Storyline: The Raiders went into San Diego this past Sunday and put a whipping on the Bolts. It was a dominating performance by the team from Oak Town.
Courtesy: NFLmocks.com
The Oakland Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 37-29, but the final score meant little when analyzing this contest. The Chargers outgained the Raiders 417 yards to 412, which is simply another meaningless stat that you can ignore. Philip Rivers had another great effort with 336 yards and 3 TDs. Those are great numbers if you had Rivers in your Fantasy lineup but, otherwise, it meant squat.
Bottom line: the Raiders went into San Diego this past Sunday and put a whipping on the Bolts. It was a dominating performance by the team from Oak Town.
The Raiders haven’t thoroughly dominated an opponent for an entire game since a 59-14 pasting of the Broncos in 2010. Sure, the Chargers scored 23 point in the 4th but the competitive phase of the game was over by then (37-6 heading into the final stanza). The only knock of the day was the Raiders going into a prevent defense/run-only offense for the entire final period. That approach lead to unnecessary heartburn when the Charges attempted a third onside kick of the game with six seconds left.
The Raiders played error free ball for the first three quarters. I give credit to the coaching staff: they had the team prepared for San Diego. Head coach Jack Del Rio and coordinators, Bill Musgrave and Ken Norton Jr., had a superb and cohesive game plan, which the players executed to perfection.
This is what quality coaches do after a Bye Week. They win. With two weeks to prepare good coaches put together great game plans. And the Chargers were coming off a physical and emotional game, losing a heartbreaker, 27-20, the prior week in Green Bay.
Of course a winning record after the bye is far from given. The Raiders have been mostly horrible since 2002: the team’s post-bye week record of 1-10 is putrid. It’s as if the Raiders bring back Art Shell each year for Bye Week preparations. But good coaches take advantage of the extra week of prep. Mike McCarthy is 8-1 after a bye; John Fox is 10-4; Andy Reid a whopping 14-2; and Bill Belichick is 11-4, which is actually much lower than I would have guessed.
This Oakland team is run by a legitimate coaching staff. For the first time since Jon Gruden was scowling on the sidelines in 2001, Del Rio seems to be pushing the right buttons. The Raiders dominating effort in San Diego is proof.
Next up for the Raiders is a home game against the New York Jets … with, gulp, playoff implications. Yes, the Jets and Steelers are the only two teams above the Raiders in the AFC Wild Card … and it’s … (drum roll) halfway through the year. And those teams just so happen to be next up on the Raider’s schedule.
Playoffs?! Yes I said it, even without the squeaky and sarcastic tone of the famous Jim Mora sound byte.
Game Day Observations
The O-Line is really coming together for the Raiders. Rodney Hudson had the highest-rated center performance of the season per Pro Football Focus (+6.5). His flying block on safety Jimmy Wilson, which set Amari Cooper free for a 52-yard TD in the 2nd quarter, was a lineman’s dream. The dude was horizontal he was so amped for the pancake block.
@VicTafur Rodney gettin horizontal on his monster block pic.twitter.com/eM051ZVUk7
— Scott (@Irish311fan) October 26, 2015
Taiwan Jones is turning into a nice option in the backfield. We all knew Jones had game-breaking speed, but his shiftiness and deceptive power is a surprise. How could the former coaching staff move him to cornerback? I guess nothing should surprise me from the Dennis Allen era.
Courtesy: Centriotimes.com
And there were more big plays courtesy of starting WRs, Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, each of whom had a TD catch. Derek Carr has really progressed at QB this year, but having those two in the starting lineup is a huge upgrade from 2014. Both TDs were basically the same–a screen pass with excellent blocking. Oakland’s receivers can make plays in the open field, turning short passes into highlight reels.
Speaking of receiving weapons, rookie TE Clive Walford made his first big impact of 2015. Carr floated a perfectly placed ball into Walford’s mitts for a beautiful 2nd quarter TD. Then, in the 3rd Quarter, Carr threw a laser to Walford down the seam for 19 yards. It was the best throw of the day by Carr–a back shoulder laser, right past the defender’s earhole. The Charger watched helplessly as Walford made the catch.
Because I rip on him almost weekly, it’s time to give it up for my man, D.J. Hayden. Hayden picked off his first pass of the season with a beautiful theft on the sideline. He also chipped in 10 tackles–but most were made because he was giving up the reception on his man. However, these were of the short range verity; Hayden has been much improved covering the deep ball.
The Raiders have had injuries on the D-Line. Justin Tuck is shelved for the season; Justin Ellis is still out with a bad ankle; and Denico Autry is out with a concussion. You wouldn’t have known it, though, with the dominating performances upfront: Dan Williams, Mario Edwards Jr., Stacey McGee, Shelby Harris, and C.J. Wilson all stepped up in a big way.
Player of the Game
There are lots of strong choices to go with, but I’m going with linebacker Malcolm Smith. He began the domination with an interception return on the first series of the game … which he almost took to the house. Two plays later the Raiders had a 7-0 lead. Smith also had his team-leading 3rd sack of the year and 11 tackles–stats where he leads the defense. Smith has been an exceptional Free Agent signing from Seattle (2015), and he was aces in the San Diego.
