Raiders nipped by Browns, remain winless

Turnovers loom large in Oakland’s loss at Cleveland

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

CLEVELAND — Brian Hoyer completed 19-of-28 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown, as the Cleveland Browns forced three turnovers to upend the Oakland Raiders 23-13 Sunday afternoon in Week 8 action.

Andrew Hawkins caught a game-high seven passes for 88 yards, including a four-yard touchdown pass from Hoyer to push Cleveland’s lead, 16-6 at 14:51 mark in the fourth quarter.

Browns’ strong safety Donte Whitner leveled Raiders’ running back Darren McFadden late in the third quarter, forcing McFadden to fumble which was recovered by cornerback Joe Haden to give Cleveland the ball clinging to a 9-6 lead. Haden led Cleveland with eight tackles.

Running back Ben Tate finished with 15 carries for 26 yards and a touchdown for Cleveland (4-3), who bounced back after falling to the Jaguars 24-6, in Jacksonville in Week 7. Cleveland was horrendous on third down, converting 2-of-12 opportunities, while gaining 15 first downs.

Paul Kruger sacked Raiders quarterback Derek Carr three times, and recorded a forced fumble.

Oakland (0-7) have now lost their 13 straight game dating back to last season, but this loss is tough to swallow.

Whenever Carr wasn’t under pressure, he actually threw the ball well, completing 34-of-54 passes for 328 and a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Holmes in the fourth quarter to make the score 23-13.  Oakland controlled the time of possession, 34:52 to 25:08, but fumbled the ball four times, two by Carr.

The Raiders’ 32nd ranked running attack had its moments, but still couldn’t muster its first 100-yard runner of the season with the aforementioned McFadden finishing with 59 rushing yards on 12 carries. Oakland ran the ball early well in the game, but appeared to abandon the run as Cleveland’s defense started to clamp down as the game wore on.

With Cleveland leading 3-0 in the first quarter and Oakland’s opening drive stalled, the Raiders outsmarted themselves by faking a field goal that lead to place kick holder Matt Schaub throwing an interception to Browns safety Tashaun Gipson.

That was the sign of things to come for Oakland who remains 0-for-2014, and may have squandered one of their best chances to win a football game this season.

The Silver & Black continue their two-game road trip with a voyage to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Super Bowl Champion, Seattle Seahawks in Week 9.

Seattle gritted out a 13-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte Sunday to improve to 4-3 behind quarterback Russell Wilson’s 20-of-32 passing for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception performance.

Coupled that with games divisional games against Denver, San Diego, and Kansas City, Oakland could be 0-11 by Thanksgiving.

Defensively, linebackers Sio Moore and Miles Burris each recorded nine tackles to lead Oakland.

 

 

 

49ers try to keep momentum going against Cardinals

By Gabe Schapiro

This Sunday at 1:25 PM the San Francisco 49ers (3-2) will be facing off against the Arizona Cardinals (3-2) at Candlestick Park. Both squads have won two straight and are tied for second in the NFC West, one game back of the Seattle Seahawks and one game up on the St. Louis Rams.

Last week the Cardinals, thanks in large part to an impressive showing from their defense, defeated the Carolina Panthers 22-6. They racked up seven sacks, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. On that side of the ball they are led by Karlos Dansby, Calais Campbell, Darnell Dockett, and shut-down corner Patrick Peterson. On offense they have struggled a bit this year, as QB Carson Palmer is very turnover prone, with nine interceptions and a fumble already, and WR Larry Fitzgerald has been hobbled by injuries and hasn’t looked like the big playmaker so many are used to seeing.

San Francisco is coming off an even more impressive win, a 34-3 drubbing of the Houston Texans. For the second straight week they relied heavily on their run game and stout defense. As a team they ran for 177 yards, 81 of those coming from Frank Gore, who also scored a touchdown. On defense they had three interceptions, two from Tramaine Brock, one of which he returned for a score, and another from Tony Jerod-Eddie. The newly dubbed Donte “Hitner” also chipped in a forced fumble.

This week the 49ers will likely try a similar approach, although they may run into more difficulties, as the Cardinals have allowed the third fewest yards on the ground so far this season. Against the pass they are ranked 19^th, but San Francisco only managed 107 yards through the air last week. Colin Kaepernick has struggled since week one when asked to win the game with his arm, so the big question will be whether he can get something going if the run game is stifled.

