Wilson throws three touchdowns in Seahawks’ 27-3 win over Raiders in jolly ol’ London

Photo credit: @SportsCentre

By Jeremy Kahn

Maybe heading across the pond to London would possibly change things for the Oakland Raiders, but it seems that they are not getting any better on two continents.

Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns, as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Raiders 27-3 at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Wilson went 17-for-23 for 222 yards plus those three touchdowns and an interception, as the Seahawks go into the bye week with a 3-3 record.

Chris Carson helped out on the running game, as he ran for 59 yards, while Rashad Penny gained 43 yards before the largest crowd to ever attend a NFL game in London, as 84,922 were in attendance in the legendary stadium.

Despite going 23-for-31 for 142 yards on the afternoon, Derek Carr was forced to leave the game with 8:52 remaining in the game, as he was hit by Jarran Reed and immediately went to the sideline grabbing his upper left arm.

Jaron Brown was the receiving end of the first Wilson touchdown of the afternoon, as he took it in from five yards out. Wilson then found David Moore for a 19-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and then threw his third and final touchdown in the fourth quarter, as he threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett.

To make even worse for the Raiders, who fall to 1-5 on the season, former kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who played for the Raiders for 17 years, kicked two field goals for the Seahawks.

Marshawn Lynch, who was playing against his former team carried the ball 13 and gained just 45 yards during the game.

The Raiders finally got on the board with 8:30 remaining in the game, as Matt McCrane kicked a 48-yard field goal. McCrane could have gotten the Raiders on the board in the second quarter; however, his 48-yard attempt went wide left.

NOTES: It was a tough day for the Raiders with injuries, as besides Carr, they will leave London not healthy.

Amari Cooper left the game with 13:40 remaining in the first half, as he suffered a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Strong Safety Bradley McDougald. Joe Feliciano, who started in place of the inactive Kelechi Osemele, who was out with a knee injury was forced out of the game with a rib injury and Seth Roberts suffered a concussion like Cooper in the fourth quarter and did not return.

UP NEXT: After their bye week, the Raiders will return to the field on October 28 at the Coliseum, where they will host the Indianapolis Colts at 1:05 pm PT on CBS.

That’s Amaury: Regardless of who wins series both teams battled hard

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

Regardless of who wins the series with the next two games on Wednesday and Thursday games five and six should be sensational games. This has been a series that has been dominating by pitching and it has been terrific the Cardinals starter on Wednesday Michael Wacha the rookie who took to the mound in game six and he’s 4-0 22 year old and the Cards have seven rookies on that roster.

The Cards have Carlos Martinez, Trevor Rosenthal to name a few who are just rookies and their doing a great job and here’s another thing about the Cardinals of the 25 man roster 20 players are home grown there is no other team in baseball that I have found that has 20 players who are home grown. Let me explain homegrown to those who think I’m joking there are players they have signed through their own farm system and they made it to the big leagues.

Of those 20 seven are rookies, that’s incredible you have a team that basically that’s home grown except Carlos Beltran who came from other teams, Matt Holliday is the other non rookie, most of these players are Cardinal discoveries. That by itself show tremendous organization by the Cards.

Goodell wants NFL team in London:  It’s a lot of travel to go from the mainland to fly to London but it’s intriguing here’s Major League Baseball who as we know that opened their season there’s a difference they have opened the season in Mexico City, the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks are going to open the MLB season in Australia but that’s just opening a game there in the regular season.

To have a team in another country what is the flight time for the 49ers and the Raiders to travel all the way to London. This is serious, I don’t know if the NFL can accomplish this this year or next or the next 20 years but I’ll tell you what the NFL is rich monetarily economically and fiscally sound professional sports league in the world. So if anybody can do it it’s the NFL.

That will be a tremendous undertaking to have a team down in London, I can see them doing it in Canada, Mexico, but to leave the continent and to go across the Atlantic to the other side of the world and consider this we are here in California that would be quite a stress for the teams to get there. They would have to fly three or four days in advance and three or four changes of time zones. It’s going to be tough but they might be able to do it.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk Radio

Kaepernick better than ever since week two and three

By David Zizmor

SANTA CLARA–Nobody expected the 49ers to lose last Sunday’s game in London the betting line was 16 points for the 49ers and the Niners covered the spread by double the amount of given points against Jacksonville with something like which was far too low the Niners won this one by 32.

Jacksonville is just an awful team and let’s give credit to the 49ers a game like this is one you could sleepwalk through and make it a lot closer than it should be. Let’s face it look at what the Jaguars did against the Denver Broncos just a few weeks ago they made just a little bit of noise in that one against a very good Denver team.

