Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders overcame a sloppy, penalty filled, first half and a late game meltdown to outlast the Kansas City Chief's 16-13 in overtime. The win ended KC's playoff hopes while moving Oakland one more notch up the playoff pecking order.

Oakland will win the AFC West if they beat San Diego Sunday and Denver loses to Kansas City. The Chief's, with a new head coach, a starting QB that was cut by Denver this year and a generally hatred for the Bronco's, have a good deal to play for next week.

The Raiders can also get in with a win and a Tennessee and or Cincinnati loss. That would put Oakland in as a wildcard. After missing the playoffs the last ten years anyway they make it is cool with them. Oakland could miss the playoffs even of they beat San Diego next week so there will be some scoreboard watching.

Every game that matters to oakland starts at the same time they kickoff against San Diego so teams playoffs positions could change every couple of minutes.

Oakland liked what they saw when they scoreboard watched last weekend. Denver got blown out by a Buffalo team that came into the game on a seven game losing streak. After two losses in a row the Tebow magic might be wearing off.

Oakland created a little magic of their own by blocking two field goals against KC. Up 13-6 with just over two minutes left in the game Oakland could not keep the Chief's out of the end zone. KC scored on a three yard touchdown pass with a minute left in the game.

Oakland could do nothing with the ball and punted it back to KC with 33-seconds left in the contest. The Chief's quickly drove into field goal range to set up Ryan Succop with a 49-yard field goal try to win the game.

Defensive lineman Richard Seymour was having no of that and he got a good push from his linebackers as he reached up and blocked a kick that saved Oakland playoff chances and would have given the Chief's a chance to win the AFC West next week themselves.

Instead the game went into over time and the Raiders did not mess around at all.

Oakland struck first on a short, 28-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski. That was set up by Bryan McCann returning the opening kickoff 91-yards. Oakland could do nothing with the ball, but Jano did put three points on the board.

The Raiders had themselves to blame the next time they had a chance to score. A touchdown on a fake field goal from the KC 36 was called back due to a delay of game penalty. Coach jackson dialed up the perfect play, a toss to tight end Brandon Myers got KC off guard and Myers found his way into the end zone.

A flag was on the field and the Raiders had to back up five yards setting up a 58-yard field goal by Janikowski. The kick hit the cross bar and KC was back in the game. Oakland would get called for 15-penalites in the game, but none in the last quarter.

Carson Palmer threw two more picks and he now has 15 on the season, but he did make two very important throws and they were the difference in the game. the first was a 61-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore and the second was a deep pass to Darius Heyward-Bey in overtime that set up Janikowski for the game winning field goal.

Safety Matt Giordano played through pain to intercept two passes, one in the end zone to stop a promising Chiefs drive.

For the game Palmer was 16 0f 26 for 237-yards and a touchdown. Oakland's running game was led by Michael Bush's 70-yards and 23-carries. The Raiders tried to pound the ball against KC and even though Bush did not bust anything big, the running game helped create space for Moore to get down field for his touchdown.

KC also respected a play action pass that gave Palmer one on one coverge with Heyward-Bey down field in overtime on a pitch and catch that went for 58-yards setting up Oakland for the game winning field goal.

Oakland hosts the San Diego Chargers New Years day. game time for that one is 1:15pm.

Lions rally to beat Raiders 28-27 in closing minute

12/18/11 Oakland, Calif. - Receiver Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions (9-5) left a pit in the stomach of the Raiders and their fans. With 39-seconds remaining Matt Stafford threw a 6-yard bullet to Johnson in the back of the end zone for his 9th catch of the day to give the Lions a 28-27 win.

"It's a blessing to be up here with this team and have Matt as a quarterback. Being able to go out there and make plays for my team," Johnson expressed. "I've never had anything over 200 yards that's crazy."

The Raiders seemed to be in control after punter Shane Lechler pinned the Lions on their own 2-yard line with 2:14 remaining in the game. That is just when Johnson turned it on catching three passes for 21-yards, 48-yards and the 6-yard touchdown that's 75 yards of the 7-play, 98-yard drive. This is the fourth time this year that the Lions had a 4th quarter come from behind win.

"We had a decent amount of time," Quarterback Stafford explains. "Calvin had an unbelievable game. that is Calvin Johnson for you."

Stafford dug his team a huge hole with 7:47 remaining in the game, the Detroit quarterback dropped back to pass and fumbled the ball after getting sacked and stripped by Tommy Kelley. Linebacker Aaron Curry picked up the loose ball and scampered in for a six-yard touchdown to put the Raiders up 27-14.

"I'm proud of our team. We could have easily folded right after I fumbled that ball and they scored," Stafford said. "Down 13 and whatever it was seven minutes left. Guys rallied around each other and defense did a great job to get us the ball."

The first half the Raiders and Lions were trading touchdowns. Oakland stuck first with receiver Louis Murphy, from Florida, scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. A 26-yard run from back Marcell Reece set up the score.

The Lions hooked up with a 51-yard pass from quarterback Mathew Stafford to wide receiver Calvin Johnson to ties the game at 7. Carson Palmer threw a 43-yard strike to Darius Heyward-Bey to put the Raiders up a touchdown in the second quarter.

