Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Best 80 images from the Raiders Week 11 win over Bengals
The Raiders won an ugly game on Sunday to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 17-10. They were led by quarterback Derek Carr, who completed 25 of 29 passes for 292 yards. Oakland has improved to 6-4 and they are in a prime position to steal a wild card spot this season.
To relive the team’s Week 11 win, here are the best pictures via USA Today and Getty Images:
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Raiders get sixth win of season, defeat Bengals 17-10
The Oakland Raiders got their sixth-win of the season on Sunday, defeating the Bengals 17-10. While it wasn’t a dominating win that many hoped for or expected, Oakland was able to move the ball up and down the field for most of the day.
Outside of one poor throw, Derek Carr was on fire against the Bengals as he completed 14 straight passes to open up the game. On top of Carr’s successful passing day, the Raiders were able to run the ball up and down the field on the Bengals to a tune of 115 yards.
The Raiders now sit at 6-4 and are in a prime position to steal a wild card berth this season. Given their upcoming schedule, that doesn’t seem all that unrealistic.
Here are the Raiders’ statistical leaders from their Week 11 win:
Leading Passer: QB Derek Carr – 25 of 29 for 292 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.
Leading Rusher: RB Josh Jacobs – 23 carries for 112 yards
Leading Receiver: WR Tyrell Willams – 4 receptions for 82 yards
Leading Tackler: SS D.J. Swearinger – 7 tackles (5 solo)
Leading Sacker: DE Maxx Crosby – 4 sacks (5 total tackles)
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Raiders-Bengals inactives: Newly signed DJ Swearinger, Dion Jordan will play
This week the Raiders signed a new safety and a new defensive end. Both are active today against the Bengals.
Safety DJ Swearinger was added to the squad last Saturday following the loss of Karl Joseph to a season-ending injury, leaving the safety position thin. With Lamarcus Joyner inactive with a hamstring injury, the Raiders will have just three safeties in Erik Harris, Curtis Riley, and DJ Swearinger. Cornerback Daryl Worley could potentially play some safety in a pinch.
Defensive end Dion Jordan came off a 10-game suspension this week, and the first eligible day for him to join his new teammates was Wednesday. With the injury to Arden Key, Jordan could see some work on third down and obvious passing situations.
Raiders
WR Keelan Doss
WR/RS Dwayne Harris
CB Lamarcus Joyner
QB DeShone Kizer
C Erik Magnuson
DT Terrell McClain
T David Sharpe
Notes: Nevin Lawson will handle slot corner duties with Lamarcus Joyner out.
Bengals
G Alex Redmond
LT Cordy Glenn
QB Jake Dolegala
TE Drew Sample
WR A.J. Green
CB Torry McTyer
DE Anthony Zettel
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Raiders wire looks at the three keys to victory for the Raiders in their Week 11 matchup against the Bengals.
Week 10 was an incredible boost for the Raiders with teams in front of them in playoff position having massive upsets. The losses of the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs set up the Raiders correctly with an easy schedule coming up down the stretch.
The easy part starts this week with a matchup against the winless Cincinnati Bengals, who are coming of an embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Bengals are the worst team in football and are torpedoing for the first pick overall in the 2020 draft. At this point, they are abysmal on both sides of the football.
The scenario creates a trap game for the Raiders, especially with the Pittsburgh Steelers losing to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. The Raiders need to handle business and solidify themselves as a playoff contender and not fall back into old habits. It is a crucial game for the Raiders, no matter the opponent.
What are the keys to securing a win against the Bengals Sunday afternoon in Oakland? Let’s look at the three keys to victory for the Raiders in Week 11:
Josh Jacobs has proven he is worth as a first-round pick with his stellar play so far this season. Jacobs leads all rookies in rushing yards and touchdowns and is number one graded running back according to Pro Football Focus. On Sunday, expect Jacobs to dominate against one the worst run defenses in the NFL.
The Bengals are last in the NFL in rushing yards per game allowed with a whopping 173 yards allowed per game. They have been dominated up front all year with a front seven full of injuries giving up huge plays in the run game. Last week the Ravens only passed the ball 17 times and won 49-13 using the run game to dominate and overwhelmed the Bengals defense.
