Brady, Bucs Continue to Haunt Raiders

Final Score: TB 45 LV 20 [L] (3-3)

I guess you can say this is going to be my "farewell tour" for the next couple of weeks. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers come into town today and score 21 unanswered to finish off the Raiders in a 45-20 rout. This game was initially supposed to be a Sunday Night game until it was flexed out because a certain Raider failed to follow COVID-19 protocol. I will address that later.

Figures this would happen after a bye week and after a big win against the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago. Games after the bye week literally are the Achilles heel for this. For the most part, this game was pretty competitive at the start. The Raiders scored on their opening drive as Derek Carr connected on a 20-yard passing TD to Nelson Agholor. Agholor had a good game today leading the Raiders in receiving with 107 receiving yards and the aforementioned TD. The Raiders were within striking distance down 11 at the half. And then the game just got away from them.

Big plays and the lack of a running game ultimately doomed the Raiders today. The Bucs' leading receiver is Scotty Miller with 109 receiving yards and 1 TD. A lot of Miller's yardage came off of big plays and he caught a big 33-yard grab to help Tampa Bay extend their lead to 10 before the PAT. The Brady-Gronk reconnection is just starting to warm up. They hooked up for a score last week against Green Bay and they followed that up again today. The Bucs have a lot of weapons at their disposal. You talk about Gronk, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, Ronald Jones II, Leonard Fournette. The secondary couldn't account for all of them and Tom Brady just did what he did in spreading the ball around.

Last week, Tampa Bay's run defense proved their legitimacy by holding the Packers' strong rushing attack to under 100 yards. Then again, Aaron Rodgers uncharacteristically threw picks the game. But, today they backed it up. The Raiders racked up a mere 76 yards on the ground and Derek Carr and Henry Ruggs were the only players that were above 5 yards per carry. It simply wasn't there, especially behind a makeshift offensive line. That O-line got thinner as soon as Gabe Jackson was hit with a "BS" unsportsmanlike penalty and ejection after the 3rd quarter drive which capped with a Carr-Waller TD. Jackson didn't even initiate that scrum after the score. But because it's the Raiders and Jackson did have that incident in 2017 when he knocked down a referee against the Broncos, of course he has a big target on his back.

The only silver lining here is that the Raiders got out with a .500 record in their toughest stretch. Going forward, the schedule gets a lot easier and there's plenty of opportunity for the Raiders to rack up some wins. The Browns are an enigma. Chargers are in rebuilding mode. Broncos have some things to work on with Drew Lock. The Jets are pathetic. The Falcons are masters in their craft in blowing leads. The schedule ahead is pretty favorable for Jon Gruden, Derek Carr, and company.

Now, I mentioned I'm calling out one Raider for failing to follow COVID-19 protocol. As if dealing with one "Brown" was enough last year, another is stirring up some trouble this year. Trent Brown, how stupid are you? The Raiders failed to follow COVID-19 protocol yet again because big Trent decided to be negligent and prompt the Raiders to send the entire offensive line home to quarantine. From what I heard, the NFL might take a draft pick away from them. The thing about Trent Brown is that he's good when he's available. But, the guy finds ways to not get on the field. It's frustrating for the Raiders and it's frustrating for Gruden and Mayock. At this pace, he is literally taking the Andrew Bynum route of getting himself out of the league. Super Bowl champion, Pro Bowl, big bucks, no more love for the game and getting injured. Those 2019 offseason additions outside of the draft continue to make a negative impact for this team. That's my rant for the day. I'll see you guys next week. 

Raiders Overcome All Odds to Notch 5th Road Win vs. Bucs

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' thrilling matchup vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where the Raiders, with the odds against them throughout the whole game, still managed to just win baby, defeating their Super Bowl 37 nemesis 30-24 in a wild overtime finish.

*911 what's your emergency? Yes, I need some medical assistance because my Raiders are driving me nuts with all these wild game winners and penalties!* How did we win that game? I don't know. Not a lot of things went right for the Raiders which we'll further discuss in this post. But, the will to win. This what that young team displayed out there today. The will to win burns bright on this team. I'm just happy right now. I can't even think right now on what to write. But, let's get right down to business.

(+)

Derek Carr, 40-59 passes, 513 yards, 4 TDs. The CARR-diac kid does it again. The odds were stacked against the Raiders offense big time. Too many pre-snap penalties, holding calls, and all kinds of absurd penalties. How the heck does Carr keep a confident poise? This is why he's our quarterback. That winning mentality Carr has is head above shoulders. He was awesome. No interceptions too, which was pretty astonishing even though he did have that fumble in the 1st quarter. Carr weathered the storm and showed up big time in the 2nd half.

Amari Cooper, 12 receptions, 173 yards, 1 TD. Man, Coop going up against Vernon Hargreaves today took me back when I discovered his talent during the Alabama-Florida game two years. Blake Sims was just heaving it to Coop all game long because the Gators' secondary had no answer for him. Today, it was the same story. Coop got the best of Hargreaves once again. He had the critical drop though at the end of regulation which would've inched Janikowski closer, but this was great bounce back game after Jalen Ramsey kept him in check last week.

Seth Roberts, 3 receptions, 69 yards. 1 TD. That 1 TD is a big one. Big Shot Rob(erts)! He is quite a lucky charm when he scores a TD. When Seth scores a TD, the Raiders win. What a big play on a 4th down to win the game. Black Jack Del Rio rolls the dice again on 4th down and Carr finds Roberts over the middle for a walk off TD. The kid is absolute clutch.

Running game. Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington broke out big yards for big gains. Latavius Murray plowed his way in between the tackles. The running game was pretty solid today despite all the penalties. All three did their jobs to churn up some yardages to take pressure off Carr a little bit.