Palmer has at least two turnovers in four of five games this season, and the 49ers are sure to try and keep the pressure on him to ensure that trend continues. Even if San Francisco’s offense runs into problems, their defense should keep them in the game and give them every chance to pull out a win in this one.

For the first time in a few weeks the injury news is largely good this week. Vernon Davis, one of the few reliable weapons Kaepernick has at his disposal, has resumed fully participating in practices. It was feared DL Ray McDonald had suffered a severe injury in the third quarter in last weeks win, but was diagnosed with just a right biceps strain. His status for this Sunday is in question, but he shouldn’t miss an extended period of time.

In more long-term news, Mario Manningham is expected to be ready to begin practicing with the team when first eligible in Week 7, and Michael Crabtree is on track to return in mid-November.

Finally, there was one minor transaction this week, as the revolving door that is the 49ers third-string QB keeps spinning. The recently signed John Skelton was waived, and McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who had recently been released by the Minnesota Vikings, was claimed off of waivers.

Gore tramples Rams on the way to 49ers win, 35-11

By Gabe Schapiro

September 26, 2013

On Thursday night the San Francisco 49ers (2-2) returned to their roots, and in a ground and pound game dominated the St. Louis Rams (1-3), at a final score of 35-11. As many expected they would following two bad losses, the 49ers featured Frank Gore early and often, and he managed to run all over St. Louis, finishing with 153 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries. As a team they finished with 219 yards on the ground. Colin Kaepernick played a smaller role, but avoided mistakes and made plays when he had to.

Both teams came out of the gate a little slow. The Rams offense seemed to click first, managing to string a few plays together. As a result they got on the board first, with a 40-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein to give them an early 3-0 lead. St. Louis, however, struggled to find an answer for the 49ers defense from there.

Through most of the first quarter the San Francisco offense looked eerily similar to the past two weeks, with Kaepernick struggling to find open receivers and a couple of long runs from Frank Gore being their only positive gains. Heading into the second quarter, things took a turn for the better. Halfway through the quarter Kaepernick orchestrated an 80-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by two long connections to Anquan Boldin, including a 20-yard touchdown grab on third-down and twenty. The touchdown was there first score in over 73 minutes, and the 7-3 score represented their first lead since the opener against Green Bay.

Their improved play continued. On the next Rams possession Donte Whitner intercepted a deflected pass from Sam Bradford in the end zone. The 49ers again immediately mounted a drive, culminating in a huge 34-yard touchdown run from Gore on a fourth-and-one play, bringing the score to 14-3.

By this point in the game the Rams looked lost, repeatedly going three-and-out. Meanwhile, San Francisco kept piling on.

In the third quarter Kaepernick and co. marched down the field with relative ease again, to the tune of an 88-yard, 11-play touchdown drive than took over five minutes off the clock. This time it was a 12-yard pass to Vernon Davis in the corner if the end zone that finished it off, giving them a 21-3 lead.

In the fourth, during garbage time, the Rams finally found the end zone, but it was sandwiched between two more 49er touchdowns. Anthony Dixon punched in a one-yard touchdown run following a San Francisco fumble recovery on the three yard-line, and Kendall Hunter got into the action as well, scampering in for a 29-yarder of his own. Hunter’s run put this game on ice, bringing the final to 35-11.

Kaepernick finished the game with 15 completions on 23 attempts, 167 yards passing, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He did fumble once in the fourth quarter on a muffed hand-off attempt, but by that point the game was out-of-reach.

Boldin was the teams leading receiver, hauling in five receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown. In addition, rookie Quinton Patton and Jon Baldwin played small roles, but both had their first career receptions in a 49ers uniform.

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker NaVorro Bowman was the star, and more than filled the void left by the absence of Patrick Willis. He was all over the field, and racked up six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and deflected a pass. Ahmad Brooks had a good game as well, chipping in seven tackles and one and a half sacks.

While it was almost nothing but good news on this night, it did appear as though the 49ers may have a couple new additions to the injury report. Patton limped off the field in the second quarter and did not return. In the fourth, Joe Staley had his legs caught in a pile up. He walked off the field under his own power, but was doing so very gingerly. No report yet as to how severe either injury is, but they will have a long week to hopefully recover.

Next week San Francisco returns home to take on the Houston Texans on Sunday October 6, at 5:25 PM.