Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Cincinnati keeps its hold on the top slot in the 2020 draft for now after falling to 0-10.
Another week down and some teams continue to have their records fall and their hopes for a better draft pick rise after the 11th week of the NFL season.
The Chargers have lost seven games and have an immediate problem at quarterback as Philip Rivers seems to have been run down by Father Time. Highly unlikely he gets to that coveted Super Bowl and what will the Bolts do since their pick likely won’t be high enough to grab one of the elite QBs.
Raiders sign former Bengals LB Preston Brown, place Dwayne Harris on injured reserve
Five days ago, a long-time starting linebacker hit the open market. And the Raiders, with their seemingly constant need at the position, have scooped him up. Preston Brown was cut by the Bengals despite starting all but one game in which he appeared the past two seasons.
Though he played for the Bengals, Brown never played for Paul Guenther as he joined the team after Guenther left to join Jon Gruden’s staff in Oakland.
The Bengals had re-signed Brown this offseason. He was Mayock’s third-ranked linebacker in the 2014 draft out of Louisville and was selected in the third round by the Buffalo Bills,
Brown had massive production over his first four seasons in Buffalo, putting up 126 tackles per season, including 135 and 144 tackles in his last two seasons there in 2016-17. He signed a one-year deal in Cincinnati in 2018, hoping to earn a long term deal, but having his season upended by a knee injury after just 7 games.
To make room for Brown, the Raiders placed wide receiver/kick returner Dwayne Harris on injured reserve. Harris was injured in the second game of the season and has struggled to get healthy ever since. The team finally gave up on him being consistently healthy this season and ended his season.
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The Patriots have been the dominant team of the 2010s. How has everyone else fared?
The 2010s are coming to an end. Time to look at the good, bad and ugly seasons and records for all 32 NFL teams in this decade after Week 11 of the NFL season.
There is no surprise the Browns are at the bottom of the list. They have been awful throughout the decade. Turning things around last year have not made a dent in the damage.
Raiders Week 11 snap counts: SS DJ Swearinger makes instant impact in limited snaps
A week ago today, DJ Swearinger was meeting his new teammates in Oakland for the first time. That’s not a lot of time to get acclimated to the new scheme he was about to be thrust into, replacing the injured Karl Joseph. For that reason, it seemed to make the most sense to ease him into things. Or not.
When the starting offense took the field early in the first quarter, out came Swearinger at safety alongside Erik Harris. And on that first play, Swearinger would make his first tackle as a Raider.
He didn’t stay in the game, however. The entire game, he was swapping in and out with Curtis Riley, who, like Swearinger, had a tackle on his first play of the game.
By the end of it, Swearinger and Riley had split the snaps on defense 60 percent to 40 percent, respectively, and Swearinger led the team in tackles. He had seven combined tackles (five solo) to lead all defenders despite having the tenth-most snaps on defense.
In other news, fellow newcomer Dion Jordan had his first sack in his debut, just four days after joining the team off his ten-game suspension. He played 16 snaps (25%).
| Offense | Defense | Special Teams | |||||
| Player | Pos | Num | Pct | Num | Pct | Num | Pct |
| Kolton Miller | T | 70 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 13% |
| Gabe Jackson | G | 70 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 13% |
| Richie Incognito | G | 70 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 13% |
| Derek Carr | QB | 70 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Rodney Hudson | C | 70 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Trent Brown | T | 69 | 99% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 13% |
| Darren Waller | TE | 66 | 94% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Tyrell Williams | WR | 51 | 73% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Zay Jones | WR | 48 | 69% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Josh Jacobs | RB | 45 | 64% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Foster Moreau | TE | 41 | 59% | 0 | 0% | 14 | 61% |
| Hunter Renfrow | WR | 31 | 44% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Derek Carrier | TE | 20 | 29% | 0 | 0% | 18 | 78% |
| Alec Ingold | FB | 17 | 24% | 0 | 0% | 11 | 48% |
| Jalen Richard | RB | 16 | 23% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| DeAndre Washington | RB | 9 | 13% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 13% |
| Marcell Ateman | WR | 5 | 7% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Brandon Parker | T | 2 | 3% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 13% |
| Erik Harris | SS | 0 | 0% | 63 | 100% | 9 | 39% |
| Trayvon Mullen | CB | 0 | 0% | 63 | 100% | 6 | 26% |