Detroit scored a touchdown to close the gap to 27-21 with 4:59 remaining after a touchdown from Stafford to Titus Young, a 5-11 rookie wide receiver from Boise State.

The loss meant Oakland missed a chance to move into a virtual tie with Denver atop the AFC West. Denver still leads after falling to New England Sunday by a game over Oakland with two left two play. The Raiders play at Kansas City Sunday before closing out the regular season at home against a San Diego team hoping to still be in the playoff chase when they hit town on the last day of 2011.

Oakland's playoff hopes slipping away after setback at Green Bay

Few people gave the Oakland Raiders much of a chance to tag Green Bay with their first loss of the season. The Raiders got off to a bad start, allowing Ryan Grant to bust loose for a 47-yard touchdown on the games second play from scrimmage.

For the second week in a row Oakland did not put any points on the board until they were down 34-0. The raiders now find themselves a full game behind the Denver Bronco's in the race for the AFC West title and the automatic bid to the playoffs.

The wildcard will not come out of the West this year and winning the division is the only way for the Raider's to make the playoffs.

Offense, defense, you name it and the Raiders did not produce at Green Bay. On the offensive side of the ball the loss of all Oakland's play makers are starting to handcuff the team. Running back Michael Bush has been slowed down after he got off to a great start in the relief of injured tailback Darren McFadden.

Three 100-yard games in a row had people not missing McFadden at all. The Raiders have also lost their deep threats on the outside and with nobody to stretch the field, teams have loaded up to stop Oakland's running game the past few weeks.

Bush did have 73-yards and a touchdown against Green Bay, but many of those came after the game was over. After rushing for 109-yards and a touchdown in Oakland's win over Minnesota, Bush has had games of 69-yards in a win over Chicago, 18-yards in an Oakland loss at Miami and the 73-yards Bush ran for last week at Green Bay.

Oakland was built to run the ball and throw it deep. No Denarius Moore or Jacoby Ford has stripped quarterback Carson Palmer of his big play receiver's. Palmer did not have a good game against the ball hawking Packers defense.

Green Bay added to the NFL leading interceptions with four more against Oakland.

The Raiders must have watched in horror as Denver and Tim Tebow came back to beat Chicago in the last four minutes of the game to take control of the AFC West. At 8-5, Denver is in control of the AFC West.

Oakland is 7-6 with three games to play. They host Detroit, travel to Kansas City before ending the regular season at home against San Diego. If Denver wins two of their last three games they are in no matter what Oakland does over their last three games.

For Oakland to have much of a chance to make the post season they have to beat both Kansas City and San Diego no matter what. A loss against Detroit Sunday will put Oakland playoff hopes on life support.

Down 31-0 at the half, oakland got a bad break when Green Bay's Randall Cobb took the second kick off back for a long return. Television replays showed that Cobb stepped out of bounds at the 50, but the ref's said their replay TV was not working and they could not review the play.

Huh ?. All this technology and the ref's could not call anybody else to ask about the replay. When it rains it pours and at least that play was not pivotal to the Raiders loss. The game was already over by the time the season half started.

Oakland was looking to win the game, but their fans would have been happy with a moral victory and not the blowout that they saw. Green Bay did not dominate the stat sheet (except for the four picks) and they still won going away.

It did not look like Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rogers broke much of a sweat until the second half when the game was already out of hand. Rogers played into the third quarter and threw for 281-yards, two touchdowns and a pick.

Carson Palmer, on the other hand, was 24 of 42 for 245-yards, one touchdown and the four picks. Oakland needs the injured players to get healthy. Ford has been out six weeks, Moore three and McFadden seven.

They represent the few reason why defense's have to respect the Oakland offense. Detroit comes calling Sunday to play the Raiders at the O.Co Coliseum. The Lions will welcome back Ndamukong Suh who has missed the Lions last two games after getting suspended for kicking a player while he was down on Thanksgiving Day.

Raiders lose in Miami, fall behind Denver in the AFC West

Oakland fell behind Miami early and could never get their offense on track until the game was over and the result was a 34-14 loss at Miami. The loss ended Oakland's three game winning streak and it also knocked the Raiders out of first place out West.

Denver and Oakland are both 7-5, but the Bronco's have the tie breaker over Oakland. The injuries on offense robbed quarterback Carson Palmer of all his play makers. Michael Bush has done a good job since Darren McFadden went out five games ago, but he lacks McFadden's big play ability.

Wide receiver's Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore were on the sidelines and not streaking down the field waiting for a Palmer pass and it showed against one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now. Miami started the season 0-7 but after beating Oakland they have won 4 of their last 5 games.

Oakland head coach Hue Jackson allowed middle linebacker Rolando McClain to play just days after being arrested in his home state of Alabama. Jackson has stated that he is backing his player, but when the facts come out he will re asses his stance on McClain.

Rolando claims that he had nothing to do with any guns or that he was fighting. For the time being he is on the active rosters until the facts come out.

The facts are out on the Raiders game in Miami. Oakland fell behind 34-0 before they scored. Just 2 of 11 on third downs, the Raiders were held to 46-yards rushing. Bush had 18-yards on 10-carries snapping his three game streak of one hundred yards rushing games.

