Raiders Keep Playoff Hopes Alive with Win over Chargers

Final: OAK 24 LAC 17 (7-8)


Stayin' Alive. Stayin' Alive. Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Stayin' Alive. Stayin' Alive. ~ The Bee Gees

I just got off watching the highlights of the full game. I managed to catch the last five minutes of the 4th quarter. Yeah. The Raiders have bounced back and are still miraculously alive in the playoff hunt with this win over the Chargers and a lot of help around the NFL. All the scenarios that need to happen happened this week. Jets beat the Steelers. Ravens beat the Browns. Colts beat the Panthers. And Saints beat the Titans.

It's quite unbelievable that the Raiders still in the playoff hunt. When you think about it, they got flat out embarrassed on the road against the Jets and the Chiefs. Titans came into Oakland and blew them out. Jaguars delivered a gut wrenching loss in the final home game at the Coliseum. But, they managed to take care of business here.

Looking at the highlights, it was not a pretty game. The O-line allowed 3 sack on Derek Carr. The biggest plus though was that Hunter Renfrow was back. Renfrow provided a spark in the passing game with 7 receptions, 107 yards and a TD. Renfrow was definitely missed the last two games and he made the receiving corps look good. He made Carr look good. Let's not kid ourselves, Carr had a good game with almost 300 passing yards, a pass TD, and a rushing TD. His up and down performances continues to raise some bipolarity among Raider Nation. This doesn't change the fact that he's not playing with the money he's worth. But no question, this guarantees that Carr will play at least a season in Vegas. DeAndre Washington filled in for Josh Jacobs well with 85 rushing yards and a TD. The running game didn't miss a beat.

There's not much else I can say about this game. But, luck was definitely on the Raiders' side this week. Let's be a little realistic here, none of the teams in the running for the sixth seed in the AFC are playoff worthy. This is a mess that the Raiders definitely need to capitalize on. As I mentioned, the scenarios that needed to happen happened this week. Next week, they need to win against Denver, Ravens and Texans have to win against Pittsburgh and Tennessee respectively, and the Colts need to win. The odds will be a lot tougher next week. Ravens and Texans are likely going to rest their starters as their playoff picture is set. Whether some of the games that the Raiders lost this season will come back to haunt them remains to be seen. I'll see you guys next week.

Raiders Stifled by Chargers

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Week 5 divisional showdown with the Chargers in Los Angeles where the Raiders couldn't build off of their thrilling OT win over the Browns, losing to the Chargers 10-26.

There was a reason I was cautiously optimistic last week. The Browns are an improving team, but they're in the learning curve as well to finish teams off. They just got off a grueling OT win over the Ravens after the Ravens beat the Steelers on national TV last week. But, enough about the Browns. The Raiders were facing a proven team in the Chargers this time around. Like I said, this score was a lot closer than indicated because the Chargers dominated this game from 2nd quarter onwards.

(+)

Charger penalties. The Raiders were lucky they didn't blown out because of this. The Chargers committed 9 penalties for 82 yards. Like I said, they left a lot points out there on the field with a lot of false start and holding penalties. This could've been a rout had they not commit a whole lot of penalties especially when the Chargers were in Raiders territory and threatening to score.

Martavis Bryant, 3 receptions, 91 yards. Well I guess you can say this was Martavis' break out game. It wouldn't look like much. The fumble in the 2nd quarter was a major blemish on Bryant's game. But, he was a reliable target today with Nelson, Cooper, and Cook held in check.

Daryl Worley, 8 tackles. Quite a good welcome back for Worley after serving a 4-game suspension. He made a couple of nice open field tackles behind the line of scrimmage this game.

Jalen Richard, 1 rush, 4 yards, 6 receptions, 53 yards. The running game was ineffective all game long, hence why Richard was a non-factor, but made up for it in the passing game. Richard converted on a couple of big third downs to keep offensive drives going for the Raiders.

(-)

Running game. Spekaing of this, Marshawn Lynch was held in check for 31 yards. The rest of the running game, the Chargers held them to 10 yards. The absence of Kelechi Osemele today definitely played a factor in the running game being a non-factor. Jon Feliciano was ineffective whatsoever as a run blocker. The offense is not going to flow when this is not going and Jon Gruden emphasizes on running the ball.