| Tahir Whitehead | LB | 0 | 0% | 63 | 100% | 5 | 22% |
| Daryl Worley | CB | 0 | 0% | 63 | 100% | 5 | 22% |
| Nicholas Morrow | LB | 0 | 0% | 59 | 94% | 9 | 39% |
| Nevin Lawson | CB | 0 | 0% | 57 | 90% | 8 | 35% |
| Maxx Crosby | DE | 0 | 0% | 49 | 78% | 8 | 35% |
| Clelin Ferrell | DE | 0 | 0% | 41 | 65% | 3 | 13% |
| Johnathan Hankins | DT | 0 | 0% | 41 | 65% | 3 | 13% |
| D.J. Swearinger | SS | 0 | 0% | 38 | 60% | 0 | 0% |
| P.J. Hall | DT | 0 | 0% | 35 | 56% | 0 | 0% |
| Maurice Hurst | DT | 0 | 0% | 30 | 48% | 5 | 22% |
| Curtis Riley | FS | 0 | 0% | 25 | 40% | 15 | 65% |
| Benson Mayowa | DE | 0 | 0% | 19 | 30% | 2 | 9% |
| Josh Mauro | DE | 0 | 0% | 18 | 29% | 0 | 0% |
| Dion Jordan | DE | 0 | 0% | 16 | 25% | 2 | 9% |
| Isaiah Johnson | CB | 0 | 0% | 7 | 11% | 13 | 57% |
| William Compton | LB | 0 | 0% | 6 | 10% | 12 | 52% |
| Kyle Wilber | LB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 20 | 87% |
| Dallin Leavitt | SS | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 18 | 78% |
| Keisean Nixon | CB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 14 | 61% |
| Trent Sieg | LS | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 35% |
| Trevor Davis | WR | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 35% |
| A.J. Cole | P | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 35% |
| Daniel Carlson | K | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 30% |
| Denzelle Good | G | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 13% |
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[lawrence-newsletter]
Rookie report card for the Raiders after Week 11 win
The Raiders won another game this week in part to their fantastic rookie class. The draft class scored a touchdown and made numerous plays on defense to help the team improve to 6-4. It’s truly developing into an all-time draft class for the Oakland Raiders.
Today, we will break down the performances from their entire draft class from 2019. Here is the team’s rookie report card after Week 11.
It wasn’t the biggest day for the No. 4 pick in the draft, but Ferrell’s play didn’t go unnoticed. He finished the game with one tackle and one pass deflection, that helped the Oakland defense get off the field. There were snaps throughout the game where he was near the quarterback for a potential sack, but he just wasn’t able to bring Ryan Finley down.
You can just about make the case every week that Josh Jacobs was Oakland’s best player. In Week 11, he carried the ball 23 times for 112 yards and added another 12 yards in the receiving game, as well. Jacobs’ only flaw on Sunday was a first-quarter fumble that gave the Bengals the ball back after Finley was stripped-sacked by Maxx Crosby. Jacobs doesn’t have a history of fumbling, so consider it just an anomaly for the potential Offensive Rookie of the Year award winner.
The No. 27 pick in the 2019 NFL draft suffered a shoulder injury in Week 1 and was placed on the injured reserve list. With Karl Joseph hurt and expected to fit free agency this offseason, expect Abram to slide back into the starting lineup in 2020.
[lawrence-newsletter]
Raiders win twice on Sunday with Bears loss
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Week 11 couldn’t have gone any better for the Oakland Raiders. They were able to secure their sixth win of the season and left that game relatively healthy. Other AFC wild-card contenders, such as the Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jacksonville Jaguars all suffered losses, improving Oakland’s playoff odds.
On top of that, the Chicago Bears lost their sixth game of the season, benching quarterback Mitchell Trubisky late in the fourth quarter – which the team says was because of an apparent hip injury. It’s evident that Chicago is not going to make the playoffs this season, and it is in danger of losing double-digit games with the Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, and Vikings still on the schedule.
With Week 11 almost in the books, the Bears’ first-round pick that is owned by Oakland currently sits at No. 14. That could quickly move inside of the top 10 as there are three other teams with an identical record as Chicago.
The Khalil Mack trade was once thought of as one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history. But if Chicago’s first-round pick this season ends up inside the top 15, it might not look so bad after all.
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[lawrence-newsletter]
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr righted Oakland’s ship early in the game with this week’s drive, using both his arm and his legs.
The Raiders defense carried Oakland to a 17-10 victory against the winless Bengals, but that doesn’t mean the offense didn’t have its moments.
Rookie running back Josh Jacobs finished with 112 rushing yards on 23 carries. Wide receiver Tyrell Williams and tight end Darren Waller both had more than 75 yards receiving.
But it was quarterback Derek Carr that stole the show in this week’s drive of the game, doing his best impression of the last Raiders QB to take the franchise to a Super Bowl, and to play under coach Jon Gruden, Rich Gannon.
