Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes: Combination of things have to happen for Raiders to make AFC Playoffs

sfgate.com photo: Oakland Raiders wide receiver DeAndre Washington (33) scores a touchdown also had 23 receptions for 85 yards

On the Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 The Oakland Raiders  are coming off a victory against the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday it was a hairline victory for the Raiders who got a winning field goal from kicker Daniel Carlson in the closing moments of the fourth quarter.

#2 The Raiders who lost four straight games until the game in Los Angeles what did the Raiders do differently from the last four games which they lost.

#3 DeAndre Washington provided some good catches for 85 yards on 23 receptions and one touchdown

#4 The Raiders will depend on their receivers in this one wide receiver Hunter Renfrow last Sunday tallied seven receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown.

#5 The Raiders (7-8) are in Denver to face the Broncos (6-9) this Sunday they have to beat the Broncos next Sunday, then the Texans need to beat the Titans and the Ravens need to beat the Steelers, and the Colts need to beat the Jaguars, and a victory by at least one of these teams Bears, Lions, Chiefs or Patriots in order to make the AFC Wild Card Playoffs.

Join J Hawkes for the Raiders podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders’ playoff hopes still alive after road win 24-17

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Jeremy Kahn

Who would have thought after losing their last two games, the Oakland Raiders would still be in the hunt for the final Wild Card spot in the AFC Playoffs?

Derek Carr threw for 291 yards, as the Raiders defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 24-17 in the final game at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Coming into the game, the Raiders playoff hopes were on life support, but losses by both the Pittsburgh Steelers to the New York Jets and the Tennessee Titans to the New Orleans Saints, those playoff plans stayed alive. If the Raiders win next Sunday against the Denver Broncos on the road, and get a lot of help, the Raiders would clinch the last spot in the AFC and would be only their second playoff appearance since 2003.

Carr went 26-for-30 on the afternoon, and 86.7% is the second highest for the six-year pro since coming into the league in 2014. This was also the fifth time in his career that Carr topped the 80% completion rate in his career.

Hunter Renfrow returned to the field after missing last weeks loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and ended up with seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. It was the first 100-yard game for Renfrow.

DeAndre Washington was the leading rusher for the Raiders, who were without the services of rookie Josh Jacobs, who sat out the game with a shoulder injury. Washington gained 85 yards on 23 carries.

In what was supposed to be a good season for the Chargers continues to go downhill, as they fell to 5-10 on the season and have lost five out of their last six.

Melvin Gordon scored two touchdowns for the Chargers, and Philip Rivers went 27-for-39 for 279 yards in what could be his last game for the Chargers. Rivers, who was traded to the Chargers from the New York Giants for Eli Manning after the 2004 draft, will see his contract expire after the season.

Before a pro-Raiders crowd in Carson, the Raiders got it going early, as Carr found Renfrow for a 56-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game.

Daniel Carlson, who missed a big field goal in last weeks game against the Jaguars essentially clinched the game, as he hit a 48-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 24-14 lead.

Michael Badgley cut the Raiders lead down to seven with 1:29 in the game, as he nailed a 27-yard field goal; however, the Raiders recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

NOTES: To make the playoffs, the Raiders would need to win on the road against the Broncos, and need losses by the Titans against the Houston Texans, the Steelers against the Baltimore Ravens and a win by the Indianapolis Colts over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

That would create a four-way tie, and the Raiders would win the tiebreaker over the Steelers based on strength of victory and the Colts by virtue of its win in Week 4. The Colts would eliminate the Titans by having a better division record.

Trayvon Mullen left the game after colliding with Curtis Riley on a catch by Andre Patton in the fourth quarter, and was taken off the field on a stretcher.

Next season, the Chargers will move into the brand new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on the site of the old Hollywood Park race track, where they will share the stadium with the Los Angeles Rams.

UP NEXT: The Raiders close out the regular season with a road game against the Broncos on December 29.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes: Can Raiders break the losing spell as the enter LA with a four-game losing streak?