O-line. Osemele out. Donald Penn out for the season. Not like it was going to make a difference if Penn was gonna play considering his struggles as a Right Tackle. Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker failed to hold the fort off the edge. I already talked about Feliciano. He also allowed a lot of penetration from the Chargers' interior rush defense. Carr had to run for his life for the first time in awhile. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe it's not. But, the shorthanded O-line had a lot to do with the Raiders being ineffective.

Turnovers. Momenutm killers. I mentioned Martavis Bryant's fumble being a killer, which resulted in an Austin Ekeler TD. Carr's INT definitely hurt as the Raiders worked to be in scoring position. Again, I'm flabbergasted about that playcall in how you don't give the ball to Lynch in that situation. It's another example of being too cute with the playaction, especially in goal line situations.

MVP

Jalen Richard 1 rush, 4 yards, 6 receptions 53 yards

I could've easily given this to Martavis Bryant with his 91 yard game. But, Richard lead the entire team in receptions with 6 receptions. He had some nice gains on third down, making defenders miss in space and giving the Raiders scoring opportunities that they failed to capitalize on in the long run.



Conclusion

Overall, there's nothing else to add on here that the Raiders were just beaten soundly here. It's laughable that the Raiders claim to have a stranglehold on the city of L.A., but the Rams and the Chargers have had their number since both teams moved there. Knowing how L.A. works with their sports teams, it'll only be a matter time before the last remnants of the L.A. Raider fan base hop on to a new team. The road to Las Vegas is not a good one so far. And no, Oakland fans were not fooled on having this season be a Super Bowl season before they leave. Next week, they travel to a home game yet again far away from home when they go to London to face the Seahawks. It's pretty upsetting that Mark Davis has given up a home game for the third straight year. Sure, the brand is global until you run into a team with a bigger following (look no further when they faced the Patriots last year in Mexico City). Luckily, the 12s have fallen off in a rebuilding season. I'll see you guys next week for that game.

Week 5: RAIDERS @ Chargers 2nd Half Open Thread

2nd half open thread of the Raiders-Chargers Week 5 divisional matchup. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

OAK 10 LAC 26

Well, this game is pretty much under wraps. The Chargers dominated this game from 2nd quarter on out. There were so many opportunities missed for this offense to hang around since the Chargers left a lot of points out on the field as well. That's why the score may be a little misleading. The TD from Carr to Nelson was just a garbage time score to put a little blemish on the Chargers' lead. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

OAK 3 LAC 20

Is that like 5 straight weeks Carr has thrown at least 1 INT? I didn't understand the playcall, running a playaction on the goal line. I know Osemele is inactive, but you gotta give Lynch the ball in that situation. He's been solid after contact. This quarter has been a dud with the exception of that drive. Just when the Raiders started to right the ship with a big gainer by Jalen Richard and a run by Carr, Carr throws yet another INT to kill the drive. This game is pretty much in the books if the Chargers score yet again.

Week 5: RAIDERS @ LA Chargers 1st Half Open Thread

Welcome to the first half open thread of the Raiders' Week 5 divisional matchup vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

OAK 3 LAC 17

Well, Bruce was fortunate Caleb Sturgis missed that field goal. That was a terrible roughing call. After this quarter, there's not much good to take away from this first half. The defense started strong, holding the Chargers to just 3 points. Then, all kinds of problems happened that cause this defense to break. Chargers managed to score the first TD off a almost botched snap. Rivers connected to Austin Ekeler and Ekeler just burned the defense. Next scoring drive, Melvin Gordon III capped off a strong drive for a 1-yard TD. The offense hasn't done much since putting a field goal off the board. A positive turned into a negative when Carr connected to Martavis Bryant on a big gainer, then Bryant fumbled the ball, which resulted in the Ekeler TD. Nothing's going well for the first half. However, last week the Raiders were trailing in the first half. Then, they come back to win against the Browns in the 2nd half. Can role reversal happen again? But, that's gonna be a challenge against a much talented offense in the Chargers. We'll see what happens. 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

OAK 0 LAC 3

Could've put some points by the end of the quarter, but it is what it is. This is a big win from the defense just holding the Chargers to just 3 points. The Chargers gained some big yardage early on, but the Raider D was able to stop them when it counted on 3rd down. Offensively, first drive was a little stagnant. The 2nd drive a lot better with Jordy Nelson's big run after catch and the Raiders are threatening.

