Raiders Finally Home, Rally Against Lions

Final: DET 24 OAK 31 (4-4)

I'll admit, I'm a little behind on some things. I have not posted the weekly roundup for the Lakers. And I just saw them rally against the Bulls. That'll come later. But first things first, the Raiders are finally home in Oakland. It felt like forever in a daunting road trip. Certainly for Oakland fans, every home game counts. The Raiders just have to live up to their end of the bargain and take care of that Town Business. They did that on Sunday against the Lions. It wasn't pretty, but they got the victory.

The only negative I can think of this game was the pass defense. The Lions have one of the most underrated deep threat duos in Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. The two of them combined racked up 258 receiving yards. If I remember, Jones already went over 100 yards by the time the first half ended. Then again, we have to understand that this defense is still a WIP. There's still so many moving parts here. But they have that bend but don't break mentality and it showed this game. Worley had that crazy pick into the end zone. I feel that was the game changer for the Raiders. The fake punt where Derek Carrier rushed for 27 yards was the 2nd game changer (even though they ended up empty handed on the possession after).

Offensively, let me just say it right here, Josh Jacobs is a beast! The O-line wasn't even 100% this game. Rodney Hudson out indefinitely. Trent Brown exited the game early. But, he still gashed the Lions for 120 yards and 2 TDs. I still remember my comment on how running backs from 'Bama don't turn out good in the pros. Jacobs definitely has a chance to break that curse. He can run, catch out the back field, pass protect, and he has low maintenance so that means fresher legs. Jacobs' rookie season has been nothing short of spectacular. Derek Carr had another clean game again. We're probably seeing 2016 Carr come back from the dead. He made a throw to Jalen Richard while he was covered for a big gainer. He extended the play for the game winning TD to Hunter Renfrow. The offense carried this team and we're starting to see the unit buy into Gruden's system.

I want to go back to that stop that won them the game. Matthew Stafford and the Lions were stopped short of the goal line on third down (probably by about three yards). They had no timeouts, but the Raiders called timeout with 8 seconds to allow the Lions to draw up a play. At first, I was a bit mad at it. Those are decisions that lose a game. If the Lions scored, they probably would've escaped with a W. Now that I think about it, the Raiders defense was discombobulated and at least that gave them a chance for them to align the right personnel. The crazy thing about is the Lions did not have their best receivers on that 4th down. It was a chain of "what are you doing" decisions, but good thing the Lions wounded up making that mistake.

With this win, the Raiders are now at .500. They're still in the hunt with Kansas City for the AFC West title with Mahomes still sidelined. As I said countless times, this is the Raiders' best stretch for this season. They have to take advantage of this favorable stretch. The Chiefs are still the likeliest loss. The Chargers might have their groove back after they fired Ken Wisenhunt, but they are beatable. This upcoming Thursday Night game against the Chargers will be a great barometer on the progress of this team. Expect a playoff-like atmosphere for that game.

Raiders Defense Competitive, Offense Lackluster in Loss to Detroit

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' road game vs. the Detroit Lions where the Raiders' defense kept it competitive, holding the Lions to 3 field goals in the first half, but with a horrible game by the offense, the Lions pulled away in 13-18 upset.

Nice tease. The Raiders gave us a nice tease with great wins over the Chargers and the Jets, looked like a playoff contender. They lose a heartbreaker  against the Steelers in a big game, we were proud the way they fought back. Then, it comes crashing down in a home game vs. Minnesota and on this awful loss against Detroit, it looks like the fun is over. Not to be a downer or anything, but the playoff hunt is over. A game like this against Detroit, was going to tell a whole lot about the Raiders and they are just not quite there yet.

(+)

Khalil Mack, 8 tackles. Let me say this first and foremost, aside from allowing a rushing TD by Matthew Stafford in which the defense probably looked gassed from carrying this team all game long, the defense played well. Holding the Lions team to three field goals at the half is a win in itself. Like I said, this would've been more of a beat down had the defense played like they did against Pittsburgh and Minnesota. I said this in when I posted up my thoughts on Aldon Smith's suspension, they needed to move Khalil Mack back at his natural OLB spot. It was good to see Mack back at that spot and once again, being that relentless tackling machine and being a disruptive force all over the line. The sacks didn't show, but it created some opportunity for Benson Mayowa, Ben Heeney, and Shelby Harris to finish off Stafford in the pocket.

(-)

Amari Cooper, 1 reception, 4 yards. Don't get me wrong, I still like Amari Cooper ever since he broke out in his junior year at Alabama. I'm glad we got Amari and I think he's hands down Rookie of the Year. But I was 100% disappointed at his performance today. Just one reception and that came off a quick screen pass. Everything else that Carr threw to him, he just couldn't make the grab. Is it a little concerning that he hasn't reached over 100 yards since the Chargers game? It is, but then again Crabtree is eating up his targets. But this doesn't change the fact that this was a horrible game for Cooper, a "drop fest" to say for him. He'll have his growing pains as a rookie throughout the season, but disappointed in his performance.