Oakland is now out of a playoff spot in the AFC wildcard race. They currently sit behind Cincinnati and Tennessee, both 7-5 like the Raiders, but with better AFC Conference records then Oakland. The Raiders step out side the division to play at Green Bay next week before returning home to play Detroit the following week.

Oakland has played some of it's best football on the road where they are 4-2 this season. Beating Green Bay will be hard, but any team can be had on any giving Sunday. In order for the Raiders to have a chance they will have to stay in the game mentally as well as score touchdowns against the high powered Packers.

You can't get kicked out of the game like defensive lineman Richard Seymour did against Miami in the 3rd quarter with the Raiders down 27-0.

Slowing down Aaron Roger and Co. will be very hard. Teams are forced to watch Green Bay tape right now because they know it is next to impossible to stop their offense.

Oakland gets road win in Minnesota

The Oakland Raiders went out to Minnesota, built a big lead and then held on to beat the Vikings 27-20 Sunday. The game pushed Oakland's record to 6-4 and they will stay in first place in the wide open AFC West.

The teams first thoughts were for the health of Darius Heyward-Bey who seems to be ok, but I am sure he will be sore for the next few days.

Oakland jumped out to a 27-7 lead by taking advantage of Minnesota turnovers and a missed field goal. Raiders quarterback improved to 2-1 as a starter, was 17 of 23 for 164-yards and a touchdown. Palmer also ran for a score to help the Raiders win back to back road games.

The Raiders defense picked up Oakland early. With Minnesota up 7-3 and driving, safety Matt Giordano picked off a Christian Ponder pass at the Oakland five yard line and returned it to midfield. Palmer hit Chaz Schilens on a 11-yard touchdown pass to give Oakland a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Oakland would tack on two more scores, a two yard run by Bush with 1:08 left in the first half before Minnesota gave Oakland a gift in the form of a fumbled kickoff. Lorenzo Booker fumbled the ensuing kickoff after the Bush score, setting up Oakland at the Vikings 16-yard line with a minute and a half left in the first half.

Palmer would sneak in from a yard out with eight seconds left in the half to put Oakland up 24-7 at the break. It was all about game management the second half. Minnesota would make a game of it. Ponder threw for 211-yards and two touchdowns, but Oakland intercepted him three times, twice in the red zone.

Ponder hit Percy Harvin on a 26-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-14 Raiders. Oakland's Stanford Routt picked off Ponder in the end zone to stop Minnesota the next time they had the ball. Bush fumbled a few plays later and Minnesota quickly cashed in to make it 27-20 Oakland midway through the fourth quarter.

Minnesota got one last chance, getting the ball back at their 29 with three minutes to play but they could not move the ball. The Vikings chances of winning the game seemingly went out the window when all world tailback Adrian Peterson was hurt on a run in the second quarter.

Peterson lost a shoe during a nice little 12-yard scamper and rolled his ankle while being tackled. He never returned to the game after rushing six times for 26-yards and a touchdown in the first quarter.

Raiders get back on track with win at San Diego

The Oakland Raiders got just what they needed Thursday night down in san Diego. A win, and it was a pretty win, one you can go home and show your mother. There were big plays, good defense, no real bad penalties and some good coaching that added up to a 24-17 raiders victory that has Oakland in control of there own destiny atop the AFC West with a 5-4 record.

Carson Palmer looked a lot better under center, throwing for 299-yards, two touchdowns to rookie wide out Denarius Moore and running back Michael Bush ran for 157-yards and TOUCHDOWN ON 30-carries.

Bush also caught three passes for 85-yards to give him 242-yards for scrimmage on the night. Bush's night would have been near perfect if he did not whiff on a block that almost got Palmer's head taken off in the third quarter that resulted in Carson under throwing and wide open Raiders receiver in the end zone and the ball being intercepted.

It was the first of two Raiders turnovers and it made what had been a 17-3 Raiders half time lead into a ball game. The Raiders dominated the first half, out gaining the Chargers 293-yards to 63 with a 13-3 advantage in first downs, but Oakland could not pull away leading only 17-3 at the half.

The raiders defense would not let this one slip away. The Chargers opened the second half with a quick strike, 8-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a Phillip Rivers to Vincent Brown 30-yard touchdown pass to make it a 17-10 Raiders lead.

Oakland answered right back with Palmer finishing off a 85-yard drive that took just five plays by hitting Moore with his second touchdown reception of the game, this one from 26-yards out and the Raiders would have all the points they would need.

Moore had a breakout game down in Diego. He had five catches for 123-yards including one of the prettiest finger tip catches in the NFL this season. The reception was good for 46-yards and it led to a Sebastian Janikowski 23-yard field goal.

Bush's big game was just what the doctor ordered. Oakland's running game took a lot of pressure off Palmer and with the Chargers defense creeping in to stop the run Palmer was able to get single coverage on the outside receiver's and Carson made San Diego pay.

This was not all about the offense. The Raider's D stepped up and made plays when the team needed them the most. Defensive lineman Kamerion Wimbley shined with four sacks of Rivers and Oakland's defense had six in the game.

San Diego's last chance was snuffed out when safety Matt Giordano intercepted a Rivers pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter and Oakland nursing a 24-17 lead.