By the time the drive started, Carr already completed his first 11 passes and pulled the Raiders even at 7-7 in the second quarter. Gannon was the last Raiders quarterback to start a game so efficiently, in 2001 under Gruden, according to the CBS broadcast.
Carr didn’t stop there. After a 10-yard run by Jacobs, Carr completed his first pass of the drive to wide receiver Tyrell Williams for 21 yards. A roughing the passer penalty pushed Oakland to the Bengals’ 34-yard line.
Gruden kept feeding Jacobs; the rookie ran twice for 14 yards, followed by a reception for three more and another rush, this one good for five, leading to the two-minute warning. A 3rd-and-2 play at the 12-yard line awaited.
After the break, Carr found wide receiver Hunter Renfrow for 10 more yards. Jacobs ran for a short gain. On second down, Carr just missed tight end Darren Waller in the end zone. Though his reception streak snapped, Carr wasn’t finished evoking Gannon, the former NFL MVP.
After a drop back on third down, Carr bolted for the end zone, bringing to mind many Gannon scrambles on the way to an electrifying TD run.
You love to see it.@derekcarrqb makes some absolute MAGIC on third and goal. #CINvsOAK pic.twitter.com/TUjTeZmQ7g
— Oakland Raiders (@Raiders) November 17, 2019
Carr and the offense scored just enough points to win, but that’s the keyword: win. Though Carr’s offense didn’t perform as they would have liked, they produced yards and were on the field for more than 35 minutes, giving the defense much-needed rest.
Gruden, meanwhile, must be proud of the coaching job he’s done with Carr. The quarterback’s gunslinger style is toned down, and a precise signal-caller, reminiscent of the crafty Gannon, is on display. Given Carr’s superior arm talent, the compromise is something to behold. The Raiders may have won ugly against a bad team, but Carr’s TD run was still a thing of beauty, capping this week’s drive of the game.
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Maxx Crosby deflects praise, attempts to shrug off 4-sack day ‘on to the next game’
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Over the first nine games, rookie Maxx Crosby was leading the Raiders with 25 pressures, but he didn’t have the sacks to show for it. It took just one big game from Clelin Ferrell last week against the Chargers, and he passed up Crosby for second on the team in sacks (3.5).
A strip-sack in the first quarter kept the Bengals from scoring and brought Crosby back to a tie with his rookie draft classmate for second on the team.
At that point, you’re thinking good for Crosby to get back into the sack race on the team. Three and a half sacks are pretty good and nearly matches the most sacks by any Raiders defender last season. But Crosby wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.
Crosby still had just the one sack heading into the fourth quarter. On the second play of the quarter, on third and 7, he got his second. Next drive, Crosby got his third. And the final Bengals possession, Crosby got into the backfield for his fourth.
His four-sack game is a new Raiders rookie record, surpassing Greg Townsend, who had 3.0 sacks in a game in 1983. It also ties him for the second-most in NFL history by a rookie as only the fourth rookie in NFL history to have four sacks in a game.
That may seem like a difficult task, but perhaps not a difficult a task as trying to deflect praise for it.
Crosby went from saying “it was a collective unit” to “We owe the offense” to taking a page out of Bill Belichick’s book and twice saying, “it’s on to the next game.”
He did manage to say, “It was good to finally get some sacks” and added that “It was cool” and “It was an awesome day and an awesome win for us.” so that’s something. Though he brushed off the idea that having 25 pressures lead to just 2.5 sacks was in any way frustrating.
“Not really. The stats are stat,” said Crosby. “I’m just trying to do what I can and help my team, so if it’s getting pressures or making a stop on first down, that’s all that matters. The numbers are going to come if you just keep playing and working hard.”
Come, they did. And they came in bunches. It’s called being in the zone. Which, of course, he had to quickly turn the attention to his teammate who was in his own zone last week.
“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Crosby said. “Being a player, but. It’s like last week, Cle got his first one, and it was over from there. He knew he could be the guy all day. When you get in that rhythm, you’re feeling it, and the sacks start rolling in.”
Also, just like Ferrell, it took a few games for things to really click. Oddly, despite Crosby coming from Eastern Michigan and Ferrell from the National Champion Clemson Tigers, some of the NFL game seemed to come to Crosby much quicker. Even still, there’s something to be said for turning pressures and hits into sacks. Crosby broke through that barrier like a freight train Sunday. Yet again, Crosby credits someone else for his turnaround. His defensive line coach, Brentson Buckner.
“I think it comes down to coach Buck on the mental side of things,” Crosby added. “At first, I felt like everything was going so fast, and I was thinking too much, and my technique wasn’t all there. Having him, there is super helpful.”