Raiders End Disappointing 2017 Season with Loss to Chargers; Jack Del Rio Fired; Return of Chucky?

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' 2017 season finale at the Los Angeles Chargers where the Raiders end the season in what was a microcosm of the whole season. They lose to the Chargers 10-30 and finish the season at 6-10.

As I'm preparing this post, I received the headline on Bleacher Report that the Raiders have fired Jack Del Rio immediately at the conclusion of this game. You guys have heard the rumors that they are planning to bring Chucky back. And they're essentially giving the farm to get Jon Gruden: $10 million per year and a stake of the Raiders ownership. Here's what's wrong with this picture: after Del Rio lead the Raiders to a 12-4 season last year, Mark Davis decided to prematurely give him a 5-year contract extension. What good is that if you're gonna fire him after a down year? When they hired him during the 2015 season, they should've just let Del Rio play out before handing him any extensions. Granted, Del Rio may have changed the culture, but it looks like he hasn't learned anything from his tenure in Jacksonville. No understanding of X's and O's, bad clock management, and bad personnel decisions. I think letting go of Bill Musgrave for Todd Downing when the offense was top 5-10 last year and keeping Ken Norton Jr. for 2 1/2 years when the defense was on the bottom of the barrel sealed his fate here this season. And quickly, he has lost the team with all distractions and rumors of the team being divisive in the locker room. To me, I thought we should've kept him if he proves himself with a proven OC. He already had a proven DC in place with John Pagano, but that doesn't look like that's gonna happen. With Gruden possibly coming back for a 2nd tenure, the biggest issue will be whether or not Chucky will adjust to the modern football game considering he's been out of coaching for almost 10 years. Remember back in 2006, the Raiders brought back Art Shell for a 2nd tenure and his schemes were completely outdated to the modern game at that time. But regardless, the return of Chucky could provide a spark for Raider Nation, although some are still bitter about Super Bowl XXXVII. Time heals all wounds I guess.

Now onto this game, there's not much to say here. Philip Rivers and the Chargers pretty much picked this defense apart. Outside of Derek Carr throwing the 87 yard TD pass to Amari Cooper and Marshawn Lynch reaching 10,000 career rushing yards, the offense has not done anything. Derek Carr turned the ball over a couple of times here. The game was just pretty bad overall and this final game of the season added insult to injury from Super Bowl aspiration to utter disappointment this season.

(+)

Marshawn Lynch, 19 carries, 101 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 18 yards. As mentioned, Lynch broke 10,000 career rushing yards during this game. I personally didn't know he was that close to closing in on that milestone, but he did it anyway. The biggest weakness on the Chargers defense has been their rush defense and Lynch was able to break out big runs against them. Obviously, they couldn't rely on him too much because they were already down big this game. Anyway, that was the only silver lining, the 10,000 career rushing yards. Congrats Beast Mode.

Amari Cooper, 3 receptions, 115 yards, 1 TD. If and when Chucky's comeback is official, it's going to be interesting to see how he utilizes Amari Cooper next season. Because Todd Downing didn't have any clue how to get him involve. As a Coop advocate, this was a very disappointing season for him. But, he still has deep threat ability, sharp route running, and yards-after-catch. He just needs to limit the drops. Look no further than when he grabbed the 87 yard deep ball from Carr for the Raiders' only TD this game. He's still a big play receiver. He caught a couple of balls for 10+ yards to add to his total receiving yardage. Clearly, there's still some lightning in the AC/DC connection.

(-)

Defense. It was fun while it lasted with the defense playing lights out in these last few weeks since John Pagano took over. This was eventually the biggest test for the revamped defense because Philip Rivers and the Chargers knew his defensive scheme. As a result, over 400 yards given up through the air and through the ground. They only managed to get one sack on Rivers throughout the whole game. The secondary broke down when Karl Joseph went down. A lot of miscommunication on their end which lead to wide open TDs for the Chargers: one to Tyrell Williams that went 56 yards and the other to the speedster Travis Benjamin for 62 yards.