Offensive miscues. Miscommunication on timing and routes, miscommunication on blocking protections by the O-line, delay of game penalties, the offense was just not on its game today. Derek Carr, he may look like a seasoned veteran, but he's got to know when the play clock is about to expire. The O-line had a hard time to open up holes for the running game and to make matters worse, Rodney Hudson went down again. The receivers weren't on the same page with Carr for the majority of the game. Just a lot of ticky-tack miscues that were part of the reasons why this offense couldn't get going.

Coaching. Too conservative, too hesitant. On a 3rd down play, Jack Del Rio had a chance to challenge a catch made by Michel Crabtree in which he maintained two feet inbounds and maintained possession before falling out of bounds. Del Rio didn't even bother to challenge that. Poor usage of the timeouts, poor clock management, uninspiring play calling by Bill Musgrave. The coaching staff as whole got outcoached.

Conclusion

Mathematically, the Raiders are not completely out of the playoffs, but with their schedule down the stretch, I don't see how this team can run the table and win out with Kansas City twice, Denver, Green Bay, and San Diego. That is too tough of a stretch to overcome to clinch a playoff spot. I know I'm being a downer, but it's just now all about finishing with a respectable record. Don't get me wrong, this team is close to turning the corner, but obviously they have more roster holes to fill before they can truly be a contender and this game vs. Detroit opened our eyes and put us back to reality that this team is not there yet. Right now, I just want the Raiders to just play to win the game, play with pride, and just finish strong to end the season. I don't care about playoffs, Super Bowl, or whether or not this team is staying in Oakland or moving to LA, just finish strong. If we can get some divine intervention down the stretch, then sure I'll ride the playoff bandwagon again. But it is what it is and the Raiders just gotta play with pride and play to win the game. I'll see you guys for the Titans game on Thanksgiving weekend.

Week 11: RAIDERS @ Detroit Lions Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

OAK 13 DET 18

Disappointing loss. Nothing more to say. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

OAK 13 DET 9

Much better display on the offensive side of the ball, but we need more than field goals by Sebass. The defense held its own once again against Matthew Stafford despite a nice gain by Golden Tate to end the 3rd quarter. But this quarter, just as I said in the halftime post, the offense needed to wake up and it did with a 43 yard pass to Seth Roberts from Derek Carr and they managed to punch it in with a Latavius Murray TD. Close game into the 4th on the road. The Raiders need to close this out.

Q2:

OAK 0 DET 9

Well, 3 field goals is a win this half. But, disappointing performance by the offense to start, leaving the defense out there to possibly gas out. However, they're hanging in there though. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

OAK 0 DET 6

This "bend, but don't break" defense is making me puke. The Lions, for the most part, dominated this quarter in terms of Time of Possession. Matthew Stafford was having his way against this secondary. It was ugly out there since the defense couldn't stop the run or the pass this quarter. Luckily enough, some key drops by Eric Ebron and Ameer Abdullah in the red zone gave the Raiders a break and it's 6 point lead rather than a 14 point lead.

RAIDERS-Lions Halftime Post

OAK 0 DET 9

Welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders' matchup vs. the Detroit Lions in the Motor City where the Lions lead by three field goals, 0-9 at the half.

(+)

Jamize Olawale, 3 carries, 11 yards, 1 reception, 15 yards. Probably the lone bright spot on the offense. If there's any reason that Reece's role is being limited in the offense, Olawale is the answer and he was making some tough runs in the game. He's truly been underrated in the last few games.

Defense. The score would've read 0-21 if the defense played like they did in the last two games. Personally, I'm not a fan of the "bend, but don't break" defense, but the Raiders managed to accumulate 2 sacks and hold Stafford and this Lions' offense out of the end zone.

(-)

Amari Cooper, 0 receptions. Don't get me wrong, I love Amari Cooper. I was one of those guys who rallied for the Raiders to draft him, but these drops are just unbearable to see. He missed a catch that ricocheted off his hands. He was a target on two third down situations for Derek Carr and the offense and he caught neither ball on either third down.

Offense. I don't know what to say, but the whole offense looked completely out of sync in the first half. From the O-line missing a couple of blocks to open up running lanes for Latavius Murray to Derek Carr and the receivers having a series of miscommunication on the routes and where the ball is being delivered.

Bottom Line

The offense needs to wake up. Even though the defense is holding its ground here, we know that they can't keep up with this for a full 60 minutes of football. It'll only be a matter of time before Ameer Abdullah breaks a big run all the way to house or Matthew Stafford finding Calvin Johnson deep because this defense is out there on the field for far too long. Let's see what happens.