This was a battle of the AFC West's usual suspects. Of the last 11 AFC West champion's eight have gone to one of these two teams. The Chargers (5) and Oakland (3) have one more game against each other.

They now can sit back and watch what Kansas City does Sunday. If the Chief's lose Oakland will be alone in first this late in the season for the first time since their Super Bowl season of 2002..

Broncos tighten up AFC West with Oakland win

Story by Brendon Anderson

11/6/11 – The Denver Broncos (3-5) came into Oakland in last place of the AFC West and finished the day as the only division winner with a 38-24 victory over the now 4-4 Raiders. The loss dropped Oakland into a three way tie for first place with Kansas City and San Diego.

Carson Palmer made his first start for Oakland and he had an up and down day, throwing for 332-yards, three touchdowns and three more interceptions, but he moved the ball and if he can cut down on the picks, Palmer has six in less then six quarters of play with Oakland, the Raiders will win games with Carson under center..

“Yeah the interception in the 3rd quarter and punt-return were big shifts, big swings,” Palmer said. “We just were’t able to make enough plays.”

Palmer's second interception was a huge momentum swing and ultimately cost the Raiders the lead. With the Raiders up 24-17 they were marching down the field to close out the third quarter and try to extend their lead.

Then on a third-and-eleven at the Broncos 43-yard line, Palmer threw an errant pass intended for Denarius Moore that was tipped before ending up in the hands of cornerback Chris Harris. The next play Denver's McGahee ended the quarter with a 60-yard touchdown run and Denver was on their way to a win.

“(This victory) puts us at 3-5 and we're not so far out of first place,” Broncos Coach John Fox commented.

Broncos' Quarterback Tim Tebow is starting to silence the critics winning his second game of the season as a starter. The second year project completed 10-of-21 attempts for 124 yards passing, but it was his feet that led the Broncos to victory compiling 117 yards on the ground.

Denver finished with 298 total rushing yards. That was the fourth most rushing yards that Oakland has given up in one game ever. The Raiders played their first full game without the injured running back Darren McFadden (foot) and only racked up 73 yards total on the ground.

Running back Willis McGahee had a game high 163 yards on the ground, including a 60-yard scamper that knotted the score at 24 to end the third period. His second touchdown shut the door on Oakland with a 24-yard run at the two minute warning to cap off a 31-point second half.

“Willis and Tim did a great job of running the ball and protecting the ball for us. If we limit turnovers we can be in any game with anybody,” rookie receiver Eddie Royal explained.

Royal added two touchdowns of his own in the second half. He capped off a 9-play 80-yard drive with a streaking 26-yard completion at the 10:57 mark of the third quarter. Royal put the game away in the fourth quarter taking a Shane Lechler punt to the house for an 85-yard touchdown return.

The Broncos scored 24 unanswered points after Palmer's third touchdown pass landed in the arms of a tight-walking Jacoby Ford to give the Raiders a 24-14 lead with 6:48 left in the third period.

The quarterback situation has been curious for both teams coming into this match-up, with both of them become recent starters for their respective teams. Both quarterback are Heisman trophy winners Palmer 2002 (USC) and Tebow (2007) Florida. After a head-to-head match-up there seems to be inverse direction with Tebow answering questions and Palmer creating more.

With the AFC West tightening up the quarterback leadership and direction of each team is dependent on their play, the division is up for grabs. Now we will see who throws touchdowns and who throw interceptions.

Raiders Campbell could out the rest of the season

Trick or Treat Raiders overcome loss of QB with a win against Cleveland

10/16/11 Oakland, Calif. – Oakland Raiders (4-2) pulled out a 24-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns (2-3) despite an injury to 7-year veteran quarterback Jason Campbell. With 4:18 remaining in the first half and the Raiders up 14-7 Campbell scrambled for 7 yards before Browns linebacker Chris Gocong landed on Campbell's shoulder and fractured his clavicle in a possible season ending injury.

Cal product Kyle Boller, in his 8^th year in the NFL, had to take the helm for the upswing Raiders. He filled in and connected on 8-of-14 passing for 100 yards. Oakland's Darius Heyward-Bey, the games' leading receiver (6-of-9 catches for 82 yards), talked about the QB change.

“It just means that we have to get ready to go with Kyle. It's as simple as that. It's football. You're gonna have different quarterbacks,” Heyward-Bey stated. “You're gonna have injuries at different positions.”

Boller performed well to hold onto the win for his first game this season. But can he keep the level of play high enough for Raiders to continue their winning ways? Boller who started in the league with Baltimore has not played at least 12 games since the 2007 season, and has not played a full season since 2004.

“Its unfortunate that Jason got hurt, but as a quarterback, you got to step up,” Boller said. “Next week we have Kansas city, so I just look at it one game at a time to lead this team to victory.”

It was Punter Shane Lechler who threw the only touchdown pass for Oakland and that came on a fake field goal with 1:23 remaining in the 3^rd period to give them a 24-7 commanding lead.

The Raiders almost did themselves in midway through the fourth quarter and 24-10 Raiders head coach Hue Jackson rolled the dice and went for a 4th and one deep in Browns territory. A field goal would have put the game away. Instead the Browns held and they proceeded to make a game of it.

