Tag: Derek Carr

Carr, Raiders win it in the end against the Steelers 24-21

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Photo credit: @E_Geerlings

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — It seems whenever the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers face off against each other, it is going to be a pier six brawl between the two longtime rivals.

Derek Carr threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Derek Carrier with 21 seconds remaining in the game, as the Raiders hung on to defeat the Steelers 24-21 before a crowd of 53,960 at the Coliseum.

After the Carr touchdown pass to Carrier, Ryan Switzer returned the kickoff to the Steelers 30-yard line and then Ben Roethlisberger went into action for the second time in as many series.

Roethlisberger found James Washington for a five-yard catch, and then the wide receiver out of Oklahoma State played hook-and-ladder with Juju Smith-Schuster, who took the ball at the 35 and rumbled down to the Raiders 22-yard line, where he was tackled by Raiders Safety Karl Joseph.

Chris Boswell then came on for a potential game-tying 40-yard field goal; however, Boswell slipped on the Coliseum grass and his kick went awry, giving the Raiders an improbable victory.

Carr was magical on that final drive, as he found Seth Roberts for a diving catch for 39 yards down to the Steelers seven-yard line.

Jalen Richard then gained a yard on first down, but then Carr was unable to complete a pass on the next two downs, setting up a fourth-and-goal and then Carr found Carrier with what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

Roethlisberger, who was forced to leave the game at the end of the first half due to a rib injury came back on the field, like he was Willis Reed in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals for the New York Knicks against the Los Angeles Lakers and led them on a six-play 75-yard drive to give the Steelers a 21-17 lead with 2:59 remaining, as he found Smith-Schuster for his second touchdown of the day.

On the Raiders previous series prior to the Roethlisberger touchdown pass, Carr found Lee Smith in the end zone to give the Raiders 17-14 lead.

It was a good day for Carr, as he went 25-for-34 for 322 yards passing and two touchdowns, while Jared Cook led all receivers with seven catches for 116 yards.

Doug Martin led the Raiders ground game, as he carried the ball 16 times for 32 yards and opened the scoring with a one-yard over-the-top touchdown on the Raiders first series of the afternoon.

Stevan Ridley got the Steelers even in the second quarter, as he scored on a two-yard run much to the delight of the allegiances of Black and Gold Steelers fans that invaded the Coliseum.

Daniel Carlson gave the Raiders for the second time in the game, as he kicked a 44-yard field goal. After the Carlson field goal gave the Raiders the lead, Boswell missed a 39-yard field goal that would have tied up the game.

The Raiders were unable to take advantage of the missed field goal, and Johnny Townsend was forced to punt the ball back to the Raiders, which helped the Steelers out in the long run.

Roethlisberger drove the Steelers down the field, and the drive when Roethlisberger found Smith-Schuster for a one-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining in the half.

Jon Gruden challenged a call in the third quarter that looked like Smith-Schuster was out of bounds; however, he caught the ball inbounds and the Raiders lost a timeout. Luckily for the Raiders, the drive ended when Josh Dobbs, who replaced Roethlisberger at quarterback, his pass to former San Francisco 49ers tight end Vance McDonald was stopped for no gain and the Raiders took over on downs.

Unfortunately, on the Raiders next drive, Carr was hit Mike Hilton, where he fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Hilton.

On the ensuing Steelers series, it looked like that Dobbs fumbled the ball; however, the officials called it incomplete, but Gruden challenged the ruling, but the call stood.

Dobbs gave the ball back to the Raiders on the next play, as his pass intended for Antonio Brown was intercepted by Tahir Whitehead.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but in the end, the gods were on the Raiders side, as Boswell missed his second field goal of the afternoon that sent the Raiders players and the fans into a frenzy.

NOTES: It was a rough day for the Raiders with penalties, as they were called for 13 penalties for 130 yards.

UP NEXT: After a two-game home stand that ended 1-1, the Raiders head to Cincinnati, where they will face the Bengals next Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Kickoff set for 10:00 am PST on CBS.

Raiders welcome the Steelers to the Black Hole Sunday

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Photo credit: @mohurstjr

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Connor is third on the team with 52 catches.