The 49ers did not let Jacksonville get into this game at all they didn’t let them sniff any smell of success. The 49ers were very focused their systems were shocked after those two loses in week two and three they haven’t really looked back as they’re now on a five game win streak. They’ve been a very different team since those games.

In their two loses to the Seahawks and Colts the 49ers were passing a bit more than they probably wanted to ever since then they focused more on their ground game which was their bread and butter. The last two seasons and when they got away from it they weren’t quite as successful and let’s face it part of the problem is that their wide receiving core has been decimated by injuries.

When all your options are gone and your left with a couple of guys it makes that much easier for defenses to take away those options and take the passing game out entirely. You saw against Indianapolis and Seattle the Niners were just stuck they couldn’t move the ball through the air and once the defenses realized they couldn’t move the ball in the air they were able to shut them down.

The 49ers have done a great job in the last five wins of establishing the running game early and working off of it and in the last two or three weeks we’ve really seen the passing game start to blossom again. Not a lot was made of it but Kaepernick did hurt his foot several weeks ago early in the season and while he was out of the game that foot injury kept him out and it might have kept him from being as mobile as he had been.

It might have kept him from making a number of passes that he was capable of. The last two or three weeks we’ve seen him really step up his game. Kaepernick is running a lot more, his passes are right on target, he’s doing a much better job finding his guys open and just making plays and we didn’t see that earlier on and I suspect this because that foot was bothering him a bit.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

Kaepernick key to win

Photo by Bob Martin

By Pearl Allison Lo

LONDON– San Francisco 49ers’ (6-2) quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a season-high two rushing touchdowns in a 42-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-8), who were playing in their inaugural International Series game at Wembley Stadium Sunday evening.

The final count of 83,559 fans marked the 4th best attendance of the eight NFL games played here so far, outranked by the two New England Patriots games and the other San Francisco game. It was the third lopsided scoring margin at Wembley Stadium, with the two other games New England games. It was a mainly red jersey crowd, but the fans were equally supportive of their “home” team until 2016. Dan Skuta thought, “It seemed pretty split to me,” and “they cheered for things that I don’t think Americans usually cheer for. They were fired up for extra points and stuff like that, which is pretty cool.”

Both teams had a number of drops, including miscues returning the football for the first time. The 49ers’ Kyle Williams fumbled off the kickoff reception but retained possession. Josh Scobee dropped the ball on his return, but was able to recover the ball before the players reached him.

San Francisco scored during their first four drives and Kaepernick scrambled during them as well, overall running seven times for 54 yards. Coach Jim Harbaugh commented, “He used his legs on third down to pick up valuable first downs.”

During the 49ers’ opening drive, Kaepernick found Bruce Miller wide open on the far right for 43 yards. Teammate Frank Gore found a hole up the middle later, to give San Francisco the opening touchdown with 19 yards and 11:48 left in the first quarter.

Kaepernick looked like he was going to run a third time before he connected with Anquan Boldin for 21 yards. It was Kaepernick’s fourth rush that brought him into the end zone the first time as he went to the far left, knocking over the orange cone in the process. It was Kaepernick’s longest rush of the game at the time, 12 yards with 2:36 left in the quarter.

The 21-0 first score of the second quarter, almost mirrored the time of the first score in the first quarter, with 11:52 left. Kaepernick had his longest rush of 17 yards and eventually found Vernon Davis, just before Davis went out of bounds at the back of the end zone.

The first play of the 49ers’ fourth drive was a 32-yard pass to Davis. Jacksonville cornerback Alan Ball got a hand on the ball in the end zone to prevent the third pass of the drive to Davis. However, this was followed by Kaepernick’s second rushing touchdown as he traveled nine yards to make the score 28-0. This was the first drive Kaepernick did not run in any of the plays before the score.

The Jaguars’ Jordan Todman returned the ball 40 yards after muffing a catch, but the drive ended quickly, with Williams muffing a catch on the other end.

San Francisco finally went scoreless on their fifth drive. It was also a drive in which Kaepernick’s scramble was taken back by a holding penalty.

Jacksonville followed their defensive performance with their first journey into enemy territory and score. Cecil Shorts, who was the main target during the drive, made a nice break from one of the tackles. Josh Scobee kicked a 38-yard field goal to make the score 28-3 at halftime.

The Jaguars received the ball again to start off the third quarter, but had several battles, including two penalties. Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 30 yards. On fourth down and less than a yard, they converted. Shorts dropped the ball in the end zone, leading to fourth down again. This time,the pass was incomplete to Mike Brown.

