The Raiders are stacking up the ugly blowout losses now. This one was at least competitive for the first half, albeit a shootout. By the third quarter, the shootout was over and the shooting themselves in the feet was in full effect. And a couple minutes into the fourth quarter, the rout was on.

Things looked bleak initially, with the Titans driving inside the Raiders 20-yard-line on their opening drive. But the tide turned back quickly with a tipped ball the was hauled in by Maurice Hurst and returned 55 yards to flip the field. The Raiders capitalized on it to get on the board first and the two teams swapped scores most of the first half after that, with just one punt.

It didn’t last, but, hey, the Raiders did score 21 points this time. They didn’t reach double digits in their previous two blowout losses. Baby steps.

Ballers: C Rodney Hudson, LG Richie Incognito, LT Kolton Miller

The center through the left side of the Raiders’ offensive line was putting in some good work in this game. After the turnover that gave the Raiders a short field, Hudson and Incognito laid key blocks to spring DeAndre Washington to go 14 yards for the touchdown.

Things shifted back to the Titans by the start of the second quarter after two straight scores to take a 14-7 lead. The Raiders needed an answer and they got it with a broken coverage leading to a wide-open 49-yards touchdown from Rico Gafford.

But for that to happen, first the Raiders had to convert on third and two. Thanks to big blocks from Incognito and Miller, Jalen Richard broke off a 10-yard run. Hudson blocked for a Richard 4-yard run on the next play. Two plays later, the Gafford touchdown tied it up at 14-14.

Obviously, the Raiders were unable to mount any long drives in the third, but whenever either Richard or Washington would get a chunk run, it was Hudson who was leading the way. And Miller kept the Titans pass rush out of the backfield.

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