Photo credit: foxnews.com

On the Raiders podcast with J. Hawkes:

#1 Coming off the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and playing their final game in Oakland in franchise history going forward with just two games left on the road, can the Raiders regroup?

#2 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was miserably booed after the game against Jacksonville last Sunday. Would you say the main reason being lack of effort or Raiders fans just expected a better effort considering it’s the last game of the season?

#3 Talk about the huge defensive let down by the Raiders in that four quarter allowing the Jaguars to score two touchdowns to clinch the game.

#4  Sunday’s Raiders game was that the Raiders didn’t get any offense going in the fourth quarter and Carr just couldn’t get the Raiders on the scoreboard.

#5 The Raiders will play the Chargers in Los Angeles Sunday at 1 pm. Just for pride’s sake, do the Raiders have a chance to snap this current four-game losing streak?

Joe Hawkes is a Raiders analyst, join Jeremy Kahn for exclusive coverage this Sunday. All on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders head down south for final matchup with the Chargers this year

Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — With their final regular-season home game of 2019 in their rear view mirror, the Raiders will travel south to Los Angeles to face the Chargers in an AFC West battle at ROKiT Field at Dignity Health Sports Park in Week 16. Sunday’s game marks the final game between the two clubs this season, with the Raiders winning the first meeting, 26-24, back in Week 10 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The win for the Raiders gave the Silver and Black a 63-54-2 advantage over the Chargers in the all-time series.

Kickoff for Sunday’s game is set for 1:05 p.m. PT with Greg Gumbel and Trent Green on the call, and Melanie Collins reporting from the sidelines.

In Week 15, the Raiders snatched defeat from the clutches of victory, losing to the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars 20-16 in the final home game for the Silver and Black in Oakland to fall to 6-8 on the year. The Raiders held a 16-6 lead in the fourth quarter, before the Jaguars scored 14 unanswered points thanks to two touchdowns from rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew to wide receiver Chris Conley to steal the victory from Oakland.

For Oakland, tight end Darren Waller became just the second tight end in franchise history with 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, joining TE Todd Christensen (1983-84, 1986). In the contest, Waller recorded eight catches for 122 yards, tying a club record among tight ends for most 100-yard receiving games (four).

Rookie running back Josh Jacobs rushed for 89 yards on 24 carries, giving him 1,150 rushing yards on the season. Jacobs has the sixth-best rushing season in franchise history, and is the only rookie in team history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.

Defensively, rookie defensive end Maxx Crosby continues be an anchor on the defensive line for Oakland, recording a sack giving him 8.5 for the season. Crosby, who ranks third among rookies in sacks behind 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (9.0) and Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen (10.0), needs just three more sacks in the final two games to move past defensive end Greg Townsend’s club record 10.5 sacks established in 1983.

The Chargers are coming off a game that they would like to forget, a 39-10 beating at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings at home in Week 15 to fall to 5-9 on the year.

Los Angeles shot themselves in the foot, committing seven turnovers in the game, four coming from quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers, who threw for 307 yards on 28-of-39 passing and one touchdown, also threw three interceptions and one lost fumble.

Not to be outdone by Rivers, running back Melvin Gordon had a turnover filled day against the Vikings, lost two fumbles after rushing for just 28 yards on seven carries.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will finish their 2019 season in the Mile High City where they will take on the Denver Broncos.

The Chargers will travel to Kansas City to face the Chiefs to conclude their season.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Washington sending scout to watch Kaepernick practice; 49ers look to get back in win column Sunday against Arizona; plus more

photo from tmz: Seeking work in the NFL Colin Kaepernick will be trying out his handwork this week in his quest for an NFL job.

On Headlines with Tony Renteria:

#1 Washington is one of the NFL teams that will be taking a look at quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his tryouts to get back on an NFL team. It was mentioned that Washington might not be interested in Kaepernick because they have rookie Dwayne Haskins as a team starter.

#2 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals next. It’s just one day less to rest as the 49ers are coming off that tough loss on Monday Night Football to the Seattle Seahawks. After a loss like that, how quick do you see the 49ers regrouping?