Khalil Mack, 7 tackles, 2 sacks. The sacks will come. That's the mantra when it comes to Khalil Mack and Mack notches his first multiple sack performance this season. Jameis Winston is a solid scrambling quarterback and Mack managed to get his hands on him as well as doing his job containing the run.

(-)

Penalties. I have a lot of NSFW today to say about the penalties, but I'm gonna try to keep a clean mouth for this post. What a *profane* fest in this category. It was already bad in the first half. The opening of the second half, I thought they had it down, but they just started to become ridiculous by the 4th quarter to overtime. The Raiders committed penalties like it was 2011 when they set the record for most penalties in the season. Today, they set another record in that category in just one game. ONE game. When I was watching on my TV, every penalty called on the Raiders, I feel like I was transforming into a diabolical sociopath. We know, we're accustomed to the refs being against us. But, this was inexcusable for the whole team, especially when they haven't traveled back after last week's win against Jacksonville. Jack Del Rio, the coaches, they have to do a better job in holding these players accountable. I haven't been this upset with the penalty plague since they actually set the single season record in 2011.

Sebastian Janikowski. Sebass has been the Raiders' most consistent player to put points on the board, but it is becoming harder to trust Sebass in game-winning situations. I had flashbacks to that Arizona Cardinals game in 2010 when Bruce Gradkowski set up the potential game-winning field goal. Then, Sebass missed it wide left from 32 yards out. He had two potential game-winning field goals this game. He missed in the 4th quarter and missed in OT which almost cost the Raiders the game. Thank goodness, the defense stepped up big time to get Winston and the Bucs' offense off the field to bail out Janikowski's misses.

MVP

Derek Carr, 40 of 59 passes, 513 passing yards, 4 TDs

"That's my quarterback." ~ Michael Crabtree. Carr refuses to let the Raiders lose their first road game of the season. Tremendous guts and poise by Carr to remain level-headed and orchestrate another beautiful game-winning drive and an awesome overall performance.




Conclusion

"Oh, Sunday Night." "Oh Sunday Night!" The Raiders had to take care of business in Tampa Bay to wrap up their Florida road trip before looking towards the Sunday Night matchup vs. Denver. Now, the stage is set for a big time AFC West matchup. Against the Bucs today, the Raiders show they can win on the road against all odds. Now, next week they have to find a way to win at home against all odds. This is a big stage for this young Raiders' squad. A national audience will be watching them. They have to prove they are for real and beat the Broncos to keep pace in this tight AFC West race. But, what a hard-fought win today. 5-0 on the road, 6-2 overall, it's just too surreal. They need a couple more because the magic number to get into the playoffs is 10 wins. The Raiders should get out of Florida and start game planning against the Broncos. Let's get that win on national TV where the millions and millions will be watching and they will know the Silver and Black are back! I'll see you guys next week for that game at a later start time on Sunday.

Week 8: Florida Road Trip 2/2 - RAIDERS @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

Here is the 2nd half open thread and discussion post of the Raiders-Bucs matchup. Leave a comment below the post on your thoughts of the game.

OT

OAK 30 TB 24

Seth Roberts...you are the man to end that game the way it did! So many ways the Raiders almost threw that game away to lose their first road game of the season. Missed field goals by Sebass. Setting the record for most penalties. But I don't know how they did it. The most stressful game of the season for sure. 5-0 on the road! I'll be back for the full recap post. I gotta take some meds or something. 

Q4

OAK 24 TB 24

Two key plays highlighted the end of that 4th quarter. The wide open dropped pass by Coop and Sebass misses the game-winning field goal. How long my heart can take this pounding? I don't know. But, man the Raiders had a pair of chances to win in regulation in what is a penalty *profane* fest. We head into OT, let's see if the Raiders can notch another W on the road.

Q3

OAK 17 TB 10

I'm happy about the fact the Raiders made the necessary adjustments and got back into this game with with 17 unanswered points. But, these penalties. Completely unacceptable when the team has the momentum in this half. Now, King shanked a punt to give the Bucs good field position and they have all the momentum to tie this up. Offense and defense has played lights out till the last few minutes of this quarter.

Week 8: Florida Road Trip 2/2 - RAIDERS @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome to the 1st half open thread and discussion for the Raiders' Week 8 road matchup vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Leave a comment below this post on your thoughts of the game.

Q2

OAK 3 TB 10

Well, you can't ask for rough start. There are a few highlights in this 2nd quarter. Jamize Olawale breaking out for a 68 yard explosive pass play. The running game giving Tampa Bay's defense all kinds of looks. But aside from all that, the Raiders managed only 3 points throughout the first half. This game is bringing out the Raiders of the last 13 years of losing. They are shooting themselves in the foot with a lot of pre-snap penalties, holding penalties, personal fouls, and unsportsmanlike conduct. It's the story of the season, but the Raiders have had more penalties this 1st half than all season long. This is a team that stayed in the state of Florida and the Buccaneers had to travel from California and they look sharper than the Raiders out there on the field for the first 30 minutes. This team has to regroup and start playing like they have on the road all season long. They have to settle down and limit the penalties. There's a lot more football left to play. The 2nd half post will open up shortly.

Q1

OAK 0 TB 3

Okay, the Buccaneers had to travel over 1,000 miles to travel back home to Tampa while the Raiders stayed in Florida. It's supposed to be the Bucs having a bad start. Quick 3 and outs by the offense is something that can't happen. Costly penalties account for that too, particularly with the unsportsmanlike conduct on Crabtree. The defense is losing a lot of key players. Sean Smith and Perry Riley, Jr. went down. The Bucs offense has an advantage and they could just use Mike Evans' size all day.