfect football marriage between a coach and his starting quarterback. Of course Reid is the other big addition he brings that ball club control offense and gives a nice system for the Chiefs to take advantage of. It also doesn’t hurt that the Chiefs recovered from the many injuries they had last year and that they suffered several including Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry he was out much of last season and his return this season has bolstered the Chiefs defense.

They’ve had some improvements all the way around with some of the young players and it’s an improvement that’s come from last year’s first round pick Dontari Poe he can set up deep in the middle of that defensive line. There were some questions whether he would be a short or long term project but in his second season he has really blossomed and has become a force to be reckoned with.

All of the little improvements are going to make it very difficult for the Oakland Raiders, the Raiders are coming off a big Sunday night win over the San Diego Chargers. It was that weird super duper late game that started at 8:00PM PDT. The Raiders came out ahead and quarterback Terrelle Pryor looked good again the defense is starting to really pick things up. Charles Woodson had a big touchdown.

The Raiders have been playing much better than what anyone would have expected their 2-3 but I can’t begin to tell you how surprising that is. You have to remember going into this season we all thought the Raiders are going to be perhaps one of the worse teams in the NFL and while their certainly not one of the best teams in the NFL their certainly better than what everyone expected.

David Zizmor is covering the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Raiders unplug the Chargers in late-night contest, win 27-17

Published on by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

628x471

by Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND –

In the latest West Coast game in NFL history the Oakland Raiders (2-3) beat the San Diego Chargers (2-3) 27-17 in what was one of the most dominating performances of the defense in years. The Raiders defense forced the Chargers into five turnovers including three interceptions, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a loose ball recovery on a muffed punt. On offense, Terrelle Pryor threw for 221 yards on 18 for 23 passing including two touchdowns – a 44 yard bomb to Rod Streater to start the game and a two yard pass to Denarius Moore.

On his deep pass on the first play from scrimmage, Terrelle Pryor said, “We practiced that play a lot in practice this week. In week one against the Colts I was picked off but me and Coach Olson talked about it last night and he said if I saw him (Streater) get open I should try and get him the ball.”

Pryor’s confidence was obvious to other teammates before but now it was on display for everyone to see. “You can just see his swag back there, he’s playing with a lot of confidence” said Rod Streater who ended the night with three catches for 56 yards including the 44-yard pass to start the game. Pryor completed ten straight passes and said that it “builds (my) confidence and my tempo is right. I’m excited when we start fast.” In face, that touchdown was the first time the Raiders have scored in the first two minutes of a game since week 3 of 2011 against the Jets.

“It’s exciting to see Pryor out there,” said Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen, “He can create those plays and it gives the team confidence.”

The Raiders defense got the game started for the Raiders when on the third play of the game for San Diego, Philip Rivers threw a high floating pass that looked like a punt and landed in the hands of Usama Young for his first interception of the year. On the Raiders very first play from scrimmage, Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson dialed up the 44-yard deep pass to Rod Streater that got the Raiders on the board 7-0. The Raiders next drive saw them go 88 yards in 8 minutes on a nifty play from Pryor who rolled out to the right after his initial check downs were covered and found Denarious Moore in back of the end zone after he stopped on a dime and Chargers Corner Richard Marshall fell out of bounds to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead with a little over a minute left in the first quarter.

The Chargers started the second quarter with the ball on their side of the field and matriculated the ball all the way down to the Raiders ten yard line. After a a run and a passing play, the Chargers decided to go for it on a fourth and one on the goal line and linebacker Kevin Burnett stuffed Danny Woodhead to turn the ball over to the Raiders in their own zone. After a couple first downs the Raiders were forced to punt to the usually reliable Eddie Royal but he muffed the punt and the Raiders special team recovered the ball and gave the Raiders a first down on the Chargers 37-yard line where Sebastian Janikowski was able to convert on a 47-yard field goal attempt to give the Raiders a 17-0 lead into the half.

The third quarter saw Charles Woodson join the ranks of the elite safeties in the NFL.

After a lengthy drive by the Chargers and a field goal by Nick Novak to put them on the board and a quick three-and-out by the Raiders, the Chargers handed history to Woodson in a bag. On second-and-five from the San Diego 35 yard line, Kevin Burnett caused Danny Woodhead to fumble to ball and it landed in Charles Woodson’s hands. With the ball in hand and only Rivers to beat, Woodson leaped into the end zone to give the Raiders a 24-3 lead but also gave him a career total of 13 defensive touchdowns to tie him for the most defensive touchdowns in a career in the history of the NFL with the great Darren Sharper and former Oakland Raider Rod Woodson.

When learning of him tying Rod’s record, Woodson said, “Cousin Rod, I’m coming for you! Nah, it just means that I’m on e of the greatest to ever play the game but the win was what’s most important.”

Philip Rivers, who ended the night with 411 yards passing and two touchdowns, got hot late in the game with touchdown passes to Woodhead and Cal alum Keenan Allen was then stifled again when D.J. Hayden had his first pick of his career in the end zone which looked to seal the deal for the Raiders. However after another quick three-and-out from the Raiders, the Chargers got the ball back with 1:16 left in the game losing by only 10.  After a deep pass to Allen for 30 yards, Rivers threw deep again this time in the middle of the field looking for Eddie Royal but Charles Woodson was able to get in front of the ball and get his first interception of the game to lock it up and put the Raiders into Victory formation.

“It was a great team win. All three phases contributed,” said Allen. “It was outstanding the way we started, and we kept competing all the way to the end. The goal line stand was a critical point in the game.”