#3 The Oakland Raiders just edged out the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football last week 26-24. The Raiders’ Derek Carr threw for 218 yards and went 21 for 31 with one touchdown.

#4 The Sacramento Kings are believing in themselves. They have won four of their last five games and are getting great offensive production from Bogdan Boganovic, Buddy Heild, Nemanja Bjelica, and Harrison Barnes.

#5 After former Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers said that the Astros were stealing signs during the 2017 season and 2017 World Series, how far down does the Astros’ credibility go down from here?

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders can postpone winning games until very late

Photo credit: abc7news.com

On the Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes:

#1 What is it with the Raiders and winning their games late? Is it like some kind of torture?

#2 Head coach Jon Gruden certainly knows how to pull out all the stops, and even late in the game, he runs a play with running back Josh Jacobs carrying for 18 yards with 1:08 left in the game.

#3 Thursday Night Football Raiders looked like they really stepped up their game. This was a nail biter throughout the whole contest.

#4 Josh Jacobs is having himself a season. How much has his rushing and scoring made a difference for the Raiders in winning games?

#5 Next Sunday, the Raiders will play their third consecutive home game after winning the first two against Detroit and now Los Angeles. The Raiders hope to take out Cincinnati on Sunday. Joe sets this game up.

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

 

Jacobs gives the Raiders another late win, 26-24

Photo credit: @iAM_JoshJacobs

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Unless there is a chance that the Las Vegas Stadium is not done, this will be the last Oakland Raiders game versus a team from the AFC West.

Josh Jacobs scored on an 18-yard run with 1:02 remaining in the game, helping the Raiders to a 26-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers before a Thursday Night crowd of 51,954 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

The Raiders got off to a fast start, as Eric Harris intercepted a Philip Rivers pass on the Chargers initial series of the game and Derek Carr led the Raiders down the field and Daniel Carlson got the Raiders on the board with a 40-yard field goal.

Not even two minutes after the Carlson field goal, Harris picked off a Rivers pass for the second time in as many possessions and returned this one 56 yards to the end zone to give the Raiders a quick 10-0 lead.

Rivers regrouped to take the Chargers on a 16 play 77 drive to get within three, as he found Hunter Henry for a two-yard touchdown pass. That drive took eight minutes and 14 seconds to cut the Raiders lead down to 10-7.

Melvin Gordon III gave the Chargers the lead, as scored on a three-yard run; however, the Raiders were not behind for long.

Undrafted rookie Alex Ingold scored his first NFL touchdown, a nine-yard pass from Carr to give the Raiders 17-14 lead at the half.

Carlson extended the Raiders lead up to six on their first series of the third quarter, as he kicked a 22-yard field goal.

Michael Badgley kicked a 22-yard field goal to cut the Raiders lead in half at 20-17 late in the third quarter.

Rivers put the Chargers in front with 4:02 remaining in the game, as he found Austin Ekeler for a six-yard touchdown pass. This was the second drive for the Chargers that took over eight minutes off the clock, as the Chargers traveled 12 plays in 80 yards that took a whopping eight minutes and five seconds off the clock.

Unfortunately for the Chargers, that left too much on the clock for Carr and the Raiders, who drove right down the field and ended when Jacobs scampered thru the Chargers defense to give the Raiders the eventual game-winning touchdown.

Rivers and the Chargers got the ball back with just over a minute remaining in the game, and on eight plays including a penalty on fourth down, the Chargers traveled just five yards. Rivers went 0-for-7 on that final drive that ended when Karl Joseph intercepted a Rivers pass at their own 35-yard line that clinched the game.

Carr went 21-for-31 for 218 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders, who are now 5-4 on the season and one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.

Jalen Richard and Hunter Renfrowe each caught four passes for the Raiders, and Richard led the team in receiving yards with 43.

Jacobs continues to impress everyone, as he carried the ball 16 times for 71 yards and that game-winning touchdown.

NOTES: Carlson missed a 53-yard field goal and also missed an extra point after the Jacobs touchdown.