Cleveland made the game interesting capping a 14-play 95-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Colt McCoy to wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi to bring them within a touchdown with 1:11 remaining in the game.

The Browns recovered the ensuing onside kick on the Oakland's 49-yard line to give themselves a final chance to tie the game. Oakland's d stepped up to the challenge and the Raiders had their first 4-2 start since the 2002 season.

Oakland controlled the game with over 10 minutes difference in possession and they struck back when they faced any adversity. With 12:12 in the second quarter McCoy tied the game 7-7 with a 1-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Armond Smith.

Oakland stole the momentum right back after wide out Jacoby Ford ran back a 101 yard kick off return, the third longest in Raiders' history.

The play of the game, however, was a fake field-goal that resulted in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Lechler to 5^th year tight end Kevin Boss late in the third quarter.

This final Oakland score provided them with the advantage necessary to get the win. You never know if Coach Jackson has some more tricks up his sleeve.

When asked who would start at QB next week against Kansas City he said, “Shane Lechler will be our quarterback. He's 1000 percent.” he quipped. “We are becoming a really good football team and that's what I'm excited about,” Jackson stated.

The Raiders continues to stick to their running game and out gained the Browns 151 – 65 on the ground. Darren McFadden, who still leads the NFL in rushing (610 yards), continued to be the go-to guy on the ground attack. He finished with 91 yards on 20 attempts.

Oakland has a vital stretch ahead

Oakland's last second road win over the Houston Texan's last Sunday will be remember in honor of the late Al Davis who passed away the day before. It was also the last time the Raider's will play away from the O.Co for almost a month.

Three straight home games are on deck for the Raiders and this could be where Oakland make a serious move towards a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. You can not take any team for granted in the NFL, but with Cleveland, Kansas City and Denver up next, the 3-2 Raiders will want to take advantage of the easiest part of their schedule.

The Raiders have emerged from a row with the top teams in the AFC with a 3-2 record. They played three teams that are in first place and another, the New York Jets , that went to the AFC Championship game the past two years. Buffalo, New England, Houston and the Jets are a combined 13-7 so far this season.

Oakland's upcoming home stand will bring a combined 5-9 record into the O.Co and they are all winnable games. Only Cleveland (2-2) does not have a losing record among the three.

While there are no easy wins in the NFL, on paper the Raiders must have circled this next month as a chance to make a move in the AFC playoff race.

Five of the Raiders last eight games are on the road were it is always tough to play.

Patriots win turnover battle to upend the Raiders in Oakland 31-19

10/2/11 Oakland, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders failed an early season test Sunday losing to the New England Patriots 31-19 in front of a sold-out O.Co Coliseum crowd of 62,572. The Raiders (2-2) were hanging with the AFC East juggernaut for the first quarter and a half. Then Quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots (3-1) picked the Raiders apart to tally over 30 points for the forth week in a row.

Oakland was going toe-to-toe with New England until Jason Campbell threw an inadvertent interception to safety Patrick Chung in the end zone with 2:24 remaining in the first-half. He looked to be throwing the ball away in the back of the end zone, as no Raiders were in the vicinity.

“The interception at the end of the half changed the game,” quarterback Campbell admitted.

Oakland had marched 80-yards down the field to the Patriots 6-yard line, threatening the 14-10 New England lead, but this costly turnover switched the momentum. The Pats took over on their own 20 and ended their 11-play drive converting on a 44-yard field goal to go into the locker room up 17-10, and they never looked back.

Former Serra High School (San Mateo, Calif.) star, Brady, threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Wes Welker was his primary target eating up 158 yards on 9 receptions including a 15-yard touchdown in the first quarter. This one-two punch has been a lethal duo. Brady leads the NFL is passing yards (1553) and Welker leads it in receiving yards (616).

“Wes is the heart and soul of this team,” Brady claimed. “He never takes a day off, never takes a practice off, and never takes a play off, whether he is blocking or catching.”

The Raiders have showed signs of improvement putting up some lofty offensive numbers this season as well. They actually out gained the Pats finishing with 504 total yards compared to 409, but it was the two Raiders’ turnovers and a couple of costly penalties that doomed their efforts.

“Every time we had 500 yards we won,” Jason Campbell said. “This was a frustrating game, especially in the second half.”

Oakland owned the time of possession in the first half and even had their chances in the second, but they couldn't’t convert it to points. In the third period a 15-play drive only produced a 26-yard field goal which hurt the Oakland comeback bid. The Raiders never gave up and scored a final touchdown with 48-seconds remaining to narrow the final margin to 12-points. It was too little too late.

“We had our chances, we just didn’t get it done,” first-year Coach Hue Jackson surmised. “They did a good job and we didn’t.”

Running back Darren McFadden, the Raiders workhorse, was held to 75 yards rushing. Oakland has lost both games when McFadden was held under 100 yards this season.

McFadden has been a huge part of their success and leads the league in rushing yards (468) after the first four weeks. The master of preparation, Bill Belichick, had his defense key on McFadden.

“This week we knew exactly what we wanted to do. We know Oakland wanted to run,” nose tackle Vince Wilfork stated. “We handled the running game by holding one another accountable.”

