Storyline: The last time the Oakland Raiders overcame a 14-point deficit on the road was against Indianapolis in the second game of the 2000 season.
The Oakland Raiders went into New Orleans and plain stole a 35-34 victory from the Saints.
The Raiders played a horrible game in so many ways, but still came away with the W. The Raiders’ defense was scorched by QB Drew Brees with 423 yards passing and 4 TDs, including a 98-yard pass (a Saints’ record). Oakland racked up 14 penalties for 141 yards and the team was down by 14 points, on the road, in the second half.
Courtesy: bleacherreport.com
The Raiders that I know just don’t win games like this. Maybe these aren’t the same old Raiders? Maybe this team is good enough to have a wining season?
After thirteen years in an NFL abyss (as dark as their black jerseys) it’s about damn time. The last time the Raiders overcame a 14-point deficit on the road was against Indianapolis in the second game of the 2000 season.
That Raiders squad hadn’t sniffed the playoffs for seven seasons. They were close in 1999, finishing with an 8-8 record, in Jon Gruden and Rich Gannon’s first season together, and they looked to be on the upswing. They got down 21-0 to the Colts and a young Peyton Manning, but stormed back to win 38-31. It was the type of game the Raiders had been losing forever, but the comeback helped propel them to a 12-4 record and the first of three straight AFC West titles.
They always say history is bound to repeat its self, so let’s make that happen … please, oh ye gods of all things football! Not only was the comeback on the road so unlike recent Raider teams, but the call to go for two and the win was so Belichick-like. Jack Del Rio told the press after the game he chose to go for two before the drive even started.
Michael Crabtree catches 2-point conversion for the win (photos.nola.com)
Del Rio didn’t make the call out of pure desperation. He made it because of faith he has in his young QB, Derek Carr, to execute the offense and win the game.
If I’m watching the Patriots make that call, I’m pretty confident they will get the two points. But, on Sunday, I was pleading with Del Rio to take the game into OT.
These type of gambles seem to always go the wrong way for the Raiders. Sunday was different.
So the Raiders are 1-0 for only the second time since 2002 … and lived up to offseason hype for at least one game. They beat a Hall of Fame QB at the top of his game in a very hostile environment. They came out with the W while playing far from their best football.
It won’t mean anything if they can’t beat Atlanta next week in the home opener, but this type of win can stay with a team for a while. As a diehard member of Raider Nation I’d like to say I had every bit of confidence the team was going to win in New Orleans. But I was wary, too. Thirteen years of dark baggage is hard to toss aside, but this Raider team may finally do just that.
Game Day Observations
I’m always looking for progression in Derek Carr because QB is still the key piece of the entire puzzle. It was not his best game, but he was certainly clutch in the 4th quarter, making some big-time throws, especially the fade to Crabtree for the win. Pure perfection!
Plus, he didn’t turnover the ball late–or at all–which was a problem for Carr in 2015. And about that dive and flip in the first half … it was sublime. But to quote manager Lou Brown from Major League fame, “Nice catch kid. Don’t ever fucking do it again.”
Sunday wasn’t a great debut for free agent CB Sean Smith. He gave up a few deep passes, including the 98-yard TD strike … and then got benched. Coach Del Rio said he was benched for performance. He’s a good player who had a rough day. Hopefully Smith can redeem himself because D.J. Hayden is a penalty flag with cleats.
Jalen Richard v. the Saints (photos.nola.com)
What a storybook debut for Jalen Richard! He had a big 3rd down catch in the first that jump-started the offense. He had a nice punt return, too, but a penalty wiped it out.
Then came his first carry from scrimmage. Boom! Richard blazed his way through every Saints defender for a 75-yard TD that put the Raiders back in the game. The undrafted free agent from nearby Southern Mississippi was praised by the coaching staff all training camp and now The Nation knows why.
Kudos to the offensive line. Starting right tackle Menelik Watson went down with a groin pull. Then his replacement, Matt McCants, left the game with a knee injury. That caused the entire O-line to go into shuffle mode: Kelechi Osemele moved from left guard to left tackle, Donald Penn flipped from left tackle to right tackle, and backup Jon Feliciano came in at guard. All of this happened when the team only had 13 points. But Oakland went on to score 22 more points with a shuffled line and also didn’t give up a sack all game. Very impressive stuff from the grinders up front….
Oh, it’s that time of year already, you ask? Yes, the first game and I already need to chime in about the refs. After 14 penalties for 141 yards I have no choice. I’m sure some of the calls were valid, but seven holding calls on the Raiders and zero for the Saints? C’mon! How is that possible? Plus, Crabtree received a celebration penalty for tossing the ball high in the air, a call I’ve never seen before. (By the way it wasn’t called on the Patriot’s Chris Hogan later that night when he did the same exact thing. Just sayin’….)
Player of the Game
There are a lot of options on the offensive side, but I’m going with WR Michael Crabtree. ‘King Crab’ secured the winning catch in his mighty hands for the win. He mentioned after the game that he had trouble sleeping because he was haunted by Super Bowl memories in that stadium. Crab had three chances at the end of that Super Bowl and never came down with the ball.
Raider Nation is just glad he was around to make ‘that‘ catch on Sunday.
