Raiders Hold Off Giants to Get to .500

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Week 13 matchup vs. the New York Giants where the Raiders keep their playoff hopes alive taking care of business against the Giants 17-24. With the Chiefs loss earlier today and the Chargers win, the Raiders find themselves on a 3-way tie for the AFC West.

Thank you Ben McAdoo and the Giants for inexplicably benching Eli Manning and putting in Geno Smith for this game. We don't know how different the outcome would've been if Eli started, but obviously the Giants have a lot of injuries and got nothing to play for other than a high draft pick. If the Raiders lost this game, it would've been the story of this tumultuous season. But, they are slowly but surely turning around a slow start into a strong finish. Not to mention, some scenarios are falling their way now with the Chiefs being in a free fall after a 5-0 start.

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The Slash Bros. Defense as a whole is still suspect even with the change from Ken Norton Jr. to John Pagano. But, they did what was expected of them against the Giants and this patchwork O-line. The specific two who did most of the work though: Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin aka the "Slash Bros." Both had a sack. Irvin forced a fumble. Mack had a forced fumble and recovery. They did work against the Tackles off the edge and had Geno Smith running for dear life on almost every play whenever the Giants offense had possession.

Marshawn Lynch, 17 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD, 2 receptions, 20 yards. Beast Mode was alive and well with that 51 yard rumble into the end zone on the Raiders' first drive. If I'm correct, this is Lynch's first 100+ yard rushing game since coming out of retirement and since becoming a Raider. He had a scare with that 51 yard run as it looked like he pulled something if I heard well. But luckily, he still came out there and carried the running game against a bad Giants run defense.

Cordarrelle Patterson, 4 receptions, 97 yards. Speed kills. Patterson stepped it up big and bailed out Carr and the Raiders again with a big 59 yard catch and run to set up Carr's passing TD to Johnny Holton. Patterson is not a route runner, but if you set him up in catch and run situations he can turn on the jets if he wants. That's exactly what the Raiders did. The plays for Patterson were executed and the blocks were set up nicely to give Patterson room to run.

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Ball security. The Raiders are really fortunate with this since the defense bailed them out on some of the turnovers. Jalen Richard in particular had a lot of trouble fielding punts for the Raiders. Definitely not his best game as a punt returner if Special Teams relied on DeAndre Washington late in the game to field punts and kickoffs late in the game. Johnny Holton had one fumble when the Raiders were in Giants territory. It could've been costly, but the defense bailed him out. He could've had another fumble, but luckily he crossed the plane before the Giants defender was able to make a play on the ball.

Offensive playcalling. My goodness, Todd Downing is either calling the run plays in the wrong formations or is not creative enough with some screen passes. Particularly in the running game, Downing is calling run plays in Singleback formations rather than the typical "I" Formation. The Giants' D-line were getting easy penetrations and stuffing some runs for no gain or a loss of yardage, especially when the Raiders called run in Singleback formation. Whenever Downing calls screen, the Giants see it coming from a mile away. Still as of now, I'm still eating crow making my bold prediction earlier in this season that Downing is a better OC than Musgrave. Some plays worked today, but a lot of the playcalling was super easy for Steve Spagnuolo and the Giants' defense to read.

MVP

Marshawn Lynch, 17 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD, 2 receptions, 20 yards

Beast Mode's 51 yard TD run turned out to be the real difference maker this game. The Raiders just have to continue to turn Marshawn Lynch loose. They've limited his carries to keep him fresh and he's starting to pay dividends as the Raiders run the table to the playoffs.


Conclusion

The Raiders take advantage of another struggling team and took care of business. Like I said, at this stretch of the schedule with the exception of the game @ Philadelphia, a lot of the games are very winnable and the Raiders winning out is a realistic scenario. Next week's game against the Chiefs in Kansas City is huge. They are struggling big time since the 5-0 start. If there's any indication that the Raiders are getting hot at the right time, a win against the Chiefs at Arrowhead will be the one that highlights the Raiders' run to the playoffs after a 4-6 start. Looking ahead, that Week 17 game against the Chargers could be the deciding game of the AFC West if the Raiders and Chargers keep up with the wins. But more importantly, it's about taking care of business in Kansas City. Overall, it feels good to finally be at .500. It's time for the Raiders to break that ceiling and control their destiny in this tight AFC West. I'll see you guys next week for the Week 14 game against the Chiefs.

Week 13: RAIDERS vs. NY Giants 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

Second half open thread of the Raiders-Giants Week 13 matchup. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

NYG 17 OAK 24


By...any...means. Giants tried to play spoiler to ruin the playoff hopes of the Raiders, but the Raiders took care of business to get the win. Mack and Irvin feasted on the O-line of the Giants. Lynch carried the running game and Washington stepped up to spare Lynch. It's never easy. With the Chiefs loss and the Chargers likely winning against the lowly Browns, we have ourselves a 3-way tie in the AFC West. Postseason hopes are still alive! Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

NYG 7 OAK 10

Every time it seems like the Raiders make a costly turnover, the defense comes through for the bailout. There was not much in this quarter as both offenses are struggling to get anything going. On the Raiders side, it's like if they get anything positive on offense, the drive stalls or someone makes a costly turnover. Johnny Holton had a nice catch and run, but he forgot about securing the ball. Luckily, defense forced a three and out on that one. The Raiders are struggling to secure the ball, particularly on punts. Jalen Richard is showing a lot of butterfingers today. It'll only be a matter of time till his luck runs out and the Giants recover. This game is going to come down to who commits the costly turnovers down the stretch.

Week 13: RAIDERS vs. New York Giants 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Must win. This is the 1st half open thread of the Raiders-Giants Week 13 matchup. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

NYG 7 OAK 10

Raiders' offense did the smart thing at the end to prevent any further disaster much to the dismay of most Raider fans at the Coliseum. If there's anything to describe the first half, explosive start, but an
almost terrible end. Luckily, Mack is having a field day against this patchwork O-line of the Giants for the strip sack and fumble recovery to erase the disastrous plays on special teams where Marquette King couldn't get a punt off as a Giants defender is closing fast at him. The biggest difference is that first drive where Marshawn Lynch took it the house for 51 yards to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead. Other than that, Raiders offense has been struggling to get anything going. You can take into the account that they have no Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree to help with the passing game. Receivers are dropping some balls. Jared Cook has been a non-factor. They gotta get him involved more to help this struggling passing game without AC and MC. The defense still has some lapses, particularly in the secondary, but the front seven is balling out with good pressure in the pocket to get Geno Smith running for his life. The shaky secondary and the penalties are what's keeping this defense on the field in this game. The 2nd half will open up shortly. 

Q1

NYG 7 OAK 7

This quarter is an example of starting with a bang and ending with a dud. Raider defense started out hot forcing two quick 3 and outs and the offense capped off their first drive with a long TD run from Marshawn Lynch. Then, we find out Lynch pulled something on that run and hasn't seen the field again.  Jalen Richard is having a hard time fielding punts. The offense tried to be a little too cute without Marshawn. I mean, 3rd and 3 you run a draw play to Patterson instead Richard or Washington. The Giants tied it up with the help of a couple Raider penalties. The Denico Autry offsides penalty was big because it allowed the defense to stay on the field longer than usual.