MODS PLEASE LOCK | The Oakland Raiders 2015 Season Thread: Week 17 @ Kansas City / 7-8

[willie mcfly22]

Great game. Shoulda double covered Brown after 5 mins into the game....6-2 Vikings at home next week [emoji]128534[/emoji][emoji]128534[/emoji]

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Tough loss. You can say the young guys got great experience here or that we hung in tight the whole game or that Carr looked amazing... but we lost a chance at solidifying a Wild Card spot. You can't talk me out of feeling good about this right now. In a couple days I'll feel better about it but this sucks.

I wonder if Ben is going to be out long term again.

 

[ciscokid]

well Bridgewater might be out for our game

 

[khalilmack52]

AFC is so weak right now that we're still in a good spot.

 

[The_Isomotion31]

This one stung. Shouldn't of been a blitz with single coverage on brown in that 3rd down play. Should of had 1 under and 1 over on him from 2nd qtr on.

 

[HNL HI]

were in it. just need everyone healthy next week.

 

[HNL HI]

This one stung. Shouldn't of been a blitz with single coverage on brown in that 3rd down play. Should of had 1 under and 1 over on him from 2nd qtr on.

Steelers have mastered the art of the pick play.

 

[The_Isomotion31]

yeah for sure. Still in the hunt. Lick the wounds this week and get ready for the Vikes.

 

[willie mcfly22]

I'll b drinking the rest the day. This one got me down....

 

[oaklandca]

I'm not discounting the work that the coaches are doing I'm just saying recognize the patterns when players aren't clicking and move the ball around to help get the team back into a rhythm. Carr's comeback drive was something that fans should really see as a positive sign going forward. His touch on the ball under pressure and without pressure is pretty impressive.

Clive was off. Cooper was off. Murray and Jones were off (Al Boo Boo this tandem is not there yet, you are right, they can be great if they can stay consistent), and I don't know what to tell you about the secondary yet. Just not consistent play against top teams.

 

[kayzeezay]

As much as I don't like seeing anyone get hurt, it was nice to see other players on offense get some shine instead of depending on Murray all the time. Crab & Coop have been solid all year (minus that last drop by Coop)

 

[touch money]

View media item 1780229Stealers got lucky raiders weren't firing on all cylinders. It's a wrap if they meet up again this year.

 

[The_Isomotion31]

Steelers have mastered the art of the pick play.

Yeah they have.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Derek Carr delivers, but Raiders’ defense falters against Steelers
By Ann Killion November 8, 2015

View media item 1780264Michael Crabtree takes a Derek Carr pass into the end zone in the fourth quarter that pulled the Raiders Photo: Jared Wickerham, Getty Images
Photo: Jared Wickerham, Getty Images

PITTSBURGH — Derek Carr was just focused on the next play, the next series, the chance to get the game into overtime. So he couldn’t see the big picture.

“My coaches would probably be better at answering that,” Carr said when asked if Sunday represented a step forward in his young career. “I never think about taking a step or anything like that.”

OK then, I’ll answer my question: Yes, Carr took a step forward. The game at Heinz Field was a big moment in the evolution of one of the rising stars of the league.

The step didn’t end in a win because the Raiders couldn’t stop the sublime Antonio Brown. Ever. All day. So the Steelers ended up winning the game 38-35 on a last-second field goal.

Carr had put his team in position to win, on the road against a good team, propelled by a great crowd. He didn’t win on the road at all last season. This season, he has won twice, getting out to big leads in Cleveland and San Diego. But to be great, a quarterback has to be able to rally his team late in a game.

After throwing what appeared to be a back-breaking interception in the end zone, late in the fourth quarter, Carr came back to lead the team down the field, finding Michael Crabtree matched against a linebacker, and throwing for a game-tying touchdown.

The offense then had to watch the Raiders’ defense give up a 79-yard drive to Pittsburgh backup quarterback Landry Jones, including a 57-yard play to Brown.

“I think we let the team down,” Charles Woodson said. “When your offense puts up as many points as they did today, we were the weak link.”

Both defenses were weak links, which made for a wildly entertaining game. Brown set Steelers single-game receiving records with 17 catches for 284 yards. Ben Roethlisberger — who was hurt when Aldon Smith sacked him and rolled over his foot — passed both Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana on the career passing-yardage list in the game, which constitutes a nice day at the office. There was a combined 1,037 yards of offense, 714 of it passing. And the Raiders scored at least 34 points for the third straight week.

“I was expecting the unexpected,” Crabtree said.

That is the new norm for the Raiders. Expect the unexpected. The team is proving to be highly watchable, entertaining and resilient. Though the loss moves them out of the top six playoff spots, and into a tie with Buffalo at 4-4, the Raiders remain very much alive in the playoff picture.

And by the time they face their next division opponent — Kansas City on Dec. 6 — they have a realistic chance of being 7-4. Their next three opponents are Minnesota, which might be without starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who suffered a concussion on Sunday, and then Detroit and Tennessee on the road.

But the Raiders have their own injury concerns. Latavius Murray — who ran for 96 yards before he left the game in the third quarter — was also concussed and will have to go through the concussion protocol. The way Murray has been playing, that would be a big loss.

“We played hard, we played to the end,” head coach Jack Del Rio said. “We had a chance at the end there to at least get that thing into overtime and go against a backup quarterback. We had a great opportunity.”