Wilfork, an eight year veteran from University of Miami, also helped in the pass defense by capturing his second interception of the year, and his career. With 10:26 remaining in the game Wilfork stifled any sense of last-minute heroics from the Raiders by securing Campbell’s second interception of the day.

This was retribution for the Pats after their turnover ridden loss last week against the Buffalo Bills, when Brady threw 4 interceptions.

“It is nice to come here and get the win and be 3-and-1. The Raiders are real physical,” Coach Bill Belichick stated. “(We) played good in the red-zone on both sides and handled the turnover situation a lot better than we did last week.”

Game notes:
This was Richard Seymour’s first game against his former team, even though he has been with Oakland since 2009. Brady and Seymour got reacquainted real quickly as Seymour threw Brady to the turf after a false-start penalty whistle ended the play. Seymour didn’t seem to hear the whistle as he tussled Brady to the ground and got a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty.

“He (Seymour) put me down kind of gently,” Brady commented about the dead ball foul. “I’m glad we got the call.”

When Seymour was asked about laying down Brady “gently” he retorted, “He sure was asking the referee for the call.”

The Oakland Raiders take their 2-2 record to Houston next Sunday to battle the 3-1 Texans. The 3-1 New England Patriots head home to host the 2-2 New York Jets.

Improving Raiders fall at Buffalo 38-35

It was all good in the first half for the Oakland Raiders in their road game at Buffalo. They caught the Bills in Buffalo before the winter snow storms hit, always a plus for west coast teams, and they were winning big, up 21-3 at the half against a team that put up 41pts in a week one win over Kansas City.

The second half was a different story. Oakland's D stayed in the locker room while the rest of the team came out to play the second half and the Bills took full advantage, scoring 14pts in the third quarter before turning up the heat and putting 21pts on the board in the 4th quarter.

The end result was a 38-35 loss for the Raiders and a flight home with what if's in the minds of several players.

Oakland's offense scored 21pts in the second quarter and 14 in the 4th. The Raiders last touchdown, a 50-yard strike to rookie Denarius Moore, was spectacular. Moore is the real deal and he showed it Sunday leading the Raiders with 146-yards on five receptions and that touchdown.

Denarius scored with 3:27 left in the game and it gave Oakland a 35-31 lead. The Bills answered back with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a Ryan Fitzpatrick to David Nelson touchdown pass with 14-seconds left in the game.

The Bills might have thought they would never see the game winner. Twice on the winning drive the Raiders gave up fourth down completions to the Bills. To make matters worse Oakland cornerback's dropped two interceptions on Buffalo's game winning drive.

Oakland's defense let a hot Buffalo team drive down the field and score the winning touchdown because of a busted coverage on 4th and the game from the Raiders 6-yard line. Oakland gave up two 4th down convert ions on the Bills last gasp winning drive.

The Raiders would have never made it that far the past few years. Oakland would have given it up on third down. The Raiders also showed bounce back ability on offense with their 14pt 4th quarter.

Oakland's offense continues to improve under the guidance of head coach Hue Jackson. Campbell threw for 323-yards and two touchdowns and the offense as a whole gained 454-yards. Each of their 4th quarter touchdowns gave the Raiders a lead.

Jason Campbell has become a NFL quarterback and tailback Darren McFadden has turned into one of the best back's in the NFL. under Jackson. He must now work on the defense closing out games.

Oakland's defense let a hot Buffalo team drive down the field and score the winning touchdown because of a busted coverage on 4th and the game from the Raiders 6-yard line.

The Raiders would have never made it that far the past few years. Oakland would have given it up on third down. The Raiders also showed bounce back ability on offense with their 14pt 4th quarter.

The Raiders had only 14-seconds to answer the Bills winning touchdown and the Raiders almost made the most of it. Jason Campbell got a chance to throw one last pass on the final play of the game that was batted down in the Bills end zone.

Denarius Moore got his hands on the ball, but Buffalo's Da' Norris Searcy came down with the interception and the game was over.

Oakland has no time to worry about the loss with the New York Jets and New England Patriots coming to town the next two weeks. Both are 2-0 along with Buffalo in what looks like the best division in football right now, the AFC East.

The Raiders are in first place out West due to their season opening win over Denver. Only Kansas City (0-2) is not 1-1 so far in the AFC West.

Oakland continues run against AFC West, beat Denver at Mile High 23-20

The Oakland Raiders stayed hot against the AFC West with a hard fought, 23-20 win at Denver to open the 2011 NFL season. Oakland opened the season with a victory for the first time since 2002 when they knocked off Seattle. That was also the last time the Raiders made the playoffs.

Oakland's offense played well behind starting quarterback Jason Campbell. Jason had a modest day. completing 13 of 22-passes for just 105-yards passing, one touchdown, a 3-yard toss to fullback Marcel Reese that got the Raiders on the board in the second quarter.

Campbell also rushed for a score. It was against Denver last season that the Raiders got their offense on track in a record setting blowout of the Bronco's.

One of the most important things to come out of this game was a healthy Campbell who was sacked only once in the game. The Raiders also got what they were looking for from the running game. Darren McFadden (150-yards) led a rushing attack that produced 192-yards rushing in the game.