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

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

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

Raiders return home to host divisional rival Chiefs Sunday at the Coliseum

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Photo credit: silverandblackpride.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

After concluding a two-game road trip, the Oakland Raiders will return home this week to welcome in their divisional rival the Kansas City Chiefs at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Sunday’s Week 13 meeting between these two AFC West foes will mark the first of two meetings in four weeks, with the Raiders wrapping up the season in Kansas City in Week 17.

The two teams split last season’s series, with Oakland winning 31-30 in thrilling fashion on Thursday Night Football last October in Oakland. Kansas City won 26-15 at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 14.

Kickoff for the 116th meeting is set for 1:05 p.m. PT, with Kansas City leading the all-time series 61-52-2.

Last week, the Raiders (2-9) lost on the road to the Baltimore Ravens 34-17. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 16-of-34 passes for 194 and one touchdown. For the second-straight week, the Raiders scored a touchdown on their opening drive, a 1-yard score by running back Doug Martin, his first in Silver and Black. Martin rushed for 51 yards on 11 carries (4.6 yards per carry) and also added three catches for 21 yards.

Tight end Jared Cook tied his career-high with his fifth touchdown grab of the year in the third quarter of the game. Cook finished with two catches for 32 yards and the score.

On defense, the Raiders recorded two interceptions in the first half in back-to-back weeks as the safety tandem of Marcus Gilchrist and Reggie Nelson each recording a takeaway. Both players have two interceptions this season for the Raiders.

Kansas City holds the AFC’s best record at 9-2 and sit atop the AFC West. The Chiefs are coming off their bye week but lost their most recent game, 54-51 to the Rams in Los Angeles on Monday Night Football.

The Chiefs have on of the league’s most prolific offenses, ranking second in points per game (36.7), third in total yards per game (434.3) and passing yards per game (318.5) and second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a big reason why the Chiefs put up astronomical numbers every game.

In his first full season as the Kansas City’s starter, Mahomes leads the NFL in touchdown passes (37) and is second in passer rating, a blistering 117.9.

With pass catchers like third-year wide receiver Tyreek Hill (65 catches for 1,106 yards and team-leading 11 touchdowns) and sixth-year tight end Travis Kelce (team-leading 67 catches for 914 yards and 7 touchdowns), to go along with second-year running back Kareem Hunt (181 rushes for 824 yards and 7 touchdowns), its hard for teams to stop the Chiefs when they are rolling.

Hunt is also tough to defend in the passing game, with 26 catches for 378 yards and seven touchdown catches this season.

Outside linebacker Dee Ford is one of the NFL’s most disruptive pass rushers. Ford leads the Chiefs with nine sacks and five forced fumbles. Fellow outside linebacker Justin Houston has four sacks and three forced fumbles.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will face another tough test when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kansas City returns home to take on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14.

The Sunday Spotlight: Rookies and the defense aid Ravens in 34-17 win over Raiders

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Photo credit: @Ravens

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for a score and ran for another, and linebacker Terrell Suggs returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown helping the Ravens dispatch the visiting Oakland Raiders, 34-17 on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.

Rookie running back Gus Edwards rushed for 118 yards on 23 carries, his second-straight game that he’s rushed for over 100 yards. Edwards, who went undrafted in this year’s NFL draft out of Rutgers, rushed for 115 yards on 17 carries last week in Baltimore’s 24-21 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ravens backup cornerback Cyrus Jones took a punt 70 yards to for a touchdown that helped the Ravens (6-5) win for back-to-back games for the first time since September.

The Ravens would carry a 13-10 halftime lead into the locker room.

On the Ravens’ first drive in the third quarter, Jackson would lead the Ravens on a 13-play, 75-yard drive in 6:50 that ended in a 5-yard scoring run by the Louisville product that pushed Baltimore’s lead to 20-10.

Following a Derek Carr 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jared Cook (who made an unbelievable one-handed catch as he’s falling to the ground) that cut Baltimore’s lead to 20-17, Jackson would engineer a 17-play, 71-yard drive that chewed up 8:51 off the clock that was capped off by an 8-yard slant-route touchdown catch by former Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree that extended the Ravens’ lead to 27-17.

