Third times a charm, but in the case of the Oakland Raiders, this 3rd is not good, as they have now lost three games in a row. While they kept it competitive, the Silver and Black fell at home to the visiting Baltimore Ravens, 30-17. A fumble recovery for a touchdown by Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith early in the game gave Baltimore momentum the Ravens never looked back.
Oakland offensively was inconsistent with backup quarterback EJ Manuel at the helm. While he wasn’t terrible, completing 13 of 26 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown, the passing game lacked energy all afternoon.
Manuel had a few nice completions in place of the injured Derek Carr, but Oakland certainly missed their star quarterback. Hopefully he’ll be ready, possibly for their next game at home versus the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers.
Oakland got a better effort out of its ground game this week compared to last. The Raiders backfield combined to have 108 rushing yards on 25 carries. Marshawn Lynch was able to find holes in the defense and would score to bring the game within a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to spark the Raiders to victory.
What hurt the Raiders the most in this game was the few big plays they surrendered in the passing game. While Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco wasn’t anything special, he did complete 19 of 26 passes for 222 yards, averaging 8.5 yards per attempt.
It seemed like every other possession the Ravens were on the Raiders’ side of the 50-yard line, waiting to put up some points on the board. Oakland held the Ravens to two offensive touchdowns and three field goals. However, the early Jared Cook fumble that resulted in the Smith touchdown created the gap Oakland could just never overcome.
Oakland is now 2-3 and could be three games back of the Kansas City Chiefs should Kansas City improve to 5-0 on the year against the Houston Texans. This was a game the Raiders could have definitely won, but an undermanned Oakland squad, just didn’t have enough firepower to knock off the Ravens. The Raiders will take on the in-state rival LA Chargers.
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