Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders season opener vs. the Tennessee Titans where the Raiders beat the Titans 26-16. The Raiders continue to exert their dominance in Nashville and Carr edges out Mariota once again in what is a comeback game between these two young QBs.
Like I said in the 4th quarter reaction, this was a complete 180 over last season. The Raiders had to go for two to beat the Saints. But, today was just cruise control, especially down the stretch in the 4th. We have to remember, the last two Raiders-Titans matchups were decided by a touchdown or less and it came to the final possession. I was kinda uneasy heading into this game, but the way the defense played and how the offense was marching down the field ensured that this game did not come down to the final possession.
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Derek Carr, 22 of 32 passes, 262 yards, 2 TDs. Since it's now official, welcome back Derek Carr. I said in my preview, based on the preseason, Carr looked like he hasn't missed a beat and he has full reins on the offense. How it translated in the regular season, Carr made his return look effortless. He was sacked twice today. I'm sure we were holding our breaths when he was sacked two of those times. But, Carr managed to get back on top and come away clean and lead the Raiders to their first win of the season. He's back baby! He's back.
Marshawn Lynch, 18 carries, 76 yards. Here's another guy who's back in the NFL. Sure, he did not get a welcome back TD, but Beast Mode has returned and is laying down defenders who get in his way. The Raiders brought him back to be that bruiser and the RB that'll get those yards in tough run situations. For a small sample size this game, it's safe to say that the Beast is back and is unleashed!
Michael Crabtree, 6 receptions, 83 yards. It's funny that we criticized Crabtree down the stretch for dropping a lot of balls. We tend to forget, he was playing with a broken finger. This is still the same Michael Crabtree who's more than capable of making the tough catches, the clutch catches. He reminded us of that today and that finger's 100% healthy.
Jared Cook, 5 receptions, 56 yards. When the Raiders get the Tight End involved, the offensive playbook stays open. Jared Cook gave the Silver and Black just that. I liked the way Downing got him involved early. He'll allow Coop and Crab to have their way and take the pressure off them. We saw a relatively small sample size today that Cook is going to be the Tight End that'll have this offense look unstoppable.
Giorgio Tavecchio, two 50+ yard FGs, 40+ yard FG, 20+ yard FG. We don't know when Sebastian Janikowski will see the field this season, but it seems that the Raiders will be alright at the Kicking position. There's definitely a lot of pressure on Tavecchio today. If he didn't make those field goals, it's gonna be all on him, especially if the Raiders lost this game. But how Tavecchio kicked today, let me put this out in honor of the late Stuart Scott, he was "as cool as the other side of the pillow."
Defense. This was our biggest worry heading into the season is if the defense will surrender a lot of yards/points. The way they didn't get off the field on third down this game exerted our concerns. I'm reacting like "oh no, here we go again." But after that hiccup, they held down the fort against a threatening, run-first Titans offense. From my observation, I liked the fact that the defense is shifting looks every time Mariota calls an audible. That's when you know that John Pagano is putting his blueprint on the D. If Ken Norton was running this solo like the last two years, they would've stood there like a statue and that would result in a lot of defensive breakdowns. But on defense, Mack shut DeMarco Murray down. Eddie Vanderdoes had a nice outing generating pressure up the middle.
Todd Downing. I made a bold statement in my season preview that Downing is already a better OC than Bill Musgrave. He was impressive today in terms of game plan and calling plays. No conservative BS to try and get the offense going, just attack, attack, and attack. Not to mention, Downing was going up against the legendary DC, Dick Lebeau today and he won. That in itself is impressive. He'll be going up against another one next week in Todd Bowles when the Raiders face the Jets. By the way, somebody should make some memes with Todd Downing with his sunglasses and his poker face expression. CBS showed a couple of that. That is the look of a young and confident OC!
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Amari Cooper. Coop had a decent finish today with 5 receptions for 62 yards and he had that strong TD to open up the game. But, today just left us grasping for more from the him. On the Raiders 2nd possession, the offense was riding a lot of momentum after Lynch's 4th down conversion. On all three downs, the Raiders looked for Coop and he had a chance to haul in at least one. He's going up against Adoree Jackson, a rookie, he should take advantage of that and he dropped the ball on three tries. Coop dropped a lot of balls today other than that one sequence and we're disappointed. I'm disappointed since I wanted the Raiders to draft this guy. This season is the season he breaks out, but he still showing some of those dropped ball deficiencies since he came into the league.
Bruce Irvin's penalties. He would've fit right in if this was a Raiders team pre-Khalil Mack, pre-Derek Carr, pre-Jack Del Rio. Irvin made a silly error on the offsides penalty, but he slammed down Delanie Walker, which was unnecessary. It would've worked if the leagues was still in the 1970s, but Bruce Irvin as a veteran and Super Bowl champion is better than that. There was one instance where he could've downed Walker. It was just a silly 15-yard penalty that luckily didn't cost the game.
MVP
Sebastian Jani-WHO? Like I said, if Tavecchio didn't kick well, the scrutiny is gonna fall on him and we'd be calling for Sebass to heal up faster. But, it didn't go that way! The Raiders might've found their kicker in the future if Sebass calls it quits.
Conclusion
Overall, great opening win from the Raiders. They remain impressive on the road. They're gonna need a lot of W's considering this is a much more difficult schedule than last year. The Raiders are going need to take advantage of the favorable schedule in the first 7 weeks. But, they got it done today, now onto the next one. They play the Jets next week. I think this is an early trap-game. The Jets are projected to go 0-16 this season, but this is upset territory here. But, if the defense plays like they did today and the offense cleans up a lot things after this game, they are going to blow the Jets out of the Coliseum. Unfortunately, I won't be around to cover this game, but I'll find a way to get my "two cents." I'll go into more details in the coming days before Sunday. Stay tuned. I'll see you guys later.
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