It was the play of the special teams and defense that got the Raiders going late in the first quarter. Darryl Blackstock got things rolling when he burst through the Denver line and blocked a punt attempt by the Bronco's Britton Colquitt.

That led to the Campbell to Reece, three yard TD pass and a 7-3 Raiders lead midway into the second quarter. Janikowski would close out the first half with three field goals. The last one, a NFL record tying 63-yarder, came after the third turnover of the first half by Denver an interception by safety Matt Giordano.

Oakland played it close to the vest, throwing just 13-passes in the first half. The Raiders ran the ball 20-times and McFadden had 13-carries and 70-yards before the break.

Oakland's defense was busy bottling up Denver's offense for most of the game. The Bronco's could only manage 38-yards rushing and they carried the ball just 13-times. After falling behind 16-3 the Bronco's abandon the run and tried to pass there way to a victory.

It almost worked. Bronco's starting quarterback Kyle Orton had 304-yards through the air, one touchdown and one pick. Orton's TD, a nine yarder to Lance Ball, came with 3:43 left in the game and it made the score 23-20 Raiders.

Oakland could only manage a one yard touchdown run by Campbell in the second half. If they could have turned some of those Janikowski field goals into touchdowns the game would have been over sooner.

Tailback Michael Bush scooted up the middle for 12-yards and a first down that allowed the Raiders to run out the clock and get out of town with the win.

Oakland will have to clean up their play. The Raiders were called for 15-penalties (131-yards), but we say that every year. The Raiders had just one turnover and that came on the games first play when Jacoby Ford dropped a short screen pass which led to Denver scoring the first points of the game, a 28-yard field goal by the Bronco's Matt Prater.

That was good news for Oakland since the Bronco's recovered Ford's fumble at the Oakland 15-yard line. Three plays later Denver was lining up for a field goal. In past years the Raiders might have given up a quick touchdown.

Getting off to a good start in very important in the NFL. That factor increases when you are playing a divisional rival. The Raiders swept their division in 2010 but went 2-8 against everybody else and missed the playoffs.

Oakland's next three games are against the AFC East, thought of as the toughest division in football right now. Oakland travels to Buffalo for an early start next week. Better now then in Nov. or Dec. when it will be 10-degrees if you are lucky.

The Bills are coming off a 41-7 pounding of the Kansas City Chiefs on the road Sunday.

After that the Raiders make their home debut against the New York Jets. The New England patriots follow the Jets into town the following week so winning the first game was very important for the Raiders.

Oakland does not see a NFC team until Thanksgiving weekend when they play at Minnesota Nov. 20th. That's nine straight games to open the season with games against teams in their own conference. Each game has playoff implications written all over them.

Raiders get down to 53 man roster as 2011 regular season approaches

There were a couple of surprises when the Oakland Raiders released their list of players who were let go as a part of the NFL's final cut down day as training camps wind down before the start of the 2011 NFL season. Former Los Gatos, Stanford and starting quarterback in Buffalo, Trent Edwards, was cut.

Edwards seemed to been in position to become second string behind starter Jason Campbell after playing well as camp began and in Oakland's first pre season game. Maybe that lit a fire under Kyle Boller. Boller must have picked up his play during practice, because he was the second string QB for the rest of camp.

Boller took advantage of his chance with the second team and out played Edwards in each of the final three pre season games. The Raiders only have two quarterbacks on their roster at the moment. Terrelle Pryor, a rookie out of Ohio St., is on the suspended list for the first five weeks of the season and he does not count against Oakland's 53-man roster.

Offensive lineman Daniel Loper, brought in to try and replace the departed Robert Gallery was cut after he could not beat out rookie Stefen Wisniewski, who will start at left guard when the Oakland's take the field Sept. 12th at Denver.

Cornerback Lito Shepard, brought in to help with Oakland's pass defense was let go after playing well in his only pre season game with Oakland, a 20-3 loss at Seattle. Oakland also cut long time linebacker Sam Williams.

The defensive backfield seems to be where Oakland needs work at the most. The Raiders have not shown much depth through the 2011 pre season either. Oakland's starters have played well enough to stay in games this pre season.

The reserves have come in and turned close games into blowout loses. Oakland was beating New Orleans 20-17 in the third quarter during one 2011 pre season game. The back ups of both teams turned the game into a 40-20 Saints rout.

Oakland has work to do. The talent is there, but Oakland has got to get consistent in stopping the run and the pass. The San Francisco 49ers rushed for 239-yards against Oakland in the second pre season game of 2011.

The Raiders secondary gave up 388-yards passing to New Orleans in their third game of the 2011 pre season. Many of the yards against the Saints came on broken and missed tackles in the secondary. You can not let NFL players catch and run with the ball.

Cornerback's Walter McFadden, Jeremy Ware and safety Stevie Brown, all 2010 draft picks, were let go although one of them could be back when Oakland picks up their practice squad in the next couple of days.