The love for Pyror could be heard in the stands as well in the locker room. On his roll out capabilities and extending broken plays, Allen said, “That’s what that kid brings to us. When things aren’t right, he has the ability to make plays.” Charles Woodson echoed the Coaches sentiments saying that, “He’s showing his progress and he can lead this team.”

Terrelle Pryor and Raiders head to Kansas City next week to take on the undefeated Chiefs at Arrowhead stadium. It’ll be a tough game for the Raiders however if they are able to bring this momentum from the game into Arrowhead, the Raiders can prove that they shouldn’t be a forgotten team in the AFC West.

Game Notes:

  • The Chargers, who ranked No. 2 in the NFL in third down efficiency (50%), were 4-for-11 tonight. San Diego also came into the game averaging 27.0 points per game, seventh in the league, and was held to 17.
  • The Raiders continue to not have allowed a first half rushing touchdown, stopping the Chargers on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter. With 27 rushing yards in the first half, the defense is equally stringent, allowing (204) rushing yards in the first half this season, an average of 40.8 (No. 11 in the NFL prior to tonight)
  • It was the second-straight week that the Raiders have not allowed a first-half touchdown.
  • QB Terrelle Pryor is still No. 2 in rushing among quarterbacks behind Michael Vick following 31 yards tonight. He now has 228 on the season.

Chargers invade Oakland under the lights Sunday night

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

1ab6713c-ef3a-46db-a41a-c84a26e48995news.ap.org_r620x349

by Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — For the second time in three weeks, the Oakland Raiders will play under the lights, when they host their AFC West divisional foe, the San Diego Chargers, Sunday at O.co Coliseum at the special time of 8:35 p.m. PT, instead of the previously scheduled 1:25 p.m. PT, due to the MLB playoff game Saturday night between the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics.

Oakland (1-3), will have starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor back under center. Pryor sat out Oakland’s 24-14 home loss to the Washington Redskins after suffering a concussion against the Denver Broncos in Week 3.

Backup quarterback Matt Flynn, who was demoted to the third string quarterback behind rookie Matt McGloin this week by head coach Dennis Allen, started in place for the injured Pryor and didn’t look like the quarterback that Oakland sent two draft picks to the Seattle Seahawks this past offseason.

Flynn did finish 21-of-32 for 227 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception that was returned for a touchdown. Washington’s defense feasted on Flynn, sacking him seven times. Its no secret that Oakland’s offensive line has more holes than Swiss cheese, but there were times in the game that Flynn had guys wide open and decided to take the sack, even when the offensive line gave him time to throw.

The fact that Flynn’s starting backfield of running back Darren McFadden (hamstring) and full back Marcel Reece (knee), were knocked out the game made the task of leading Oakland to victory that much tougher. McFadden hasn’t practice this week and his status for Sunday remains in the air. Reece has been limited in practice this week, as well as starting center Stefan Wisniewski, who emerged from the Washington game with a knee strain.

Backup running back Rashad Jennings filled in admirably, finishing with 116 yards of total offense (45 rushing, 71 receiving), and rookie tight end Mychal Rivera scored his first touchdown, an 18-yard reception.

San Diego (2-2) is coming off a big win at home over the Dallas Cowboys, 30-21 and will pose a mighty challenge for Oakland.

Quarterback Philip Rivers has been playing lights out this season. Rivers has thrown for 1,199 yards, 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Rivers 11 touchdowns ranks second in the NFL behind Denver Broncos quarterback, Peyton Manning.

Against Dallas, Rivers was 35-of-42 for 401 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception finishing with a 120.3 quarterback rating.

After nagging injuries have crippled his performance the last couple of years, perennial All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates appears to be healthier than ever this season. Gates continues to be Rivers’ most trusted target, racking up 25 catches for 364 yards receiving and two touchdowns in four games this season.

Gates finished with 10 catches for 136 yards, including the go-ahead 56-yard touchdown catch over the middle of the field against the Cowboys in San Diego last week.

Oakland ranks 17th in the NFL in defense and will have its hands full against San Diego’s eighth-ranked offense, who are averaging 27 points per game.

San Diego swept the season series against Oakland last year and hold a 57-47-2 edge all-time against the Silver and Black.

Players to Watch for San Diego:

  • No. 17) Philip Rivers (QB) — Rivers is enjoying a renaissance of a season under new head coach Mike McCoy. McCoy is an offensive mind and has given Rivers a renewed sense of confidence and Rivers is off to the best start of his career.
  • No. 39) Danny Woodhead (RB) — Woodhead isn’t a household name (or the Chargers starting running back), but is a proven chain mover and another trusted option for Rivers. Woodhead had five catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns against Dallas.
  • No. 85) Antonio Gates (TE) — With no legitimate No. 1 wide receiver, Gates is clearly Rivers’ first option on first, second, third and even fourth downs. Gates lost 25 pounds in the offseason and is faster and harder to bring down in the open field. Raiders’ defense has to make sure that they know where Gates is lined up at all times.

Players to Watch for Oakland:

  • No. 2) Terrelle Pryor (QB) — Pryor’s return to the line up gives Oakland’s 20th ranked offense an instant jolt. Pryor is completing 65% of his passes this season, and leads all quarterbacks with 198 rushing yards.
  • No. 17) Denarius Moore (WR) — Moore is Oakland’s leading wide receiver and gives Oakland the opportunity to stretch the field on San Diego. Moore has 15 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns, Moore is averaging 15.5 yards per catch this season.
  • No. 99) Lamarr Houston (DE) — Houston is Oakland’s best pass rusher and it’s most active. Houston along with fellow defensive end Jason Hunter, leads the team with two sacks. Oakland will need to create a serious pass rush against Rivers and Co. Sunday.