Tag: NFL

Late field goal lifts Raiders past Cardinals 23-21

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, November 18, 2018

A 35-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with time expiring in the fourth quarter lifted the Oakland Raiders to a 23-21 come-from-behind win over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday in an interconference game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

With 5:02 to play in the fourth, the Cardinals (2-8) surged ahead 21-20 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Josh Rosen to veteran Larry Fitzgerald.

In the third quarter, Oakland (2-8) snapped a 14-14 halftime deadlock on 49- and 21-yard field goals by Carlson.

The Raiders opened the scoring at 12:36 of the first quarter when Derek Carr found Jared Cook for a 23-yard touchdown. Arizona tied the game six minutes later when Fitzgerald snared an 18-yard scoring pass from Rosen.

Rosen’s 59-yard TD pass to Christian Kirk gave the Cardinals a 14-7 lead with :16 to go in the first quarter. Oakland tied the game at 8:20 on Carr’s 5-yard scoring pass to Brandon LaFell.

David Johnson led Arizona with a game-high 137 rushing yards on 25 carries, including a run of 53 yards. Kirk caught three passes for 77 yards, and both of Fitzgerald’s receptions went for touchdowns.

Rosen completed 9 of 20 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns, was picked off once and sacked once.

Carr completed 19 of 31 passes for 192 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked four times.

Oakland is 24th in team rushing yards and did little to change that. Jalen Richard led the Raider ballcarriers with 61 rushing yards on 11 carries, followed by Doug Martin with 52 yards on 10 attempts.

Seven different Raiders caught passes from Carr – Marcell Aleman and Seth Roberts each caught four, Richard and Cook each had three receptions, LaFell and Lee Smith each grabbed two passes and Martin had one. Aleman led Oakland with 50 reception yards.

Defensively for Oakland, Tahir Whitehead seven total tackles, Karl Joseph had an interception, and Maurice Hurst recorded a sack.

Next week, the Raiders travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. PST.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Can Shanahan and team hold a halftime lead?

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nbcsports.com photo: San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has a bye week to try and figure out how to hold onto a lead they play in Tampa Bay Nov 25th#1 The San Francisco 49ers dropped their third game with a halftime lead. What’s it going to take for San Francisco to hold a lead at the half?

#2 This loss was the sixth time that San Francisco has lost a fourth quarter lead under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

#3 The 49ers couldn’t overcome the New York Giants and quarterback Eli Manning, who threw for his 36th comeback of his career.

#4 Finishing games has been a problem for Shanahan since he dropped a Super Bowl loss.

#5 The 49ers have the bye this week and this gives Shanahan time to contemplate how to finish a game. 

Joe Lami does the San Francisco 49ers podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers Bye Week Notes: “Finishing” the Season Strong

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Photo credit: @NBCS49ers

By: Joe Lami

The 49ers have thankfully made it to the bye week after a disastrous start to the season fueled by injuries. With a 2-8 record, they’re once again lined up for a top pick in the draft. However, the 2019 Draft isn’t as sexy as last 2018’s, with just a handful of offensive skilled positions projected to go in the first round.

The Niners are slated to take a defensive player to bolster the edge rushing, linebacking core, or secondary. This year is the perfect draft for that with a plethora of options to choose from in the first round. In Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft, 21 of the top 25 players on the board play defense.

With just six games remaining, the 49ers need to find a way to “finish” games, something that has been a staple of Kyle Shanahan pressers all season long. One can attribute that to the lack of talent on the roster. That argument is justifiable, but it goes beyond that.

Three blown fourth-quarter leads this season, and six blown halftime leads in his tenure as San Francisco’s head coach, more blame needs to be placed on Shanahan. He needs to learn how to manage games better with the talent that he has and not expose his team to the dramatic failure it has been down the wire.