The Raiders gameplan should be no different using Jacobs to keep drives alive and force the Bengals to become one dimensional on offense. Expect Jon Gruden to call plenty of run plays early to set the tone for the offense and to roll over the Bengals with the Raiders mismatch in the trenches.
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Raiders mid-season awards: Breakout and Surprise player
As of Thursday night, when the Browns took down the Steelers, the Raiders moved inside the bubble for an AFC Wildcard spot. They’ve already won more games this season than they won all of last season. For that to happen, it takes a few breakout players and surprises.
This time a year ago, Waller was wallowing in obscurity on the Ravens’ practice squad. A little over a week later, the Raiders signed him away from the Ravens. There was little reason for anyone to think Waller would make a massive impact for the Raiders. He had just 12 catches for 103 yards in his career, which included several suspensions for substance abuse issues.
He showed some skills early on over the final four games of the 2018 season, but still nothing that would suggest the Raiders were looking at a bonafide future star. Then came the start of the 2019 season, and in two games, he eclipsed his entire career receptions and receiving totals form his career in Baltimore. And in his third game, he blew all of those numbers out of the water as well.
Waller is the Raiders’ leading receiver by a wide margin, and it earned him a long term extension with the team. He has broken out big time. From the shackles of his addiction and the shadows of the NFL.
We all know pass rushers are at a premium in the NFL. And yet Mayowa, in his prime, wasn’t signed until over a month into free agency. By that point, all the ‘waves’ had since past, and the scraps were washing up onshore. That’s when the Raiders signed the 28-year-old to a one-year deal.
Mayowa has gone on to lead the team with 7.0 sacks in nine games. He is a bit of a one-trick pony. He is a speed rusher, designed for obvious passing situation. But that has rarely stopped teams from spending big money on a player. Signing a guy who can put pressure on the quarterback on third and long is a valuable thing. So, why didn’t Mayowa get that kind of respect in free agency?
Well, because he is a journeyman former undrafted free agent who had just 13.0 career sacks in six NFL seasons. His career-high was 6.0 sacks, which means in nine games this season in Oakland, he has already set a new career-high. And he’s done it despite averaging around 30% of the defensive snaps, fewest of any of the team’s defensive ends.
I think it’s safe to say no one expected this level of production from Mayowa
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‘Light came on’ for Raiders rookie DE Clelin Ferrell, now he needs to ‘keep it going’
In the season opener against the Broncos, Raiders fourth overall pick Clelin Ferrell got his first sack. I asked him about it after the game, and he responded that it was a relief to get it out of the way, so there wouldn’t be so much pressure to get his first NFL sack. Seven games later, he was still sitting on that one sack. Last week that changed in a big way.
Ferrell got to Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers three times in the Thursday night affair for a total of 2.5 sacks. And just like that, Ferrell was second on the team in sacks behind Benson Mayowa (7.0).
To be fair, the entire Raiders line was feasting on the Chargers’ two backup tackles, not just Ferrell. But imagine if even in this favorable position, Ferrell still couldn’t get into the backfield? All he can do is beat the man in front of him, and that’s what he did.
Admittedly when it comes to pass rushers, especially those selected as high in the draft as Ferrell, a lot of emphases are placed on sacks. Perhaps too much. After all, being an every-down starting defensive end is about so much more than getting the quarterback. And even when it is about that, it isn’t always all about sacks. Hits and pressures are also important, as was also shown against the Chargers.
There’s also the matter of run defense. If an end can’t defend the run, he won’t see a lot of time on first and second down. When you consider that aspect of the game, it was the week prior against the Lions that Ferrell really started to turn things around. He only built upon that performance to bring some pass rush last week.
“He’s coming off his best game,” said Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. “I really think the light came on for him in the second half of the Detroit game. Walking off the field with him, I was like, ‘I think the light just came on for you. Really.’ And then he went out against the Chargers and played really good.”