UP NEXT: After being on the road for 49 days, the Raiders will host their third straight home game, when the Cincinnati Bengals travel to the Coliseum on November 17.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders go for two straight in Coliseum battle with Chargers on Thursday Night Football

sfgate.com photo: Oakland Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (28) runs for a touchdown past Detroit Lions defensive back Miles Killebrew during the first half of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019.

On Headline Sports with Tony Renteria:

#1 Fox Sports FS1 canned NFL analyst Cris Carter. Carter reportedly was fired for having a big argument with his bosses at Fox because he felt he wasn’t getting enough airtime on their primetime telecasts including on Thursday Night Football.

#2 Carter reportedly had a huge blow up and some of the issues were undisclosed but one of the issues that was disclosed was not getting enough airtime on Thursday Night Football and more analysis work on FS1.

#3 The Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will lead the Raiders into battle tonight for Thursday Night Football as the Raiders aim to improve to 5-4.

#4 The Raiders are coming off a narrow 31-24 loss at the Oakland Coliseum it was a sweet win after the Raiders took two loses on the road to Texas and Green Bay.

Tony Renteria does Headlines Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers fall to Chargers 27-24, but bubble guys show flashes

sfgate.com photo: San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard rolls out to pass against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half of an NFL preseason football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019.

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers lost their final preseason game of the year, 27-24 to the Los Angeles Chargers, but really, the night was about guys trying to make the team getting one last chance to put some good tape out there.

One of those guys is running back Jeff Wilson Jr., and on Thursday, he ran like he wanted that roster spot. He was the focal point of the team’s second drive, and to cap it off, he made an almost Walter Payton-esque cutback across the field to his right and got a kinda-sorta block from quarterback C.J Beathard on his way to a 41-yard touchdown that gave the 49ers a 7-6 lead near the end of the first quarter.

One quarter later, he also made a nice catch of a pass from Beathard that was at around his knees and was also behind him and converted it into a first down.

After an opening-drive field goal for the Chargers, D.J Reed Jr. took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 56 yards into Charger territory. Reed, who is a backup corner, is thought of as a guy who can play multiple corner positions – outside as well as in the slot – and with his special-teams playmaking ability, that should bolster his chances of making the 53-man roster that will suit up in Tampa for Week 1 of the regular season.

Dre Greenlaw is another guy who flashed on Thursday, and looks like he has solidified his spot on the team as a linebacker. After Damontre Moore whiffed on a sack attempt early in the second quarter, Greenlaw tracked Chargers quarterback Cardale Jones down and stood him up for a five-yard loss, to go along with a very nice open-field tackle on the first drive of the game.

Otherwise, the 49ers’ defense looked listless in the first half, regularly giving up chunk plays down the field before the Chargers were able to punch it in from point-blank range, eventually taking a 20-7 lead late in the second quarter.

The one things that has kept Kendrick Bourne from securing a spot on the roster has been his case of the drops, and that showed up the first time he was thrown to on Thursday, as he ran a nice crossing pattern but let the pass clank off his hands, taking away a first down.

However, he cashed in on the next opportunity he got, with a minute left in the first half. As Beathard eluded the Charger rush, he overthrew his intended target. But like a good backstop, Bourne was there to make a sliding catch in the end zone, the 21-yard touchdown cutting LA’s lead to 20-14.

NOTES: Prior to Thursday’s game, the 49ers released linebacker Malcolm Smith, who had spent most of his tenure with the team on the sidelines with assorted injuries, most notably a torn pectoral muscle that kept him out for the entire 2017 season.

The team also waived offensive linemen Willie Beavers and Dillon Day. The 49ers turned around and signed corner Chris Campbell, running back Brandon Wilds and receiver Nick Williams, who had a pair of catches in the third quarter.

UP NEXT: The 49ers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1:25 p.m. Game will be broadcast on FOX.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors can move onto next round with win over Clippers Wednesday night

Photo credit: @SNYtv

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Since that 31-point erasing by the Clippers in Game 2, the Warriors have been on track with some consistent basketball and flawless play in games 3 and 4.

#2 Warriors star Kevin Durant led Golden State in Game 4 with 38 points. Durant might be the round one MVP at this rate.

David does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com