Crabtree, who was cut in the offseason by Oakland, finished with three catches for 21 yards on six targets.

Baltimore relied heavily on the running game that kept the Raiders off balance for most of the day, as Jackson led Baltimore on two touchdown drives that consumed 16 minutes of game time stretching from the third into the fourth quarter.

Oakland’s 31st-ranked running defense couldn’t stop the Ravens on Sunday, allowing 242 rushing yards on 43 attempts.

Jackson, who started at quarterback for the second-straight week in place of regular starter Joe Flacco whose been dealing with a injured right hip, did throw two interceptions on passes that were tipped but otherwise, played efficiently for Baltimore.

After not recording a sack through three quarters, the Ravens finally started to get pressure on Carr, sacking the Raiders starting quarterback on three-straight plays in the fourth quarter. Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon, who entered Week 12 with just three sacks on the season, recorded all three sacks on Carr.

Judon’s first sack resulted in a Carr fumble that was quickly scooped up by linebacker Terrell Suggs who then raced 43 yards for a touchdown that made the score 34-17, ending any hope for the Raiders.

Carr threw for 194 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-34 passes for Oakland (2-9), who scored a touchdown on their first possession for the second-straight week. Carr led Oakland on a 12-play, 81-yard drive in 6:15 that included a 30-yard completion to backup tight end Lee Smith on fourth-and-1 that was capped off by running back Doug Martin’s 1-yard touchdown run.

The scoring play for Martin was his first of the season for the Silver and Black. Martin scored his last touchdown last October as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Martin recorded 72 yards total (51 rushing and 21 receiving) on 14 touches (11 rushes and 3 catches) for the game. Second-year wide receiver Marcell Ateman was the only other Raider with three catches, finishing with just 21 yards. Ateman led the team with 10 targets.

Wide receiver Seth Roberts led Oakland with 54 yards receiving on two catches. Roberts’ 44-yard catch from Carr in the third quarter would setup tight end Jared Cook’s 16-yard touchdown catch that made the score 20-10 following a 5-yard touchdown run by Jackson to begin the third quarter.

For the second straight week, the Raiders’ defense recorded two interceptions with safeties Reggie Nelson and Marcus Gilchrist each notching a takeaway.

Linebacker Tahir Whitehead recorded 14 tackles and linebacker Nicholas Morrow recorded just the 10th sack by Oakland this season in the first quarter.

On Sunday, Dec. 2, the Raiders return home to face the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time this season. Kansas City (9-2) who is currently on a bye week, leads the AFC West and are coming off a wild 54-51 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 18 in a game that was originally set to take place at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

The Ravens will travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons in Week 13.

Raiders travel to the East Coast to face the Ravens

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Photo credit: reviewjournal.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders hit the road once again as they will travel East to take on a tough Baltimore Ravens team to close out Thanksgiving Weekend. The Week 12 matchup will mark the fourth consecutive year that the two teams have clashed, with Oakland winning two of the last three contests, including a thrilling 28-27 victory in 2016 at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore won last year’s meeting 30-17 in Oakland.

Kickoff for the 11th meeting is this Sunday, Nov. 25 at 10:00 a.m. PT. The Ravens lead the all-time series, 7-3.

Last week, the Raiders (2-8) defeated the Arizona Cardinals 23-21 at State Farm Stadium.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr earned his 15th career fourth quarter comeback, engineering an impressive 9-play, 63-yard drive in the final minutes of the game, capped off by rookie kicker Daniel Carlson’s 35-yard game-winning field goal through the uprights as time expired.

The win snapped Oakland’s five-game losing streak and more importantly, shinned a little light on what has been a dark season for the Silver and Black with the losses mounting up week after week.

Carr finished the game completing 19-of-31 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions with a 100.6 passer rating. His two touchdowns against the Cardinals moved him past Rich Gannon (114) for third on the club’s all-time list with 115, trailing only Daryle Lamonica (148) and Ken Stabler (150).

