Tag: NFL

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.

Career Day for Kittle in 49ers’ 20-14 Win over Broncos

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–George Kittle stole the show for the San Francisco 49ers and made history en route to a 20-14 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The tight end finished just five yards shy of breaking the single-game reception record for TEs finishing with 210 yards on seven catches, including an 85-yard touchdown.

He finished with the eighth-most receiving yards in a game in franchise history and also became the all-time single-season leader in receiving yards for a tight end. He currently sits with 1,103 yards and is the first TE to ever reach a 1,000 for the Red and Gold.

All 210 yards on Sunday came in the first half, the second most receiving yards in the first half in NFL history. His incredible half led the 49ers to a 20-0 halftime lead. Shanahan later apologized multiple times to Kittle for not giving him a chance at the record.

When asked if he were disappointed in not getting the record, Kittle said “We won. That’s all that matters.”

However, when Kittle stopped so did the 49ers offense, putting up just 23 total yards in the third quarter and 89 total yards in the second half that left the door open for the Broncos to come back. Fortunately for the 49ers, their defense played just well enough to prevent the collapse.

The Broncos were 5-of-7 on fourth down in the fourth quarter during their comeback and were down by six with three minutes to go. The 49ers couldn’t afford to give Denver the ball back with 3:39 to go. On third-down-and-seven, Nick Mullens came up clutch finding Dante Pettis for 31 yards to clinch the game.

Pettis has remained on fire for San Francisco, as the second round rookie caught three balls for 49 yards and a score. His five TD catches this year make him the first 49er since Anquan Bolden in 2014 to hit the mark.

Mullens was great once again passing 22-of-33 for 332 yards and two touchdowns, and a pick. He finished with a 102.1 passer rating, his second 100-plus game in five attempts.

The 49ers are now .500 at Levi’s Stadium this year, something they haven’t done past week one since Jim Tomsula was the head coach of San Francisco. With two remaining games at home against the Seahawks and Bears, it seems like a long shot, but there’s a chance for them to finish with a winning home record for the first time at Levi’s.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: First place Steelers come to the Coliseum against a Raider team looking for the next win

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Photo credit: post-gazette.com

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon:

#1 The Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers were originally scheduled to be the Sunday Night Game, but were moved to a 1:00 PM time slot. Did the Raiders poor season have anything to do with them being moved from Sunday Night Football?

#2 The Steelers make their first trip to Oakland since 2013 when the Raiders defeated the Steelers 21-18. The Raiders have a 12-10 edge over the Steelers in their all-time meetings record.

#3 The Raiders have a three-game home winning streak over the Steelers when playing in Oakland. Could the Raiders get a little of that sensation this Sunday when the Steelers come to town?

#4 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 on offense from last Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

#5 The Steelers first in the AFC North (7-4-1) and the Raiders (2-10) with only two wins this season. Do the Raiders have a chance even with home field?

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

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Like Shanahan, Foster’s girlfriend shocked that Washington picked him up

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photo from abcnews.com: Girlfriend of former 49ers Reuben Foster, Elissa Ennis giving an interview on ABC News about Foster and his domestic violence charges

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe:

#1 Joe how shocked were you that former 49er Reuben Foster was picked up by Washington just a few hours after the 49ers released him?

#2 Foster’s girlfriend Elissa Ennis said that she lied on the witness stand regarding the last assault charge by Foster and that he indeed commit domestic violence charges against her.

#3 Like 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan before her, Ennis says that she couldn’t believe Foster got picked up by Washington just a short few hours or in less than a day after he was released by San Francisco. Joe talks about what it was like for the people who knew Foster well that he got picked up so quickly.

#4 Quoting Foster’s girlfriend Ennis on lying on the witness stand, “Love will have you doing things that’s not in your best interests,” she said. ” . . . I did what I had to do for the person I love. I thought that he would change.” How disappointing was it for not only Ennis, but for the 49ers that Foster didn’t change?

#5 It’s a 1:00 pm kick off at Levi’s Stadium as the 49ers (2-10) host the Denver Broncos (6-6). Joe sets this game up.

Joe Lami does the 49ers podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Broncos Set to Roll 49ers on Sunday

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Photo credit: denverbroncos.com

By: Joe Lami

The Denver Broncos head into Sunday’s game with three-straight wins. Since their bye in week ten, they’re the hottest team in the NFL and have brought their record to .500. The Broncos are firing on all cylinders after rolling off wins against the Chargers, Steelers, and Bengals.

They look to continue their success when they visit Santa Clara this weekend. Pushing themselves right back into the playoff hunt, at 6-6, they currently sit in the cluster of teams vying for the AFC Wild Card spots.

Their rejuvenated defense lead the Broncos. The addition of Bradley Chubb opposite of Von Miller has given new life to Miller. The two have combined for 22.5 sacks on the year. Miller is only behind Aaron Donald for the NFL lead with 12.5 sacks.

It’ll be critical for San Francisco to protect Nick Mullens, who is coming off of a 400-plus yards passing game. He was able to find chemistry with rookie, Dante Pettis, who is turning into the one shining light of the season.

Pettis brought in two more touchdown catches last week to bring his season total up to four. If he can continue the success, he should be a dangerous speed option for Garoppollo next season.

Turnovers continue to be a key for the 49ers, the NFL’s worst team at turnover differential. The defense has put the offense in a tight position all season, allowing zero room for error with just five takeaways. San Francisco’s defense went the entire month of November without one and haven’t taken the ball away since Week 8.

Denver is average in the turnover margin but is seventh best in the league with 21 takeaways on the year.

They will have everything to play for. San Francisco has nothing to play for this season.

The 49ers are in the exact opposite situation as the Broncos. Since their week 11 bye, they’ve lost two straight to the Buccaneers and the Seahawks by a combined score of 70-25.

Things are spiraling out of control for the third time in four seasons for the red and gold, and they need a solid performance at home to give any reason why the Faithful should still support them this season.

The 49ers need to show they haven’t quit yet. Things got ugly last week heading into halftime down 20-3, but they pieced something together scoring two touchdowns in the second half to show some pulse.

San Francsico 49ers preview: Niners return home, hope to end skid

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@49ers photo: San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis adjusts his gloves during game against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday at Century Link Field

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA–The 49ers are currently riding a three-game losing streak, and things are not looking good for their being able to put an end to it this Sunday, either.

After getting smacked around in Seattle by the Seahawks, the 49ers will make their way back to Levi’s Stadium and play host to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

While the 49ers have been out of the playoff picture for quite a while now, the Broncos have an outside chance of getting in, with a current 6-6 record.

The 49ers have some good news, however. After missing the last two weeks with assorted injuries, receiver Marquise Goodwin returned to practice in a full capacity this week and is expected to be on the field Sunday afternoon.

At the same time, though, there are a few names that remained on the injury report this week, as running back Matt Breida has not practiced this week with an ankle injury that is expected to keep him off the field come Sunday.

Meanwhile, receiver Pierre Garcon’s bad knee has kept him out of practice and will likely not play this weekend, either. Safety Jaquiski Tartt, who has been riddled with injuries during his young NFL career, also has not practiced, as he is dealing with a bad shoulder.

The Broncos are dealing with their share of injuries as well, the most significant being receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon in practice this week and will miss the rest of this season.

Former 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock was hoping to make his return to Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, but it looks like that will not happen, as an injury to his ribs has kept him out of practice this week and is not expected to be ready to go by Sunday.

 

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Carr put out a great effort against Chiefs, will try to get team a win Sunday vs. Steelers

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Photo credit: @Forbes

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Talk about Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and his efforts against the Kansas City Chiefs. He showed a lot of fight against one of the best teams in the NFL.

#2 Carr passed former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon on the all-time passing list.

#3 Carr has been rumored not to be coming back in 2019. Carr has three years left on his contract. Does Tony see that happening?

#4 Carr and the Raiders fought hard in last Sunday’s game to come back. How much did it take out of them?

#5 The Raiders host the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum.

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

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.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Niners just simply helpless in Seattle last Sunday; Sherman embarrassed by Hawks’ run game on the defense

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mercurynews.com photo: The San Francisco 49ers Richard Sherman (25) shakes hands with Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll who coached Sherman during the years he was with the Seahawks. It was Sherman’s first game back at Century Link since joining San Francisco.

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 After watching Sunday’s drubbing at CenturyLink Field 43-16 as the 49ers got mopped with the floor by the Seattle Seahawks. How many of the following factors played into the loss? The CenturyLink crowd loud as usual as the 12th man, the Seahawks defense kept 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens running all day, and even if they don’t admit it did the Reuben Foster case have an impact on this team?

#2 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, the former Seattle Seahawk, got an earful from the Seattle fans and also gave up an 18-yard touchdown pass to the Hawks’ Jaron Brown. How humiliating was this game for Sherman?

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

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Concussions, Protests and Domestic Violence…Where Is the NFL Headed?

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Photo credit: thesportsdaily.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The NFL is the second youngest of the four main professional sports leagues in the country. It was founded in 1920.

The NFL is also the richest sports league in the world with revenues above everybody else in the world of sports, and television ratings that beat just about everything that is on television. Not to mention the Super Bowl, which has become the most watched single sporting event on Earth.

Nonetheless, not everything these days is rosy when it comes to the NFL. They still have a problem with players suffering concussions (although the league have worked on the reduction of injuries), changing certain rules on the field to protect players and having a very big domestic violence problem. It seems like every week a player is suspended or fired from his team because he beat his wife or girlfriend. This is a bigger problem than the concussions on the field. Personal responsibility and behavior cannot be controlled by the team because when you take off your uniform and go home or to a bar, you are not playing football, you are just like any regular Joe out there and you are responsible for your action in your community like everybody else.

This past week, Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chief and Reuben Foster of the San Francisco 49ers were the latest two players accused of domestic violence and nobody can escape that these days. It goes online and millions of people can see what happened.

There have been protests, mostly fueled by the initial action of ex-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to take a knee during the playing of the National Anthem. This action immediately went viral in our social world, left the sports arena and went directly into the political realm. Obviously, this did not help the NFL. Kaepernick lost his job, but it planted the seed for a lot of division among the fans that pay to watch an NFL game. Two things that should unify all of us is the flag and the national anthem, and if we cannot respect that for three minutes, we are in trouble as a country. To the credit of the players association and some owners, these protests also brought more players and owners together in the need to help communities in their respective cities in many social issues–and that is a good thing.

All these problems have spooked a lot of their TV audience and attendance to the games. We live in a different world today, and the NFL better be careful not to continue going down that road, because is not headed to a good place.

A good friend or mine recently told me: “If Kaepernick had been accused of domestic violence, he would probably still be playing in the NFL, but he took a knee and that cost him his career. Yes, it is sarcasm, but it says something about the NFL today. And many people are talking about all these ‘issues.'”

In conclusion, the NFL can do a lot about injures and reduce the concussions in the sport, but the other stuff actually is hard to control. We can protest anything we want, after all this is America, and we have the right under our Constitution. When Kaepernick took his first knee I respected his right to do so, even though I wrote and talked about it. Back then, he was getting paid to play football and he could have called a press conference and said what he what he wanted.

Domestic violence is something that should never be tolerated by the NFL, any other sports franchise or anyplace else. But, then again, this behavior happens usually off the field, so it falls into the category of individual responsibility and accountability. This behavior is in our society, and this is the toughest problem this league has today.