Raiders Fall to Peterson, Patterson, Vikings

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders must win matchup vs. the Minnesota Vikings where the Vikings pulled away behind Adrian Peterson's 80 yard TD run and Cordarrelle Patterson's 93 yard TD return.

The reason why I pinpointed those particular Vikings plays on the headline, those were just backbreaking plays. The Raiders kept hanging in there for the most part of the game. Carr gets two drives to put the Raiders to a 13-14 lead and then, it's just gone. The Vikings controlled the majority of the game with the lead. There were just too many mistakes and too many penalties this game.

(+)

Pass rush. I guess this could be the only positive I can pinpoint. Aldon Smith, Khalil Mack, and Mario Edwards, Jr. managed 1 sack each. It's not a promising stat line, but I thought they did a good job for the most part, disrupting Teddy Bridgewater and collapsing the Vikings' O-line. Nate Allen and T.J. Carrie's return definitely helped in that department to transform the secondary from "atrocious" to "OK." Other than that, not too much positives, but the Raiders managed to get to the quarterback.

(-)

Special teams. I'm going to refer back to that Cordarrelle Patterson TD return. That play completely took momentum out of the way for the Raiders. I didn't understand what was Sebass thinking in not booting that ball at the back of the Vikings' own end zone. Those squib kicks just disrupt the flow of the special teams coverage and Patterson just went "bye-bye" to the Raiders' special teams coverage.

Other backbreaking plays. From Derek Carr's 2nd INT in the end zone to Adrian Peterson's 80 yard TD to seal the deal. Those are the kinds of plays that stall a comeback bid. Andre Holmes should've fought for that ball and bat it out of Newman's hands to allow the drive to live for another day. Adrian Peterson's 80 yard TD run, I would assume the Raiders' run defense just gave up on that play. Don't get me wrong, AP is a future legend, but that was the worst effort I've seen to tackle a 30 year old running back.

Conclusion

The Bills took care of the Jets on Thursday night and the Raiders own the tiebreaker over them, the Chiefs are taking care of business against the Broncos. Peyton Manning, 34 passing yards, benched after breaking Brett Favre's record for most passing yards. These are scenarios that the Raiders need to learn how to take advantage of, while the Vikings took advantage of their opportunities since Green Bay lost three times and the Vikings have temporary control of the NFC North. This was a very disappointing game and the margin for error is starting to be slim to none if the Raiders want to make the wild card. The next series of games: Detroit, Tennessee, and Kansas City are pivotal and will tell whether or not the Raiders are playoff-ready because they are winnable. While at the same time, all three games have the makings of a "trap game" considering the Lions and the Chiefs took care of the Packers and Broncos both on the road and they'll be looking to ride that momentum. But, the focus now is Detroit and the Raiders have no room for error at this point of the season. I'll see you guys next week for the Lions game.

Week 10: Bridgewater vs. Carr Round 1 RAIDERS vs. Minnesota Vikings Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

MIN 30 OAK 14

Fighting to get back into that playoff picture and they couldn't do it. To make matter worse after Terrance Newman's 2nd INT over Derek Carr, Adrian Peterson runs wild for the knockout blow for an 80 yard TD run. We'd figure that this would be an ugly game and the Vikings handed the Raiders a decisive loss for the 1st time since Week 1 against the Bengals. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

MIN 20 OAK 14

Not much action at all, but two stalled drives by the offense. The Raider defense is hanging around there, keeping Peterson and Bridgewater in check, but the Vikings hung in there with their stout defense, able to get to Carr. This 4th quarter is just critical right now to get a stop and give Carr and the O a chance to drive down field and gain the lead.

Q2:

MIN 20 OAK 14

Just when Carr willed the team back to take the lead, just a critical error on special teams to allow Cordarrelle Patterson for a kickoff return for a TD. That's on Sebass; he should've kicked it out of the end zone, despite the wind. Oh well, at least Blair Walsh missed the field goal at the end to give the Vikings more leverage. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

MIN 10 OAK 0

It's a methodical domination by the Vikings controlling the time of possession. This is the problem with Rodney Hudson out. His absence leaves the Raiders' O-line and the offense as a whole in disarray. This offense are getting quick 3 and outs; they're not getting anything going. And the defense is leaving a lot Vikings tight ends wide open, bringing back problems that were noticeable in weeks 1-3 with the failure to cover tight ends. Just an awful, awful start right now.

RAIDERS-Vikings Halftime Post

MIN 20 OAK 14

Welcome in to the halftime post of the Derek Carr and the Raiders' matchup vs. Teddy Bridgewater and the Minnesota Vikings where the Vikings have 20-14 lead at the half.

(+)

Clive Walford, 2 receptions, 18 yards, 1 TD. In three of the last four games, Clive Walford has caught a TD pass from Derek Carr. Walford, week by week, is showing that he's going to be Carr's security blanket as long as he gets more reps. He made a beautiful TD catch today, managing to keep his toes outside the chalk.

Andre Holmes, 1 reception, 34 yards, 1 TD. Man, this guy can't catch short passes, but he's able to catch long balls from Carr. Holmes frustrates us Raider fans, but man that was a nice route he ran to get himself wide open for a 34 yard TD. I think Holmes should just be there exclusively for deep balls given his height and jumping ability.


(-)

Penalties. The Raiders commit 8 penalties for 82 yards. There were a lot of questionable calls out there, but they have to clean those up and play a little smarter in the 2nd half.

Special teams. Busted coverage in that Cordarrelle Patterson TD. Like I said, that falls on Janikowski as he should've just booted it out of the end zone. Those kind of kicks where the returner has to stop and regather ball just throws off coverage and Patterson took full advantage of that and burned the special teams coverage of the Raiders.

Bottom Line

Despite a slow start, the Raiders managed to climb back into this game. Carr, for the most part, is doing a fine job without starting center, Rodney Hudson. The defense is hanging around there against Peterson and Bridgewater. The Raiders get the ball to start, let's see what happens.