For Carlson, his three made field goals on the day from 49 (career-long), 21, and 35 yards (first career game-winner) earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. His 11 points (two made extra points) were also a career-high and were the most among kickers in the AFC in Week 11.

Defensively, cornerback Gareon Conley and safety Karl Joseph each recorded an interception that led to touchdowns on ensuing drives, and rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst tallied a sack for the second consecutive week, bringing his total to four on the season and elevating him to second among rookie defenders in the NFL.

After coming of their bye week, the Ravens defeated their AFC North rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals 24-21 in Week 11 at M&T Bank Stadium snapping their three-game losing streak.

Baltimore’s offense was paced by two rookies in quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Gus Edwards.

Jackson did throw one interception in the game, but showed why he was a dual-threat quarterback at Louisville, completing 13-of-19 passes for 150 yards and rushing for 119 yards on 26 carries (team-high) in his first career start in place of franchise quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco was inactive for last week’s game due to a injured hip.

Edwards, an undrafted rookie from Rutgers University, rushed for a career-high 115 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will return home for two weeks to take on two first-place teams in the AFC, as they will host their AFC West rivals the Kansas City Chiefs (9-2) in Week 13, and the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2-1) in Week 14.

The Ravens (5-5) who trail the Steelers in the AFC North, hit the road for back-to-back games against the Atlanta Falcons (4-6) in Week 13 and the Chiefs in Week 14.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Can Raiders carry that good win feeling into Baltimore this Sunday?

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On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe:

#1 The Oakland Raiders win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday certainly brightened thing up for the Raiders and ended their five-game losing streak in Arizona last Sunday.

#2 The Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and head coach Jon Gruden had a sideline disagreement. It was just one of those things.

#3 The Raiders battled back to catch the Cardinals. Will this be a fixture of their work ethic?

#4 Joe tells us about kicker Daniel Carlson’s game-winning field goal last Sunday and what it means to the team.

#5 The Raiders try to keep it going in Baltimore this Sunday against the Ravens. Joe tells us how he sees this matchup.

Joe Hawkes Beamon does the Oakland Raiders podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders travel to Arizona for a Week 11 matchup with the Cardinals

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Photo credit: azcentral.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders hit the road for Week 11 as they will travel to the desert to face the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Sunday, November 18. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m.  PT. Oakland and Arizona have rarely played each other during the regular season as this is just the 10th meeting between these two clubs, with the Raiders holding a 5-4 edge over the Cardinals all-time.

However, the Cardinals are riding a two-game winning streak over the Raiders, winning the last regular season meeting, 24-13 in 2014 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and by a closer margin, 24-23 in 2010, which is the last time the Raiders traveled to Arizona.

Last week, the Raiders fell to the Los Angeles Chargers 20-6 in Week 10 at home. The loss, was Oakland’s fifth in a row dropping the Silver and Black to 1-8 on the season, the third-worst start in franchise history. Only the team’s 0-13 start in 1962 and the 0-10 start in 2014 have been worse, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw for 243 yards on 24-of-37 attempts in the contest, surpassing 17,000 passing yards for his career. Carr became just the third quarterback in franchise history to throw for 17,000 yards, joining Rich Gannon and the Hall of Famer, the late Ken Stabler.

Running back Jalen Richard had a team-high five catches for 52 yards. it was the fifth-straight game that Richard has led the Raiders in catches. For the season, Richard has 48 receptions.

Defensively, safety Marcus Gilchrist tallied his first interception in Silver and Black, while rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst notched his third sack of the year. Hurst’s three sacks are tied for fifth-most among rookie defenders this season.

In Week 10, the Arizona Cardinals (2-7) lost on the road to the Kansas City Chiefs 26-14 at Arrowhead Stadium. Cardinals rookie quarterback Josh Rosen completed 22-of-39 for 208 passing yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Running back David Johnson rushed for 98 yards on 21 carries, and scored two touchdowns on the ground and in the air. Johnson also led the Cardinals with seven receptions for 85 yards.

Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who will be walking into the Hall of Fame once his career is over, finished with six catches for 50 yards and passed newly-minted Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens for No. 2 on the NFL’s career receiving yardage list in the closing minutes, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

Now in his 15th season, Fitzgerald has amassed 15,952 receiving yards in his career, trailing only Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Rice racked up 22,895 receiving yards during his stellar 20-year career.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will head East during the Thanksgiving Weekend when they take on the Baltimore Ravens. The Week 12 matchup will mark the fourth-straight season that the two clubs will meet in the regular season.

The Cardinals will travel to Carson, Calif. to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12.

Raiders three-point stance: Three takeaways from the Raiders’ home loss to the Chargers

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Photo credit: @TheSportsNotes

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — For the second-straight game, the Raiders failed to score a touchdown while looking inept in their 20-6 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Chargers Sunday at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in front of 54,750 fans on Sunday afternoon. At 7-2, the Chargers have now won six straight games (four straight in the series after sweeping the season-series), while the loss for Oakland (1-8), extends their losing streak to five games.

Bottom line: the Raiders are beyond a mediocre football team. They are a complete mess. The team has been outscored 75-9 in the third quarter during the five-game losing streak, and have lost by at least 14 points in all five games.

Checkout my takeaways from today’s game below.

Quotable: “This will be a year that a lot of us will never forget,” Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said postgame. “It’s painful. It’s really hard. It’s painful. It’s going to be hard to sleep again, hard to get up in the morning.”

Derek Carr is getting sacked way too much this year
One week after being sacked seven times by the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was sacked four times by the Chargers on Sunday. Carr did complete 24-of-37 passes for 243 yards, but faced constant pressure from the Chargers for much of the day.

Through nine games, Carr has been sacked 28 times this season, tied for third-most in the league with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.  With seven more games to go, its a safe bet that Carr will be sacked more times this season than he was in 2015 where he was sacked 31 times according to ESPN Stats and Information.

The only game where Carr wasn’t sacked this season was in Oakland’s 42-28 loss to the visiting Indianapolis Colts back in Week 8.

Even in the loss, Carr did become just the third quarterback in Raiders franchise history to throw for 17,000 yards, joining Rich Gannon (17,585) and the Hall of Famer Ken Stabler (19,078). Carr entered Sunday’s game with 16,888 passing yards now  at 17,131 yards.

Melvin Gordon is a nightmare for the Raiders
Chargers running back Melvin Gordon continues to be a thorn in the Raiders’ side and it was on full display Sunday.

Gordon finished with 23 touches for 165 yards of total offense. The former Wisconsin Badger devoured the Raiders’ 32nd rush defense, carrying the ball 18 times for 93 yards.

Gordon was also hard to contain through the air for Oakland.

On the Chargers’ first possession of the second half, Gordon took a dump-off pass from quarterback Philip Rivers, broke a tackle by cornerback Gareon Conley, juked safety Reggie Nelson and raced 66 yards for a touchdown that extended Los Angeles’ lead to 17-3 after entering halftime with a 10-3 lead.

Rivers completed 18-of-26 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Gordon finished with five catches for 72 yards and one touchdown. In the Chargers’ 26-10 victory over the Raiders in Week 5, Gordon tormented the Raiders for 120 yards of total offense (58 rushing and 62 receiving) and one touchdown.

The game was smoky
Due to wild fires from Butte County, located 150 miles north from Oakland, the air quality for the game was at unhealthy level. The Air Quality was at 159 at kickoff,  which is in the unhealthy zone, and smoke could be smelled throughout the stadium and even in the press box. The NFL had monitored the situation but the AQI never got near 200, the level where the game would have needed to be moved.

Up next for Oakland: a trip to Arizona to face the 2-7 Cardinals next week, who lost to the Raiders’ bitter rival the Kansas City Chiefs 26-14 at Arrowhead Stadium today.

The Chargers will return home for their second-straight game within the division as they will host the Denver Broncos (3-6) at StubHub Center.

Raiders to face Chargers Sunday at the Coliseum

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Photo credit: @ChargersRHenne

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders will return home to the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum this Sunday as they welcome the visiting Los Angeles Chargers to town in a Week 10 battle between these AFC West rivals. The 118th matchup between these two teams will kickoff at 1:05 p.m. PT, with the Silver and Black holding a 62-53-2 edge over the Chargers all-time, but the Chargers have won the last three meetings.