According to Guenther, it wasn’t just Ferrell’s performance on the field that caused him to believe Ferrell had turned the corner; it was the look in Ferrell’s eyes. Something I’m sure Ferrell confirmed against the Chargers five days later.
The way Guenther has been deploying Ferrell also contributed to Ferrell’s ineffectiveness in the first half of the season. He moved Ferrell inside a lot on obvious passing downs, limiting his chances to get after the quarterback. That’s not to say that was the only reason Ferrell wasn’t making a significant impact because there was no proof of that, but things aligned for him against the Chargers.
Arden Key was placed on injured reserve, and Josh Mauro was out injured as well, putting the Raiders a bit shorthanded. They couldn’t move Ferrell and Mauro inside and bring in edge rushers. Instead, fellow rookie Maxx Crosby started on the other side, and Ferrell was given a chance to get after the quarterback against a backup who was ill-prepared, coming into the game for Russell Okung, who left with an injury.
Everything was aligned for Ferrell. All he needed to do was seize the opportunity. And he did. In a big way. It can’t end there, though. For Ferrell, this needs to be the start of something.
“Yeah, he needs to keep it going,” Guenther added. “[Head] Coach [Jon Gruden] just got done saying you know, ‘with Michael Jordan’s height, you’ve got to get him the ball.”
Sunday Guenther’s former team, the Bengals, comes to Oakland. Guenther had a few defensive ends he drafted there who had Jordan height. Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap, in particular, come to mind. He saw them in Ferrell, which prompted his drafting. Both of whom have had long careers in the league. Dunlap got his second sack in his seventh game, Johnson, in week 12.
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Raiders final injury report: CB Lamarcus Joyner OUT for Sunday
The Raiders have announced their final injury report of the week and there are two players have been ruled out; starting slot corner Lamarcus Joyner and swing tackle David Sharpe. Trent Brown is also listed as questionable with a knee injury as well as kick returner Dwayne Harris. Below is the team’s full injury from Friday:
Watch: How Lyle Alzado rule came to be which Myles Garrett broke to receive indefinite suspension
Late in the Thursday Night Football game in Cleveland, Myle Garrett put a late hit on Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph. Rudolph took exception to it, and a pretty horrific sight ensued.
Garrett would grab Rudolph’s facemask while Rudolph was on the ground, rip his helmet off his head, and slam the helmet across the top of Rudolph’s head. Take a look:
.@MylesLGarrett – There are consequences for your actions, young man. I hope you learn from this and understand that you did more harm to the game, than good.
The league will hand out a punishment and you need to accept it.
— WALTER JONES (@BigWalt71) November 15, 2019
What should Myles Garrett’s punishment be?? This is gross for our league! pic.twitter.com/hXqfOEhnx5
— Bruce Gradkowski (@bgradkowski5) November 15, 2019
Obviously swinging a helmet at an unprotected player is a considerably dangerous thing to do. Rudolph was lucky to not receive serious injury from it.
The NFL acted swiftly to punish Garrett and others for their parts in the fight. Garrett was suspended indefinitely, which is to include at least the rest of this season and the playoffs, with him needing to seek permission from the commissioner to be reinstated.
Steelers, Browns organizations each fined $250,000.
Browns' Garrett, Ogunjobi & Steelers' Pouncey suspended. pic.twitter.com/HJ4Qnc4xsY
— Michael Signora (@NFLfootballinfo) November 15, 2019
The thing is, for there to be a rule such as this, someone had to have been the first to do it. And it may not surprise you, that player was former Raiders defensive end, Lyle Alzado. The rule was named after him.
Her,e former Raiders linebacker Matt Millen remembers the moment Alzado committed the foul that led to the rule. Though in this case, it was throwing the helmet as a projectile, not swinging it as a weapon as Garrett did. But the NFL made sure they used this opportunity to cover all possible uses of the helmet as a weapon.