But it was an opportunity squandered.

“Absolutely,” Woodson said. “It’s disheartening to a degree, but we know we can play much better. It’s kind of hard to swallow. We need to find a way to get better in a hurry.”

Carr, who hadn’t thrown an interception since a pick-six against Denver on Oct. 11, made what appeared to be a game-killing error in the fourth quarter. The Raiders had pulled back to within one touchdown and got the ball back when Brown fumbled a punt return (proving that he is a mere mortal in some regards). The Raiders moved closer when the Steelers were flagged for roughing the passer.

But his pass intended for Clive Walford was intercepted by Ross Cockrell in the end zone.

“They gave us a look that we liked,” Carr said. “I tried to throw it in the spot for our guy to make a play. Their guy made the play.”

With a lead, and a backup quarterback in, the Steelers chose to continue attacking the Raiders’ secondary with the pass. They ran just two minutes off the clock before having to punt the ball back to the Raiders.

“We have a great group of guys — this team is a very resilient bunch,” Carr said. “Things started to fall apart, and we just kept fighting.”

The offense got the ball back with 2:15 to play. Carr found Amari Cooper, then Michael Rivera, and then Crabtree. On 1st-and-10 at the Steelers’ 38-yard line, he went deep over the middle to Crabtree, who was covered by linebacker Mike Mitchell.

“That’s all coach (Bill) Musgrave, putting guys in spots,” Carr said.

As the team got ready to head to the bus and leave Pittsburgh, there was a feeling of an opportunity lost.

“I’m sad,” Crabtree said. “That was a tough game. We just came up short.”

But it also represented a step forward.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Charles Woodson is Raiders’ best in secondary, even old and hurt
By Ann Killion November 8, 2015

PITTSBURGH — Charles Woodson was in pain, but the savvy businessman didn’t miss a marketing opportunity.

“It’s nothing that a little Charles Woodson wine won’t take care of,” he said.

Here’s hoping Woodson was able to crack open a bottle of his very nice Cabernet on the plane ride home. Because the 39-year old was hurting after the second play of the game.

On a 2nd-and-10 — a pass to Antonio Brown — Woodson went down hard, grabbing his right shoulder.

“I aggravated the shoulder,” he said. “It’s weak, to say the least.”

It’s the same shoulder that he injured in Week 1. Throughout the game, he was playing Jeffrey Leonard style: one flap down. Woodson resorted to trying to throw his body at players — usually Brown, who had 284 receiving yards — because he couldn’t make a two-armed tackle.

Should he even have been on the field?

“Charles is a real gladiator type, a warrior type,” head coach Jack Del Rio said. “He has fought his way through games all of this year. I trust him to know what’s best between him and the doctors. If he’s able to go and wants to go, I’m going to let him go unless personnel advise me otherwise.

“As a coach, you really respect and appreciate a guy that gives it up for us,” Del Rio said.

Woodson said he doesn’t listen if the coaches suggest he take off some plays.

“I don’t know how to be hurt,” Woodson said. “I’ve been injured where you can’t play. But if I’m able to get up and move around, I’m not coming off the field.”

And he shouldn’t. Even injured, he’s the Raiders’ leader on defense and best player in their secondary. When he came off the field and Taylor Mays replaced him, the Steelers took full advantage.

On the game-deciding play — a 57-yard reception by Antonio Brown — old man Woodson was the only player who could catch Brown and force him out of bounds.

“You’ve got to run fast at that point,” Woodson said.

Woodson was dumbfounded by Brown’s receiving numbers, which set a Pittsburgh record.

“All you can say is, ‘Wow,’” Woodson said. “As a fan of the game, he’s one of the most exciting players in the NFL.”

Woodson was disappointed with his unit’s effort.

“Nobody played any defense out there today, on both sides of the field,” he said. “It’s disheartening to a degree, but we know we can play much better. That’s the positive, but also a hard thing to swallow.”

A lot harder to swallow than that Cabernet.

 

[albooboo]

This defense is a few pieces away. Those pieces can be easily addressed in the offseason.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

This defense is a few pieces away. Those pieces can be easily addressed in the offseason.

I think so too. It's apparent the coaching staff is doing it's best to put the players they have into the best position to succeed, but their skill sets are limiting what we can scheme. Press at the line, interior coverage, safety play all suffer with who we currently have.

 

[willie mcfly22]

IF Woodson hangs it up after this season, Carrie gotta step up and be THAT guy back there...

 

[blakmn89]

Tough loss & smh @ the defense today esp Hayden. Just hope we're ready for Minnesota next week they a good tm & hv a good defense/ defensive minded hc.

 

[SneakerProSr.]

Lions hire somebody I hate this offseason and I'm putting in my application for the bandwagon if yall stay in Oakland.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Lions hire somebody I hate this offseason and I'm putting in my application for the bandwagon if yall stay in Oakland.

Post your qualifications, certifications and references by February 22nd, 2016. Three members of the Raider Nation will review your application and ask follow up questions regarding your application.

 

[oaklandca]

 

[khalilmack52]

with our salary cap situation as well, we are in good hands

 

[laker4lifeman]

Pay Crabtree this offseason should be a FA again once it's time for Amari to get paid.

 

[raider5]

That last play to Antonio Brown was such a bad play call...Amerson was playing like 9 yards away on a 3rd and 1! smh.