It’s ok. Crosby doesn’t have to admit it or take credit for his unreal performance Sunday or how the signs were all there that he was headed for a big day like this. He can downplay it. We’ve seen it. We know. We’ve written the stories already about his potential and the pressures and how he has affected the game even without the sacks. Now we just get to write them about seeing that potential and those pressures seeing the reward of an incredible, record-setting performance.
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[lawrence-newsletter]
Rookies, defense once again make for unlikely heroes as Raiders win third straight
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Three weeks ago, the Raiders were sitting at 3-4, coming off a long road trip. They were happy to be home for the first time in seven weeks and needed to take advantage of it. To do that, they would need their defense to play a lot better than they had, and the rookies would be asked to step up to make up for some key losses.
They got both of those things, and the result has been three straight wins.
Sunday against the Bengals, we saw some familiar heroes to the previous two wins against the Lions and Chargers.
The first big play of the game came from Maxx Crosby, who sacked quarterback Ryan Finley and forced the fumble which the Raiders recovered.
Foster Moreau would score the Raiders’ first touchdown. Hunter Renfrow had key third-down conversions on each of the Raiders’ first two scoring drives. Josh Jacobs went over 100 yards on his first carry of the 4th quarter to lead off the final Raiders scoring drive to take a 17-10 lead.
They had that lead at the 2-minute mark when the Bengals got the ball at their own 20-yard line looking to drive for the tie.
In the first play, Crosby had his fourth (!!!) sack of the game. The next play Trayvon Mullen picked off Finley to seal the win.
Win streaks don’t happen like this without these kinds of contributions from unlikely places. But at some point, we can’t be surprised anymore where the heroics are coming from.
Two weeks ago against the Lions, the Raiders rookies scored all four touchdowns. Last week top pick Clelin Ferrell had a coming-out party with 2.5 sacks. The rookies were major factors again this week.
Each of the past three weeks, the game has been put in the hands of the defense to shut the door. The Lions drove to the goal line where, on fourth down, Karl Joseph knocked the pass down to end it.
Last week it was a pressure by Crosby, leading to an interception by Joseph that sealed the victory. And this week, it was the sack by Crosby followed by the interception by Mullen that ended it.
“If you’re going to win, you’ve got the lead, and they’ve got the ball, and the defense has got to close,” said Gruden. “That’s something that we’re getting better and better at. I think we’re actually looking forward to the challenges of going out there and finishing, but we always talked about the fourth-quarter pass rush. You can count sacks and stats in the first couple quarters, but when you get in a closing situation, that’s when you have to really end the game.”
It’s one thing for a veteran like Joseph to close out a game. It’s another thing for the defense to start playing the hero after how much they struggled early this season. And it’s another level to not only see the defense closing out games but that it’s rookie defenders doing it.
That was the first interception of Mullen’s NFL career. In his fourth start since he replaced Gareon Conley, who was traded to the Texans. Mullens’ emergence just makes for yet another rookie stepping up for this team.
“Guys just coming in and showing the capability and what they can do,” Mullen said of the Raiders rookie class. “How they prepare. How they take meetings seriously. How they want to elevate and get better. I think that’s the biggest thing. Everybody just wants to get better, everybody wants to see each other do good so that we can continue to win games and put ourselves in position for the rest of the season.”
In another one-score win, there was no way they do it without every contribution they got from their rookies, and most importantly, from their defense. A couple areas that a month ago, few could have predicted would be playing the hero. But here we are.
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[lawrence-newsletter]
Raider’s wire takes a look at the Winners and Losers from a close victory for the Oakland Raiders against the Cincinnati Bengals
The Oakland Raiders never want to give Raider Nation the day off. The Raiders got stuck in a battle with the 0-10 Cincinnati Bengals but came out with the victory in a 17-10 slugfest with the worst team in the league.
The Raider offense was able to move the football with ease but had two critical turnovers that led to the Bengals’ two scores. The offensive line had one of its worst games of the season, allowing a team that came into the game with 11 sacks to finish with three sacks on the stat sheet.
Carr was under pressure for most of the day and was able to maneuver to help keep the offense moving the football.
The Raiders’ defense continued its improvement with a dominant performance against an abysmal Bengals offense. They held the opponent to meager 4.2 yards per play and kept back up quarterback under constant pressure accumulating five sacks on the day. If the Raiders defense continues to improve, it will for sure help the playoff run deep into the season.
Who stood out this week in the win against the Bengals? Let’s look at the winners and losers from the Week 11 victory, moving the Raiders to 6-4.
[lawrence-newsletter]