35 years ago, 1/15/1983, #Raiders temperamental DE Lyle Alzado vs Jets OT Chris Ward clash occurrence. pic.twitter.com/DRuqVmBsq0
— AFL GODFATHER (@NFLMAVERICK) January 15, 2018
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Steelers loss puts Raiders in driver’s seat for Wild Card berth
Heading into Week 11, the Raiders, Steelers, and Colts all had the same record (5-4) and were competing for the final wild-card slot in the AFC. But on Thursday night, Pittsburgh fell to the Browns, 21-7, dropping its record down to 5-5.
With an incredibly easy schedule coming up, the Raiders are now in prime position to steal one of the wild-card spots. Oakland will face off against the 0-9 Bengals on Sunday and then will travel to New York to play the 2-7 Jets.
If the Raiders can win those two games, they should start to open up some distance between them and the Steelers and Colts. Both Indianapolis and Pittsburgh have a fairly easy schedule coming up, so getting wins over the next two games against lesser opponents is critical.
Pittsburgh has opened the door for the Raiders to make the playoffs. Now it’s up to them to capitalize on that chance.
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Raiders QB Derek Carr knows firsthand what 0-9 Bengals are going through
Winless teams don’t stay that way forever. Each week they play, there is a chance that will be the week things fall the right way, and they pull out their first win. And it doesn’t always happen against the opponent against whom you think it will happen. Often times it’s a team you wouldn’t have expected.
This week the Raiders are hoping to not be THAT opponent as they face the 0-9 Bengals.
Aiding in their ability to fend off complacency is the fact that they have a quarterback and an offensive coordinator who has been here before.
Back in 2014, the Raiders, with rookie quarterback Derek Carr starting every game, and Greg Olson as offensive coordinator were 0-10 before getting their first win. And it wasn’t against a patty cake team either. That win came against a 7-3 Chiefs team coming off five straight wins.
No one thought the Raiders would win that game. If anything, they thought it would be a slaughter. But newly appointed starter Latavius Murray broke off two touchdown runs, and Derek Carr threw a late game-winning touchdown to James Jones to come out with a 24-20 victory.
Carr knows that you don’t take these kinds of games for granted, because it’s any given Sunday and stunners happen.
They are in the middle of installing their system. They are in the middle of trying to figure out what offense and defense fit with their personnel that they are trying to do and all those kinds of things, they are in the middle of that. So, who says it wouldn’t click this week, right? And so, I don’t care about records, man. I prepare every game as if this is the game and so there is no, ‘They haven’t won a game…’. I don’t care how many games they have or haven’t won, they got Pro Bowlers all over their football team and they are going to bring it, that’s for sure.
Every week the odds go up that the Bengals will get that first win. After all, it was just a couple weeks ago the Dolphins were 0-7, and now they’ve won two straight games. When the Raiders won their first game in 2014, they played .500 (3-3) football the rest of the way.
It’s a benefit to have your quarterback having been on a winless team, figured things out, and pulled out a big win. He knows not to overlook this opponent because he was that opponent once and overcame it. But his experience and outlook can’t simply rub off on the rest of the team. It’s the coaches’ jobs to instill that.
That’s where Greg Olson comes in, having coached Carr and the rest of the offense through that stretch. When he preaches to the players not to take the Bengals lightly, he speaks from experience.
Much like the Raiders in 2014 with Latavius Murray lighting a fire under the offense, the Bengals made a quarterback change last week to trying and shake things up. Rookie Ryan Finley replaced longtime starter, Andy Dalton.
Finley and the Bengals offense scored just 13 points last week against the Ravens, so there was no instant gratification to the change at quarterback. And who knows, Finley could end up like Derek Carr and start his career with a long losing streak. He could also surprise the Raiders because there isn’t a lot of NFL tape of him to study. After all, the Raiders have been most vulnerable against the pass all season,
The problems for the Bengals go well beyond their quarterback. For instance, they have the league’s worst defense.
These factors, along with the Raiders being 5-4 and going 4-1 at home (including the “home” game in London), are why the Raiders are 10.5-point favorites over the Bengals.
In case you were wondering, the Chiefs were 7-point favorites when they lost to the 0-10 Raiders in 2014. There can be no let-up in these Raiders. This week as much or more than any other.
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