Hi Raider Nation and welcome to this week’s Talking Touchdowns.
There isn’t an easy way to say this, but in the Raiders most important game of the season, they, without question, performed terribly. They sucked. Even Derek Carr said it sucked and said to put the blame on him, not one coach or other player. They faced the Chiefs, a team that lost six out of their last seven games, and lost. I can go on and on about what went down but these are some of the main points.
Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Against the league’s 30th ranked defense, the Raiders were shut out until Marshawn Lynch’s 22 yard touchdown run with eight min in the 4th quarter.
The Raiders had just four first downs in the first half and were outgained 347-104 yards through the first three quarters.
The Raiders managed one first down on their first three drives and on the fourth lost Amari Cooper to an ankle injury. Their first-half possessions went: punt, punt, punt, interception, punt.
Carr didn’t show up – we performed better towards the end but bottom line, it was all bad – we now fall to 6-7 and our chances to go to the playoffs are slim to none, but the show must go on right? Up next we play the Dallas Cowboys.
Oakland Raiders vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are coming off a 30-10 win over the Giants. They have a 7-6 record and are a game out of the final Wild Card spot in the NFC.
Ezekiel Elliott won’t be playing due to serving a 6 game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Rod Smith has been the majority RB since the Elliot Suspension.
Dak Prescott had a career day against the Giants throwing for 332 yards and three TD passes.
Dez Bryant and Cole Beasley are their two top wide receivers.
Game Prediction
This is pretty much a do or die game for both teams, so it will be interesting to see who wants it more. The Raiders have not given us much hope. They are a game under .500 and they are home underdogs against Dallas. The Raiders no longer have control over their destiny and will need major help to make it back to the playoffs this year. A lot of people want to see Todd Downing go, maybe even Jack del Rio. I would love to hear all your thoughts on this and the pivotal game coming up.
[NFL-Raiders-footer]Photo Credits:
- Derek Carr on wikimedia commons by Erik Drost
- Oakland Raiders on Wikimedia Commonsby Oakland Raiders
- Kansas City Chiefs on Wikimedia Commons by Kansas City Chiefs
- Marshawn Lynch on Wikipedia by Keith Allison
- Raiders Punton Wikimedia commons by BrokenSphere
- Amari Cooper on wikimedia commonsby Erik Drost
- Cowboys on Wikimedia Commons by Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants on Wikimedia Commons by New York Giants
- Ezekiel Elliott on Wikimedia Commons by Keith Allison
- Dak Prescott on flickr by Keith Allison
- Dez Bryant on Wikimedia Commons by Keith Allison
- Cole Beasley on Flickr by Keith Allison
- Jack Del Rio onWikimedia Commons by Jacob Sippel