Just under three minutes later though, Jacksonville got the ball back as Frank Gore fumbled on his own 34 yard line and Russell Allen recovered the football. The Jaguars were able to turn the fumble into their first touchdown eventually, when Chad Henne passed to Mike Brown for 29 yards.

The 49ers wasted no time getting the score back afterwards. Kendall Hunter had a 41-yard rush and Gore made up for his fumble with a two-yard score with less than a minute left in the quarter.

In the fourth, Jacksonville went for their third fourth down conversion and were successful. Marcedes Lewis fumbled, however, and Dan Skuta turned the game’s first straight fumble into a score, with a run of 43 yards.

Regarding keeping morale high, Jones-Drew replied, “We’re competitors. We’re never going to let anyone break our will. Some guys are saying, ‘Why are you still playing?’ I say, ‘Why are you talking to me about that? We’re trying to get our job done, play football, and play it at a high level.’ We’re going to continue to work and do what we have to do…we can make a change and we will.”

Notes: The most special of the four honororary captains of the game was Brandon Bell from Scotland, who has been a fan since receiving brain tumor treatment in Jacksonville. His “Make-A-Wish” was to see the play in Wembley Stadium. It was Henne’s third straight start at quarterback in place of Blaine Gabbert. The Jaguars’ Will Rackley received a blow to the head during the game and did not return. San Francisco next gets a bye week and then plays the Carolina Panthers November 10th. Jacksonville also gets a bye next week and will aim to get their first win again against the Tennessee Titants. The Jaguars’ next game at Wembley will be against the Dallas Cowboys and will also feature four other teams, as 2014-2015 will mark the first season three NFL games will be played in London, a step in a bigger direction.

Niners take on the Jaguars in London

By Pearl Allison Lo

London – The San Francisco 49ers will be playing their third international game, second at historic Wembley Stadium, while the host Jacksonville Jaguars will be playing their first, when the two teams meet on the field Sunday, October 27th at 5pm London Time. This is a part of the NFL’s International Series with the help of the Mayor of London.

Re the scene before the game for the public, I haven’t seen much besides the Fan Rally, but there were glimpses. I’ve seen ads in the subway, on street vehicles and banners hanging between buildings. There were multiple going-ones during the week though.

Yet to be back in San Francisco, after arriving in London Monday, the team got together with the famed Tottenham Hotspurs for a community event encouraging young ones to be more active. Both sporting teams got to indulge in each others’ respective sport.

NikeTown hosted an evening on Tuesday that centered around Jacksonville Jaguars’ players.

After 49ers practice on Friday, re the yet to win Jaguars, coach Jim Harbaugh said his players “respect the team…They play with great effort, very physical, so I’ll just say that. I haven’t had to say anything along those lines. They’ve seen it on the tape.” Re his own 5-2 team, Harbaugh expressed, “hopefully we play our best football. That’s what we’re looking for. We’ve played good football, but I think we could do better…”

When asked about plans for London, Harbaugh pulled out a list that included Marble Arch, Park Lane, Buckingham Palace and Parliament Square to received laughter. He grinned while inquiring afterward; “think we’re hitting the right spots?”

NFL jerseys started popping up Saturday on the day of the fan rally on the train, before the Commisioner’s Fan Forum and after the rally elsewhere. They were most prominent, however, with the 49ers heavily supported, decorating the invited fans at the forum who were to be bused to the rally after Q&A. Commissioner Roger Goodell, 49er quarterback legend Joe Montana and former Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive Tony Boselli, who sat in a circle in the middle of the fans, were the other components of the equation.

Eager questions surrounded the possibilities of Monday and Thursday night games, 2015, women in the NFL and the Super Bowl to a collective intake of inhaled breaths and gasps. When asked if a Los Angeles franchise or a U.K. franchise would be first, Goodell stated, “it doesn’t matter to me. I would like to be able to continue to expand our game,” but moreover, emphasized “success” and “doing things right…Ultimately, I would love to see us doing both.” Goodell also mentioned the possibility of women in the NFL as referees.

Bare chested young men sported painted letters, numbers and symbols during the off part of off and on rain at the rally, with a message that read, ‘U.K. Franchise in 5 years? Odds 8/1.’

We’ll see Sunday if the game can help with the “success” Goodell emphasized during the forum, thereby improving the odds and the possibility of more burgeoning American football fans not only in the U.K., but Europe.

NOTES: My experience being in London so far is that people are pretty nice, friendly and helpful. The roads being reversed and other oddities like the light switches being the opposite way, cell phone stores being called car phone warehouses, a lot of hookah bars, the European smoke and free wifi in telephone booths provide additional interest. The UK accents are quintessential.