He needs to prove that once the talent gets there, he is the right man for the job. He couldn’t protect a 28-point lead in the sport’s biggest stage before he came to San Francisco, he’s not protecting leads now, what gives the Faithful confidence in the future?

With games against the Bucs, Broncos, Seahawks (x2), Bears, and Rams left, it’s safe to say that half of the games should be close. A combined 22-25 opponent record on the horizon, it’s time for this team and this regime to learn how to win.

Screw the ultra-high draft pick, learn how to finish.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Carr will need much protection throwing against the Cardinals Sunday

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Photo credit: @OddsShark

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Oakland quarterback Derek Carr was sacked four times last Sunday by the visiting Los Angeles Chargers in the 20-6 loss.

#2 The Chargers–after the win–have now won six straight and the Raiders drop to 1-8.

#3 “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.”

#4 In nine games, Carr has been sacked 28 times. Carr’s sacks are the third most in the NFL tied with the Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

#5 Carr–despite the loss Sunday–is the third Raiders quarterback in Raider history to throw for 17,000 yards joining former Raiders quarterbacks Rich Gannon (17,585) and Ken Stabler (19,078).

Joe does the Raiders podcasts each Thursday 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.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: 49ers just couldn’t seal the deal on Giants in fourth quarter, fall 27-23

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Photo from mercurynews.com: SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 12: San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Nick Mullens (4) throws against the New York Giants in the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 The New York Giants just got by the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football 27-23. The game was tied at 20-20 going into the fourth quarter.

#2 Quarterback Nick Mullens of San Francisco threw for 27-39, 259 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. How will Dave rate Mullens’ Sunday performance?

Join David each Tuesday for the 49ers podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers Collapse Again on Primetime, Lose 27-23 to Giants

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA — In life, there are only three certainties: death, taxes, and the 49ers blowing a half-time lead. On Monday Night, closing out a game continued to be a problem for San Francisco, as they dropped their third game of the season with a halftime lead. It also marks the sixth time the 49ers have conceded a fourth-quarter lead under Kyle Shanahan.

This time, they handed the New York Giants their second win of the season and Eli Manning his 36th fourth-quarter comeback of his career in the 27-23 loss at Levi’s Stadium on Monday Night Football.

Finishing has been a staple of Shanahan press conferences all season, yet the second-year head coach can’t seem to correct the problem that has been following him since his epic Super Bowl LI collapse.

The 49ers went into the half with a 13-10 lead thanks to Robbie Gould knocking down field goals from 53 and 36 yards and Matt Breida finding paydirt on a three-yard rush.

Breida later caught an 11-yard touchdown pass, becoming the first 49er to score on a rush and a catch since December 2012.

However, the defense started to collapse in the third allowing ten points in just 3:38 to bring the Giants back into the game. Big plays set up the Giants with excellent field position that they capitalized on to bring things even to start the fourth.

The 49ers had trouble getting to the quarterback all game long with an uninspiring pass rush on an offensive line that was allowing four sacks per game coming in. Defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, continued his overly conservative play-calling leading to the only sack of the game coming in the fourth quarter on a third-down play with the game tied. It was one of just three QB hits the 49ers collected since the blitz was hardly dialed up.

On the subsequent drive, the 49ers drove downfield but had to settle with a field goal instead of putting the game away.

“I thought we had a chance to step on their throat there and we didn’t. We let them back in it fast. [We] kept them around too long and then we didn’t make the plays at the end and had every opportunity to and just as a team, players, coaching staff, we didn’t get it done” said Shanahan.

The Giants took over the game-winning drive with 2:46 remaining.

The 49ers took two defensive penalties to extend the Giants drive that ended with Manning throwing his third touchdown of the game and the first for Sterling Shepard.

Manning finished throwing 19-of-31 for 188 yards and the three scores for a 110.7 passer rating. He found his favorite receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., four times for 73 yards with two of them going for touchdowns, both on blown coverages.

Saquon Barkley was handed off to 20 times for 67 yards, averaging just 3.4 per carry.