The Raiders have a few holes to fill. Can they make it five weeks with only two quarterbacks on their roster. When Pryor shows up, he will still be a rookie. The Raiders might be looking at someone who was just cut loose himself from another team to add some veteran depth at the quarterback position.
Current 2011 Oakland Raiders roster click here

Oakland QB Jason Campbell gets shook up in loss at San Francisco

The Raiders will have to protect the quarterbacks if they want to make it back into the playoffs this season. They saw their starter get knocked out midway through the second quarter after he tried to recover his own fumble.

Raider quarterbacks have had trouble staying healthy in the past and with Oakland's young offensive line trying to mesh the QB's will have to be quick on their feet.

The Raiders did not do very much on offense in their 17-3 loss at San Francisco. The team rushed for only 63-yards in the game.

Jason Campbell did get the offense going at the start of the second quarter. Jason finished the game five of seven for 74-yards.

Campbell led Oakland down to the 49ers two yard line but was sacked on 4th and goal. He had the Raiders on the move the next time Oakland had the ball, but was hurt going after a fumble and left the game with a slight concussion after being kneed in the head.

Not what the Raiders wanted to see. Campbell checked out ok after the game, except for the headache he went to sleep with. With the third pre season game up next it will be interesting to see how much, if at all, Jason plays Sunday against New Orleans.

The Raiders will also have to wait and see about their new tight end. Kevin Boss, brought in to replace the departed Zack Miller was hurt on a short pass play over the middle when a safety clipped Boss on the Knee, sending him limping off the field a play later.

That means just about every starter in a skill position has been hurt before the season has even started. Starting wide receivers Jacoby Ford and Louis Murphy, Tailback Darren McFadden, Campbell and now Boss. It's too bad head coach Hue Jackson can't use those "don't hit me" red jersey's during the pre season games.

Once again Oakland had trouble moving the ball once they got into the red zone. Trent Edwards came in for Campbell and led Oakland into the red zone but two penalties made it second and long and Trent threw an interception with 30-seconds left in the half.

Oakland can't afford to have penalties, who can, but we say that every year. Oakland led the league with 148 infractions last year. The league average was 99.

Penalties dump truck drives. Defenses are too good and they do not need much help stopping you, but they will take what you give them and the Raiders gave a lot last year.

Penalties force you to pass more often then not and that's is what happened on Edwards pick deep in 49ers territory. San Francisco dropped back into a four deep zone and Tarell Brown made an easy interception.

Oakland threw two in the game and they failed on both of their 4th down attempts against San Francisco. Third down was not pleasant for the Raiders offense. Oakland converted only two of their nine third down attempts in the game. That is not going to get it done.

It could make Sebastian Janikowski the highest scoring player in NFL history. The Raiders kicker booted four in the 2011 pre season opener, including one from 57-yardsr against Arizona. He is ready to roll.

Oakland needs their offense to score touchdowns. The Raiders D played well when they had to. The first team D gave up only three points and they had their second goal line stand in two weeks. Defensive linemen Richard Seymour was un blockable and Matt Shaunnessy came up with a pick in the first quarter that stopped a 49er drive.

Keeping Campbell healthy is key to Oakland's chance's of making the playoffs in 2011-12. Oakland will host New Orleans 8/28 at 5pm.

Oakland opened their 2011 pre season at home against Arizona

Oakland wounded before the season starts

New head coach Hue Jackson has to deal with another injury. This time it was Hiraim Eugene who was injured in a nasty collision that resulted in Eugene dislocating his hip and he is out for a while.

Trent Edwards had perhaps the best day of any Raiders player in the exhibition game against Arizona. Edwards was brought over from Buffalo to compete for the second string job behind Jason Campbell at quarterback.

It's not that back up Kyle Boller had a bad day, Boller, the 9th year QB out of Cal was 7 of 8, but for just 42-yards. Edwards, on the other hand, was going down the field with the ball and it showed in the stats.

Trent was 10 of 19 for 139-yards and a touchdown. It was the only touchdown Oakland would score in a game that saw them drive into scoring range only to have the drives stall time after time. Oakland was forced to kick four field goals giving Sebastian Janikowski just about all the work he will need for the rest of the pre season.

Jano booted a 57-yarder against Arizona.

Oakland has got to get better inside the 30-yard line. The coming weeks will start to tell the story. It is hard to judge a team on one pre season game. The Raiders showed they can move the ball, but two of Jano's field goals were little more then extra points (21 and 25-yards).

Tailback Michael Bush got most of the action early with the first and second team offense, Bush, just reported to camp a few days before the game against Arizona and it was just in time for Oakland who is without starter Darren McFadden for the next few weeks.

Bush ran for 19-yards on six carries. Michael Bennett led Oakland with 40-yards on 9-carries.

Oakland's first team defense was on the field long enough to barely break a sweat so we will have to wait and see about them. It was a 6-0 Oakland first half lead and Arizona did not score until the last 25-seconds of the first half.

New tight end Kevin Boss got a little action with one catch for five yards. He along with good looking rookie David Ashberry will be counted on to fill the footsteps of departed Zack Miller, now in Seattle.

Ashberry caught Edwards touchdown pass, a sweet 18-yarder in the back corner of the end zone.

The Raiders head over the to Stick' to face San Francisco Aug 20th at 5pm. The 49ers are coming off a loss at New Orleans were they gave up six sacks in a game where San Francisco's O-line looked lost.