Final: LAC 24 OAK 26
Well, that was a wild Week 10. And this is the game that started it all. Last Thursday, the Raiders pulled off another close call win, this time against the Los Angeles Chargers. Since Week 10 ended, there's a lot of implications to discuss here.
Let's overview quickly about this game. The Chargers man. They are a living enigma this season. They do good against good teams. But, against bad teams? Everything hits the fan. The defense got off to a really good start. Erik Harris was Philip Rivers' worst nightmare this game. Harris got two picks. The first one set up the Raiders for three points. The 2nd pick, he took it all the way to the house for six. To be honest, Harris could've had so many picks against Rivers this game. But of course, the refs gotta get in on the action by throwing flags. That was probably one of the few negatives this game outside of the offense's slow start and Daniel Carlson's missed PAT. Clelin Ferrell's hand placement on the LOS was an example of bad technique and placement. But despite that, Ferrell wrapped up a pair sacks. He, Maxx Crosby, and Benson Mayowa managed to get some push and get to Rivers.
The defense wasn't able to sustain the fast start due to the penalties and the Chargers scored 14 unanswered. The offense didn't help either. They had a pretty slow start, but they picked it up in the 2nd half when it mattered the most. I'm not going to dive in too much, but it all started with a near 5 minute drive before the end quarter capped off by Carr's TD pass to Alec Ingold. Both offenses were stagnant in the third quarter. But, the Raiders pulled it off with Josh Jacobs' 18-yard, game-winning rushing TD and Karl Joseph's INT on a 4th down stop. Just like that, the Raiders find themselves at .500 and well within the playoff hunt, let alone in the race for the AFC West.
As mentioned, Week 10 was full of upsets this week capping off with the Seahawks handing the Niners their first loss. The big headliner was Tennessee's upset win over the Chiefs in Patrick Mahomes' return. I've seen my share of meltdowns with the Raiders. The way Kansas City loss that will go down as the biggest "WTF happened" game of the year. They botched the snap on a field goal attempt after the defense gave them a 4th down stop. Intentional grounding was called. Tannehill lead the Titans to a game winning TD and a 2-pt conversion to make it a one possession game. Mahomes drove the Chiefs within field goal range, but the game-tying field goal was blocked. KC's loss is huge as the Raiders are now within one game from the division with win-less Cincinnati and the Jets coming up on their schedule. Buffalo also had an upset loss to the Browns, but Pittsburgh won against the Rams to keep the Raiders one seed away from the last wild card spot.
Both the Bengals and Jets games have "trap games" written all over it. The Raider can't get caught up in the hype just yet. They need to take care of business against the two teams they should beat before the rematch against the Chiefs at Arrowhead. A lot of things can unfold the next two weeks. I'll see you guys after the Bengals game.
No comments:
Post a Comment