49ers travel to London to take on the hapless Jaguars

By Gabe Schapiro

This Sunday at 10:00 AM the San Francisco 49ers (5-2) will be coming to you from across the pond in London, England where they will be facing off with the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-7) at Wembley Stadium. The 49ers are on a roll having won four straight contests. They sit in second place in the NFC West behind the Seattle Seahawks. The Jaguars are a team still trying to find their way, and have yet to win a game this season. They are in last place in the AFC South.

Last week the San Diego Chargers beat Jacksonville with relative ease, 24-6. The Chargers grabbed a lead in the first quarter and never looked back. All the Jaguars offense could muster was two field goals. That has been Jacksonville’s season in a nutshell, as they have struggled in every facet of the game in what is clearly a rebuilding year.

San Francisco had slightly better luck with the Tennessee Titans, running away with a 31-17 victory in a game that wasn’t as close as the score makes it appear. The 49ers were pitching a 24-0 shutout heading into the fourth quarter before the Titans found the scoreboard for 17 points during garbage time. Frank Gore continued his strong production, running for 70 yards and two scores on 24 carries. In addition, Colin Kaepernick had possibly his best game since week 1, finding some success through the air and with his feet. He completed 13-of-21 passes for 199 yards, and ran for another 68 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Most importantly he didn’t turn the ball over once. On the defensive side Justin Smith recorded two sacks and Tramaine Brock grabbed his third interception of the season.

Despite the Jaguars problems, they do have some talented players that San Francisco will have to account for. They have a good receiving corps headlined by the young duo of Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for the 49ers, they haven’t had a quarterback who can reliably get the ball to them. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew isn’t the player he once was, and doesn’t have much of an offensive line to run behind, but still presents a threat. On the defensive side of the ball things don’t look much better for them, but Paul Posluszny is a very good linebacker to try and build around.

As a whole Jacksonville is the worst team that the NFL has to offer. They have scored the least amount of points in the league, and they’ve given up the most. While playing in London is a bit of an X-factor, this still isn’t a game that the 49ers should have any trouble with. Expect them to lean on the running game as they have been over their last four victories, but look for Kaepernick to find more openings to air it out as well.

On the injury front there is no bad news to report this week. Wideout Mario Manningham, who resumed practicing with the team last week, is nearing his return. Coach Jim Harbaugh has yet to rule him out for Sunday’s contest. It may take him some time to be a real contributor again, however. Michael Crabtree’s rehab is going according to plan, and is expected back in about a month.

On a similar note, Aldon Smith, who had to leave the team in Week 3 because of the much-reported on personal issues, could re-join the team within the next couple of weeks.

Raiders coming off bye could give tired Steelers a fight

by David Zizmor

ALAMEDA–The Raiders have a chance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in their next game on Sunday there is really no games where the Raiders can sit back and claim it to be a sure thing to win it’s not like the 49ers playing Jacksonville where it’s a 99 percent chance the Niners will beat Jacksonville in London. The Raiders won’t have that this year their just not a good enough team.

On the other hand they are playing Pittsburgh and the Steelers have been struggling as well they are coming off a victory from the defending champions the Baltimore Ravens. So the Steelers definitely have a feather in their cap right now and their feeling good about themselves. The Steel curtain is having a lot of similar problems to the Raiders.

The Raiders are a team that’s going through a big rebuilding process, Pittsburgh kind of are on the other side of that they are a team that’s probably about to go through a big rebuilding process. They’re just aging at a number of positions and probably need to revamp this squad. On the other hand the Steelers have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger whose one of the better quarterbacks.

Roethlisberger has won a couple of Super Bowls you can trust him but their biggest problem is the Steelers offensive line has just been terrible. They don’t have much of a running game this season and it means their passing game is suffering because Roethlisberger simply didn’t have time to throw the ball. There’s just a lot of age on the Steelers defense.

If the Steelers have a lot of different problems the Raiders can’t take advantage of that the fact their coming off a bye week and had two weeks to prepare for this game should definitely helped them out as well for the fact the Steelers have to travel cross country for this one after playing a very physical game against Baltimore. Those Steelers-Ravens games are always tough and physical and they take a lot of energy out of you and you throw in a cross country trip for Pittsburgh their going to be in a tough spot.

It’s going to be tough for them to recover in that game against Baltimore, You wonder if their going to have the energy to really fight the rested Raiders team. Of course the Raiders have their own issues their still a very inexperienced team and as you watch them in that game against Kansas City you notice they have a lot of injuries especially along with their own offensive line.

Not all those problems have been rectified the players on the offensive line have not fully recovered from their injuries so it’s anybody’s guess as to how healthy they will be this coming Sunday and if that’s the case all bets are off.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio