Final: JAX 20 OAK 16 (6-8)
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Happy to be back after a week off to take care of a project to wrap up this current semester. I was in attendance for this game. Last game in Oakland and all, my bro and I wanted to take a trip to the Coliseum one last time before they depart to Las Vegas (for real). For me, that was only my 2nd time. My first was back in 2011 vs. the Chicago Bears when Carson Palmer still quarterbacked for the team. This game was a bitter loss. It began with a lot of fireworks and it ended with a dud. We didn't see the last five minutes to catch the BART early. But we kept track of the remainder of the game and the Jaguars came back to spoil the celebration.
Without question, this game was a tale of two halves and a microcosm of Jon Gruden's teams in his second stint. This team preaches 60 minutes of football. Yet, they only play 30 minutes of it. The first half was all Raiders. They did a good job that first quarter balancing the run and pass plays to keep Jacksonville's defense off balance. It was nice to have Josh Jacobs back this game as he carved up the Jags' run D. Darren Waller went off this game with 122 receiving yards. Jags' pass D was very susceptible to Tight Ends, which was perfect for Waller. The only lone touchdown on the Raiders was Derek Carr's pass to Tyrell Williams who proceeds to break away from his defender and take it in for a 40-yard TD. The Jaguars were able to get one big play off of Gardner Minshew for the first quarter. But, they were mostly held in check. Raiders added a triplet of field goals from Carlson to extend the lead to 3-16 at the half.
Then, the Jaguars proceeded to score 17 unanswered points. Derek Carr started feeling more pressure and felt the wrath of Sacksonville during the 2nd half. Penalties racked up. Carlson misses a field goal twice with the potential to put the Raiders up six and set up a potential game-winning field goal since the Jags scored with 31 seconds left in the game. As I said, a microcosm of Gruden's teams.
The playoff talk was already over with back-to-back blowout losses on the road. If there was any game they had to get, it was this one. This loss is pretty much a symbolism of the Raiders' ugly 2nd tenure in Oakland: four winning seasons in 24 years since their return. I was too young for three of those even though I vividly remember. This 2nd tenure has sucked. I feel sorry for all of Oakland fans because they had to put up with this for a while. Now the team is departing for Vegas and this is the
last memory we'll see of the Raiders in the Bay Area and all of Cali: letting us down one last time.
Despite the loss, it doesn't take away the fun I had earlier today talking with a lot of Raider fans, taking a look at the tailgate in the Coliseum parking lot one last time. Sure, Vegas has a shiny new stadium for Raider Nation waiting. But, the atmosphere in Oakland is something that Sin City will never replicate. I see a lot of posts on the notion that the Raiders will get better once they move to Vegas. It's not that simple. Relocation doesn't automatically reverse the fortunes of a franchise, especially of a team that has so many holes on the roster. That's where the Raiders are right now. I'm tired of Derek Carr. The organization has invested too much around him for him just to be a "deer in the headlights." Paul Guenther needs to go. Jon needs to bring his brother in to call plays. This organization has lost touch in reality. Despite the draft capital in the next two years, they'll be back in square one where they need to start paying these rookies big dollars in 4-5 years. We keep saying that the future is bright. The greatness of the Raiders is in its future right? So far it hasn't happened and one relocation won't automatically bring an immediate bright future. That's my rant for tonight. They still got two games left on the road. The road to Vegas starts here and the Raiders have their work cut out. I'll see you guys later.
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