In his second career game, Nick Mullens came down to earth throwing 27-of-39 for 250 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. A bobbled catch from Marquise Goodwin caused the second one. Overall, Mullens did everything you could’ve asked from a third-string quarterback making his second career start.

George Kittle was once again the most reliable receiver for the 49ers, catching nine of 10 targets for 83 yards.

The 49ers now head into the bye week with a 2-8 record, giving Shanahan an extra week to figure out how to finish a game.

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 lose fifth in a row, 20-6, to Chargers

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By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Whenever the Oakland Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers get together, you know that it is going be a battle between these two longtime rivals from the old American Football League.

Unfortunately, over the past two seasons, the rivalry has swayed towards the Chargers, especially after their 20-6 victory over the Raiders before a crowd of 54,750 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

With the victory, the Chargers have won six in a row, and now stand at 7-2, while the Raiders are going the other way, as they have lost five in a row and are now 1-8 on the season.

This is the Chargers fourth straight win in the series after the Raiders won the previous four in a row from the Chargers, that included a 19-16 victory by the Raiders over the Chargers that helped the Raiders clinch their first postseason berth since the 2002 season.

The Raiders still lead the all-time with a record of 62-54-2 since the series began in the first year of the AFL back in 1960.

Things started out well for the Raiders, as on fourth-and-5, punter Johnny Townsend faked the punt and scrambled 42 yards down to the Chargers 21-yard line to give the Raiders a glimmer of hope; however, the Raiders were not able to get any points on the board, as the Chargers defense held Derek Carr for a no gain on fourth-and-goal and the Chargers took over on downs.

“I have always said that I believe in that kid. In that fake punt, you can see that he is one of our fastest players. He is a tremendous athlete. He took his medicine for a while like a lot of us, but he is going to be a really good punter for us,” said Jon Gruden.

After the Chargers went three-and-out on their initial series of the afternoon, the Raiders wasted not long to get on the board.

Daniel Carlson got the Raiders on the board in the first quarter, as he nailed a 46-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.

Following another three-and out by the Chargers, the Raiders mounted a drive of their own; however, Carr was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Melvin Ingram III and fumbled the ball and was recovered by Corey Liuget, who rumbled 24 yards down to the Raiders’ 40-yard line.

“We came up big. Everybody made hell of plays. It was a great team win. We have a great group of young players. Those boys are special. They came up big. When you have rookies that can step up and make plays like that, it’s big,” said Ingram.

The Chargers got all the way down to the Raiders’ nine-yard line, but like the Raiders were forced to settle for a Michael Badgley field goal that tied up the game.

The Raiders offense could not muster a first down, as they were forced to punt the ball back to the Chargers, who went down the field and it culminated with a Philip Rivers touchdown pass to former CAL star Keenan Allen for 11 yards that gave the Chargers a 10-3 lead with just 24 seconds remaining in the first half.

Carr just took a knee to end the first half, and the Raiders trailed at the end of the first half by a score of 10-3.

Melvin Gordon finally got in on the act for the Chargers, as he took a Rivers pass and ran 66 yards to the end zone to give the Chargers a 14-point lead just 2:28 into the third quarter.

After yet another punt by the Raiders, they got ball back in a hurry, as Rivers threw a long pass down the field; however, Safety Marcus Gilchrist picked off the Rivers pass intended for Allen at the Raiders 31-yard line.

“That’s part of things I’m talking about that we can do better, that can possibly change that ‘W’ and ‘L’ column for us,” said Gilchrist.

Unfortunately, the Raiders could only muster five yards on the ensuing series before they punted the ball back to the Chargers.

Once again, the Raiders defense came up big, as they held the Chargers off the scoreboard, as they were forced to punt.

Carr and the Raiders got rolling, as he found Doug Martin for a 23-yard gain, and then on the next play, he found Jared Cook for 31 yards that got the Raiders down to the Chargers 13-yard line.

