Raiders take down Broncos 27-14 in potential last game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — In what may or may not have been the final game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Raiders provided Raider Nation some much needed joy on Christmas Eve with a 27-14 win over their AFC West rival Denver Broncos on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

Oakland (4-11) picked up their first division win of the season, the last team to win a game within their division. Additionally, the win snaps Oakland’s seven-game home losing streak on Monday Night Football, dating back to the 2002 season.

The Raiders are set to play in Las Vegas starting in 2020, but have no lease signed to play at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum for the 2019 season. The city of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the franchise contesting the move two weeks ago. The Silver and Black are looking into options for next season, including playing at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

The NFL wants to have a resolution to the situation by early February, at the latest.

The franchise has called the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum home from 1966 through 1981, then in 1995 through now after spending 13 seasons in Los Angeles.Raiders quarterback Derek Carr finished 19-of-26 for 167 yards and most importantly, no interceptions in his last 325 passing attempts. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the third longest streak in NFL history by a quarterback.

Carr hasn’t thrown an interception in 10 games, dating back to Oct. 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Carr threw his eighth interception at the time into the waiting hands of linebacker Melvin Ingram in the end zone.

For the season, Carr has thrown 3,864 yards with 19 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. Carr needs just 136 yards in Oakland’s season finale against the Chiefs in Kansas City for his first 4,000-yard season.

The Raiders jumped on the board early and gave their fans something to cheer about, after punt returner Dwayne Harris returned a punt 99 yards for the game’s first score. The Broncos failed to down the football at the 1-yard line and Harris alertly picked up the football, juked a few defenders and raced down the Broncos’ sideline for the score.

The 99-yard punt return for the touchdown, was the second-longest in NFL history according to the Elias Sports Bureau, tied with Patrick Peterson’s 99-yarder in 2011, and trailing Robert Bailey’s 103-yarder in 1994.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Harris ran 157.5 yards on his touchdown return, the longest distance covered by any ball carrier in the past three seasons.

With Oakland native Marshawn Lynch lighting up the Al Davis Torch before the game, fellow running back Doug Martin ran all over the Broncos on Monday night, rushing for 107 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown.

Martin, who was born in Oakland, scored untouched on a 24-yard run before throwing up an “O” before Raider Nation to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.Oakland added a 43-yard field goal from rookie kicker Daniel Carlson to give the Raiders a 17-0 lead heading into halftime. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the 17-first-half points were the most by the Raiders since scoring 21 points in the first-half against the New York Jets in Week 2 of the 2017 season.

When watching the first-half, it felt like Oakland was playing more inspired football than Denver, who appeared to be ready for Christmas morning rather than a football game against one of their greatest rivals.

In six first-half drives, the Broncos punted five times and missed a 58-yard field goal from kicker Brandon McManus as time expired for halftime. Denver’s offense was nonexistent for the majority of the contest as penalties crippled them throughout the night as the Broncos were called for 11 penalties racking up 91 yards.

That’s not a recipe for success in the NFL.The Broncos didn’t get on the board until midway in the third quarter when quarterback Case Keenum threw a pair of touchdowns to rookie wide receivers DaeSean Hamilton and Courtland Sutton.

Oakland would quickly respond, thanks to a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Jalen Richard, but Keenum’s two fourth quarter interceptions to Marcus Gilchrist and Erik Harris sealed the victory for the Raiders.

Keenum completed 23-of-37 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions. Now at 6-9, the Broncos are assured of back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1971-72 which has put head coach Vance Joseph squarely on the hot seat.

Denver finished 5-11 last year in Joseph’s first season and entered this season with playoff aspirations, but have stumbled in 2018 and now have lost three-straight games following a 6-6 record.

Last week’s 17-16 loss at home to the Cleveland Browns eliminated the Broncos from postseason contention. Tonight’s performance by Denver could’ve possibly sealed Joseph’s fate, who is rumored to be fired at season’s end. The Broncos finish up the regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17 in Denver.

Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the first half, joining Dominic Rhodes and LaGarrette Blount as the only undrafted rookies to rush for 1,000 yards in the Super Bowl era per the Elias Sports Bureau. Lindsay rushed for 46 yards before leaving the game with a right wrist injury and didn’t return.

With 1,037 rushing yards on the season, Lindsay needs just 68 yards to break Rhodes’ record (1,104) that was set in 2001 as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

If this was the last game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for the Raiders, it was a fitting send off.

Not only did the Raiders defeat one of its biggest rivals in the Broncos, who came into the game with the most victories (22) by a visiting team per the Elias Sports Bureau, but Oakland made the game feel like a celebration rather than a funeral as some suggested.

The Raiders will wrap up the 2018 regular season in Kansas City against the Chiefs where Derek Carr will try to earn his first win at Arrowhead Stadium where he’s 0-4 lifetime.

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

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’ Marshawn Lynch to miss action with a groin injury

Photo credit: sportingnews.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — Raiders’ starting running back Marshawn Lynch will miss some playing time due to a groin injury, per ESPN citing a source with knowledge of Lynch’s injury.

Lynch is expected to miss a month with the injury, but the team has been discussing placing the running back on injured reserve, per the source.

News of Lynch’s injury and expected time missed was first reported by NFL Network.

Lynch has rushed for a team-high 376 yards on 90 carries (4.2 yards per carry) and three touchdowns this season. He also has amassed 15 receptions for 84 yards

The Raiders have veteran running back Doug Martin and holdover Jalen Richard who will be counted on to pickup the slack in the ground game for Oakland in Lynch’s absence.

Martin is second on the Raiders with 99 yards on 27 carries (3.7 yards per carry), and Richard has rushed for just 32 yards on 11 carries (2.9 yards per carry) through the team’s first six games this season.

Richard is better suited to help in the passing game, where he’s second behind tight end Jared Cook (32 catches) for the team lead with 31 catches for 253 yards this season.

The Raiders (1-5) are on a bye week before hosting the visiting Indianapolis Colts (1-5) in Week 8 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Oct. 28 at 1:05 p.m. PT.