The Chargers defeated the Raiders 26-10 at StubHub Center in Week 5 and are going for the sweep in the two-game season series.

Oakland is coming off a humbling 34-3 loss on the road against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9. In the game, the Raiders (1-7) scored on their first possession behind a 37-yard field goal by rookie kicker Daniel Carlson, but saw the 49ers (2-7) score 34 unanswered points. Starting quarterback Derek Carr completed 16-of-21 passes for 171 yards while posting a 99.5 passer rating.  On the season, Carr has completion rating of 72.3, which ranks second in the NFL.

Oakland’s offense registered just 242 yards against the 49ers, who sacked Carr seven times in the game.

Linebacker Tahir Whitehead had a team-high six tackles (five solo and one assisted) for Oakland. Four of Whitehead’s tackles were for losses. On the season, Whitehead leads the team with 57 total tackles (42 solo and 15 assisted).

The Chargers (6-2), are off to their best start since 2006 and have won five straight games.

Last Sunday, the Chargers went into noisy CenturyLink Field and defeated the Seattle Seahawks 25-17. Chargers starting quarterback Philip Rivers completed 13-of-26 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions against Seattle. In his 15th season, Rivers continues to put up big numbers, throwing for 2,236 yards with 19 touchdowns to just three interceptions.

Against the Seahawks, starting running back Melvin Gordon had plenty of running lanes to run through rushing for 113 yards on 16 carries and one touchdowns. Through the Chargers’ eight games this season, Gordon ranks sixth among all running backs in the NFL with 579 yards and seven touchdowns.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen had a big day in Seattle, hauling in six passes for 124 yards, his first 100-yard receiving day since Week 1. Despite just having just one touchdown this season (which also occurred in Week 1), Allen leads the team with 47 receptions for 630 yards.

Fellow wide receivers Tyrell Williams and Mike Williams (no relation), are tied for the team-high with five touchdowns apiece.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will head to Arizona to face the Cardinals. The Chargers will return home to take on the Denver Broncos, their second-straight game within the division.

Raiders head to Santa Clara for ‘Battle of the Bay’ with 49ers on Thursday Night Football

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Photo credit: sports.yahoo.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — In a matchup that doesn’t have that much sizzle outside of the Bay Area, the Raiders will travel to Santa Clara, Calif to take on the San Francisco 49ers in primetime on Thursday Night Football on Nov. 1 with a 5:20 p.m. PT  kickoff from Levi’s Stadium.

This is the first regular season matchup between to the franchises since 2014, in which the Raiders (1-6) won that meeting 24-13 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The game would turn out to be one of Derek Carr’s greatest games, who as a rookie, had his best single-game passer rating (140.2) through his first five seasons. Carr completed 22-of-28 passes for 254 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The two teams have locked up in the regular season 13 times, with the Raiders holding a 7-6 record all-time against the 49ers.

The Silver and Black enter Week 9 coming off a 42-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at home, where Carr posted his third-highest career passer rating (136.6) after completing 21-of-28 passes for 244 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Carr was responsible for all four of Oakland’s touchdowns, with him adding his first career rushing touchdown.

San Francisco (1-7) lost to the Arizona Cardinals 18-15 on Sunday. The Cardinals scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to complete the two-game season-season against the 49ers. Arizona defeated San Francisco 28-18 at Levi’s Stadium thanks in large part to five turnovers by the Red and Gold.

49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard completed 14-of-28 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown, a 55-yard strike to wide receiver Marquise Goodwin in the third quarter that gave the 49ers a 12-3 lead.

Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne led San Francisco with seven catches for 71 yards on 10 targets.

Following the game, the Raiders will have a 10-day break before returning home to face their AFC West rival, the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10 to complete their two-game season-series. The Chargers defeated Oakland 26-10 in Week 5 down at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

San Francisco will stay home for another primetime game when they host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football on Nov. 12 to complete Week 10’s action.