Carlson got the Raiders within 11, as he nailed a 30-yard field goal.

The Chargers then began a long drive that included a 42-yard touchdown run by Austin Ekeler that was nullified by a 10-yard holding penalty that was called on Russell Okung.

On the very next play, Rivers was sacked by Shilique Calhoun and Johnathan Hankins; however, Hankins was called for Roughing the Passer that gave the Chargers a first down at the Raiders’ 33-yard line.

“It’s one of those things. Where you look back on it and I just needed to get to him, get him down faster. If I get him down faster. If I get him down quick enough, I don’t have to worry about that penalty. It’s on me to make sure I complete the plat and finish the play out,” said Calhoun.

Rivers and Allen hooked up for a 18-yard completion that put the Chargers into field goal range, and four plays later, Badgley kicked a 41-yard field goal that gave the Chargers a two touchdown lead.

The Raiders got the ball back after the field goal, and began to drive down the field; however, the drive stalled, as Carr was unable to find anyone on a fourth-and-5 and was forced to throw the ball away, giving the ball back to the Chargers.

Carr ended the day by going 24-for-37 for 243 yards, while Jalen Richard led the Raiders in receiving with five catches for 52 yards.

Martin led the Raiders in rushing, as he carried the ball 15 times for 61 yards.

Rivers went 18-for-26 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and an interception on the afternoon for the victorious Chargers.

Gordon led the Chargers in rushing, as he carried the ball 18 times for 93 yards, and also caught five passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Allen was the leading receiver for the Chargers, as he hauled in six passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.

NOTES: Townsend became just the third punter since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to have a run of at least 40 yards and a punt of 50 yards in the same game, as joins Reggie Hodges of the Cleveland Browns in 2010 and Jeff Hayes of the Washington Redskins in 1983.

Martavis Bryant was forced to leave the game for the Raiders in the third quarter with a knee injury, an injury that Gruden fears could be serious.

UP NEXT: The Raiders head out on the road for their next two games, as they will face the Arizona Cardinals on November 18 at 1:05 pm PT and then the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 25 at 10:00 am PT. They return home on December 2 to face the Kansas City Chiefs at 1:05 pm PT.

Can Mullens Do It Again? Previewing the QB’s Second Start

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Photo credit: @NBCS49ers

By: Joe Lami

There are two uncertainties heading into San Francisco’s Monday Night’s contest against the New York Giants.

The first is the location of the game. On Saturday night, a report came out that the game could be moved from poor air quality due to the devastating Camp Fire. The league has said that the game can be relocated to Arizona or another NFL stadium that has the right infrastructure. There’s also a possibility that the game gets moved to Tuesday.

The other uncertainty is how quarterback, Nick Mullens will perform in his second straight NFL start. He impressed everyone in last Thursday’s pummeling of the Oakland Raiders, but a question remains if the Raiders were serious competition.

Mullens made 49ers’ history in his debut throwing 16 of 22 for 262 yards, three touchdowns equaling a 151.9 QB rating. He was effective by getting the ball out fast and quickly progressing through his reads.

Shanahan will likely again gameplan Mullens to throw quick, intermediate passes that are set up by a strong run game. If Mullens can once again quickly progress through his reads and accurately pass the ball, he should have no difficulty shredding through a mediocre Giants’ defense.

The 1-8 Giants’ main downfall has been their offense. Even with Odell Beckham Jr., quarterback, Eli Manning has been bad, throwing just eight touchdowns on the season. His offensive line hasn’t helped either, allowing 31 sacks on the season.

The lone bright spot on offense has been rookie running back, Saquon Barkley. The former Heisman winner has rushed for 519 yards and five touchdowns so far making him the front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Luckily for the Niners, Matt Breida is outrushing Barkley, giving no reason why they shouldn’t destroy the second worst team in the NFL when game time comes.

Prediction:
San Francisco 24
New York 10