MVP

Amari Cooper, 3 receptions, 115 yards, 1 TD

He had the only TD of the game. He received a lot of scrutiny this season in what was a very disappointing season. But, the deep threat and route running ability is still there. Whoever's offensive coordinator whether it's Gruden or another OC he'll bring in when it's official, they'll find a way to utilize Coop better and challenge him to limit his drops.

Conclusion

Thank goodness this trainwreck of a season is over. The Raiders have made their decision in firing Del Rio. They wasted no time on the coaching decision, now they have to make some tough decisions on player personnel. There's a lot of rumors swirling around on who they would keep and who they would let go. One of the big ones is Michael Crabtree with the rumors that the Raiders might let him go to free up some cap space. Most of the 2014 draft class outside of Carr and Jackson will be free agents. And of course, you got the impeding extension of Khalil Mack and clearly the Raiders are thinking about that. It goes to show, there's still a long ways to go before this team could be discussed as one of the NFL's elite. Chucky's impending return will not fix the Raiders overnight. Outside of that, happy New Year Raider Nation and thank you for following my coverage of the 2017 season. As usual, "A Season in Review" post will follow to reflect on this 2017 season. I'll see you guys next season.

Week 17: RAIDERS @ Chargers 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

This is the 2nd half open thread and discussion of the Raiders-Chargers matchup to conclude the 2017 NFL Season. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

OAK 10 LAC 30

Finally, this game is over. So many lowlights in this game served as a microcosm of the 2017 season. With a lot of rumors swirling around this team, there's a lot of decisions to consider in this offseason. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

OAK 10 LAC 30


Just take shots to the end zone at this point. What do the Raiders got to lose? This quarter was pretty much dominated by the Chargers since the start. After the field goal, the Raiders offense got things going, but they couldn't convert on the 4th and 2 play by tossing the ball to Lynch and see if he can get the edge and run for the first down. I was scratching my head on the play call. That should've been a power run play if Todd Downing knew what power run plays are. One more quarter to end this disappointing season.

Week 17: Finishing Strong - RAIDERS @ LA Chargers 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Happy New Years Eve Raider Nation! This year didn't go the way we expected, but it's all about finishing the year strong at this point. This is the 1st half open thread and discussion of the Raiders-Chargers Week 17 matchup to close out the 2017 season. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

OAK 10 LAC 20

Wild finish in the 2nd quarter as both offenses started to generate some points. Raiders offense got going with Derek Carr's 87-yard bomb to Amari Cooper for the game-tying TD. My only gripe is they've waited until the end of the season to go deep, especially on 3rd down. Where was that all season? Even though Carr did throw some deep balls to Holton in the Denver game and Miami game. Still what happened to just letting it rip and take shots on the field? On that play, it was 3rd and 23 and we thought it was going to be another check down. But Carr stayed patient in the pocket and saw Coop streaking in the open field to have that TD play happen. I'll admit, the playbook is opening up this game, but we're still seeing predictable screens and run plays and penalties negating some big plays. Seth Roberts has been a relatively good blocking receiver, but he's costed the team twice with some illegal blocking penalties. On the defensive side, Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense were gonna be a pretty daunting test for the defense under Pagano and it has been as advertised as the Chargers dropped 3 TDs this game. They really have to slow that unit down, especially they need to find ways to contain Gordon and Benjamin because that is their lightning rods on offense outside of Keenan Allen and Antonio Gates if they get going. On offense, nothing to lose here, so keep taking shots down field but at the same time, Carr's gotta be smart. That last play that ended up in an INT was not great at all with Coop handling double coverage. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

OAK 0 LAC 0

We go scoreless in the first quarter. Both offenses struggled to get going. Better execution from the Raiders on the 2nd drive. They got Crabtree and Cook involved in the passing game (where was that the whole season) and Marshawn Lynch exploiting the weak rush defense of the Chargers. But as usual, it was marred by a holding penalty and they had to settle for predictable screens. The biggest thing this defense needs to do is contain Melvin Gordon and watch where Travis Benjamin is lined up. That's where the Chargers offense gets going.