Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Week 7 road matchup vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars where the Raiders remain perfect away from Oakland, soundly beating the Jaguars 33-16 to open up the two-game Florida road trip.
I know a win against the Jaguars does not gauge the barometer around this team after a loss against the Chiefs last week. But, like I said in the 2nd quarter, this was exactly how the Raiders should handle the Jaguars. The Jaguars are a weak team and the Raiders should be expected to beat them. And plus, we were expecting a game where the Raiders would put up a complete performance and not give us heart attacks. We got that wish here this game. The Raiders did a give up a touchdown when the game was out of reach, but advanced statistics show that the Raiders destroyed the Jags big time.
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Defense. The defense still needs to do a little more maintenance check in terms of giving up big runs and big plays. There's no denying that. But I'd say this was more of their better games this season. They came out to play. There's absolutely no way that they should surrender over 400+ yards against a team with a weak O-line, no running game, and a quarterback who's known to turn the ball over. David Amerson and Reggie Nelson both had INTs. Khalil Mack had his 3rd sack of the season, could've had his 4th sack if Bortles didn't choose to shuffle pass the ball at the last minute. Still a lot of room to work with, but the defense played a lot better than the last 6 weeks.
Latavius Murray, 18 carries, 59 yards, 2 TDs. I said it last week, we should all write to Tay Train and apologize because his presence was definitely missed in the running game the last two games. In this game, you could see the difference on the performance of the running game this week. On the Raiders' first touchdown drive, Carr barely threw the ball. They just ran it down the throat of the Jaguars' defense. Tay Train's return definitely gave the running game a boost.
Marquette King, 5 punts, 59.6 avg, 1 carry, 27 yards. I keep forgetting to put Marquette King on the positive list all season. His leg is such a luxury weapon. On the stats sheet, he pinned the Jaguars inside the 20 yard line 4 times. Of course you have the punt where the Jaguars' returner fumbled the ball to give the Raiders some good field position off the turnover. Blake Bortles and the Jags were getting bad field position to start because of King's leg. And yes, his 27 yard run off a botched snap was the best highlight of a 4th quarter penalty fest. He is a weapon.
Derek Carr, 22-36 passes, 190 yards, 1 TD. A solid bounceback game for Carr after a nightmarish game against Kansas City. Obviously, this game was tabbed as Carr vs. Bortles. Bortles may have dominated the stat sheet, but Carr got the win and managed the game well. He didn't have to be great. He made the necessary passes when needed. His long bomb to Michael Crabtree before the end of the 2nd quarter broke the backs of the Jaguars' defense. Accuracy, turnover-free, exactly the game Carr needed.
Michael Crabtree, 8 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD. Jalen Ramsey was containing Coop all game long, leaving a lot of opportunities to Crab. What can I say at this point? Yes, he had a bad game last week, but he's the constant among this receiving corps. I've ran out of words on what to say about King Crab, he's terrific.
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Big plays. Penalties are also a negative, but the refs felt like they needed more air time on T.V. This was the only legit negative that the Raiders had this game. Big run by Chris Ivory. Big catch and run by Marquise Lee. The defense still has some things that they need to clean up. They almost played like they did the last 6 weeks when they gave up such big plays to an atrocious Jaguars offense coordinated by Mr. Vanilla, run-up-the-middle Greg Olson.
MVP
Marquette King, 5 punts, 59.6 avg., 1 rush, 27 yardsWhat a weapon to have on special teams! He pinned the Jags 4 times inside the 20 and is one of the major reasons why the Jags couldn't get much on offense. Really, we forget about his athleticism too. Just another day in the office.
Conclusion
Overall, much-needed bounceback game for the Raiders. And this is a game where they've proven they could beat a team that they should beat. And, I'd say this was a sound victory from the Oakland Raiders. They destroyed the Jaguars in literally every category and in all three phases of the ball: offense, defense, and special teams, especially on special teams. I'll admit I couldn't stop laughing that the Jaguars were getting awful field position. The Jaguars' returners were slipping out NSFW language when King was pinning them deep. It was great. And this was a great team win. Hopefully, this Florida retreat pays dividends to the chemistry and unity of this team. They get another favorable matchup against the Bucs in Tampa and the Bucs have to travel considering they're playing the Niners here in my hometown of Santa Clara. Perfect opportunity. The Raiders need to take care of the Bucs first before looking ahead to the Sunday Night game of epic proportions vs. the Denver Broncos. I'll see you guys next week for the Tampa Bay game.
*On another note: I will be posting my regular season preview for the Lakers' 2016-17 season as the NBA approaches. Stay tuned for that tonight.*
