Tag: Oakland Raiders

Bengals vs. Raiders: How to watch, listen and stream Week 11

Here’s how to watch Bengals vs. Raiders.

The Cincinnati Bengals take to the west coast for a late kickoff against the Oakland Raiders in Week 11.

The hosts have won two in a row and have a winning record as they hope to stick behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. A strong ground-based attack continues to deliver.

Those visiting Bengals remain winless and risk 0-10, one of the worst starts ever for the franchise. Rookie passer Ryan Finley will make his second start, though he still won’t have playmakers like A.J. Green or John Ross on the field.

 

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Oakland Raiders on Sunday, November 17 (4:25 p.m. ET)

TV info: CBS

Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

Radio: Cincinnati – WCKY-AM (1530), Cincinnati – WEBN-FM (102.7), Cincinnati – WLW-AM (700)

Location: RingCentral Coliseum

Forecast: Cloudy, 48 degrees

Referee: Shawn Smith

Odds: Oakland -10.5

[Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.]

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Who should Chargers fans root for in Week 11?

While fans are gearing up for the Monday matchup against the Chiefs, Chargers’s Wire Gavino Borquez gives you the rooting guide for Sunday.

Playoff hopes are still alive for the Los Angeles Chargers, despite sitting at an underwhelming 4-6 record. Depending on how some of the games go today, it could help their postseason aspirations.

With that, here are the teams that Chargers fans should be rooting for on Sunday, leading up into the Monday night matchup between the Bolts and the Chiefs.

Early games of note

Texans at Ravens

A loss to Houston would put them at 6-4 and would only open up the Wild Card situation a little bit more. The Texans currently hold the No. 3 seed in the AFC, but would be pushed down if the Colts defeat the Jaguars.

Jaguars at Colts

With quarterback Nick Foles back under center, a win by Jacksonville would put both teams at a 5-5 record and would give some leeway for the Chargers with the Wild Card standings.

Bills at Dolphins

Coming off an upset victory over the Colts, Miami will look to make it two in a row. If they beat Buffalo, it would drop them to 6-4. Again, it would affect the Wild Card standings.

Later games of note

Bengals at Raiders

Cincinnati has yet to win a game, but getting their first against Oakland would be huge for the Chargers, who are still in tight contention for the AFC West. A loss to the Raiders would drop them back to .500

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Russell Wilson continues to excel when facing pressure

Despite facing pressure at the third highest rate in the NFL, Russell Wilson has the league’s second best passer rating against pressure.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has always handled being under pressure well, and the 2019 season is no different.

So far this season, Wilson has a passer rating of 108.7 when under pressure, which ranks second in the NFL behind Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders (109.2).

The key difference, however, is that Wilson has still seen the third highest rate of pressure (41.8 percent of dropbacks) this season – despite clear evidence that he succeeds when faced with it.

Of course, Wilson’s passer rating without pressure is still much better, so teams may just be taking the lesser of two evils by applying pressure. Wilson does end up getting sacked quite a bit, as a veteran offensive line has battled injuries and ineffectiveness for much of the season, which has forced Wilson to use his legs more than in years past.

The Seahawks are 8-2 thanks almost exclusively to Wilson’s heroics throughout the season, and the MVP candidate will take a much deserved break this weekend before heading to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in Week 12.

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Ryan Finley’s development and other top storylines for Bengals vs. Raiders

Here are some top storylines in Bengals vs. Raiders.

The Cincinnati Bengals don’t have an easy task in front of them against the Oakland Raiders if Zac Taylor is to avoid matching Dave Shula’s 0-10 start.

An A.J. Green-led injury report isn’t kind to the Bengals, nor is the state of the opposition. The Raiders have won two in a row, sit at 5-4 and appear on an upswing.

Here are some of the top storylines to know heading into the game.

 

Ryan Finley’s development: Last week was Finley’s welcome-to-the-NFL moment. The fourth-round pick accounted for 14 Ravens points off his turnovers in a 49-13 loss. That would’ve lost the Bengals the game if the Ravens offense hadn’t scored at all. But coaches spoke highly of Finley and understand growing pains were part of the plan. Can he eliminate some of those behind a messy offensive line against a Raiders defense with 20 sacks and 57 pressures? Whether he can or not has much more riding on the outcome than this week alone.

Revving up the running game: Joe Mixon and Co. have been silent for most of the season. The backs themselves, poor line play and equally bad scheme approach played a part. But that started to change out of the bye against the Ravens. Mixon carried it 30 times for 114 yards, and while that isn’t even four yards per tote, it’s a whole lot better than what the team put on the board in the prior eight games. If the ground game can keep trending in the right direction, it betters the chance of a win because it keeps a struggling defense off the field.

Defensive pulse: Is there a pulse at all? Coming out of a bye, the Bengals let the Ravens put up 35 points on just 23:49 of possession at 8.2 yards per pop with a four of six mark on third down. Lamar Jackson is good, but the performance wasn’t exactly out of line with past pre-bye showings. Now the task for the Bengals defense it taking a lengthy trip and attempting to stop stellar rookie running back Josh Jacobs, who has 811 yards and seven scores on a 4.8 per-carry average. Don’t forget Derek Carr, owner of a 70.8 completion percentage with 14 touchdowns against four interceptions. Preston Brown got cut and rookie Germaine Pratt will keep seeing developmental snaps, but will anything change?

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Raiders mid-season awards: Breakout and Surprise player

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.

Breakout player: TE Darren Waller

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.

Surprise player: DE Benson Mayowa

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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Bengals-Raiders injury report tabs A.J. Green, Drew Sample and Lamarcus Joyner out

Here’s the final injury report for Bengals-Raiders.

The Cincinnati Bengals don’t get any notable returns from the injury report in Week 11.

With A.J. Green still rehabbing after a setback coming out of the bye, the star wideout joins two other players listed as out.

One, rookie tight end Drew Sample, might end up on injured reserve. The other, Alex Redmond, is a backup offensive lineman. Speaking of injured reserve, the Bengals sent starting cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick there this week, essentially shutting him down so he could focus on recovery.

Geno Atkins is listed as questionable but should be good to go after some maintenance days. Ditto for right tackle Bobby Hart.

As for the Raiders, tackle Trent Brown and returner Dwayne Harris are listed as 50-50 to play. Defensive back Lamarcus Joyner and tackle David Sharpe are out.

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Former Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict rips NFL after Browns-Steelers fight

Vontaze Burfict took aim at Roger Goodell and the NFL.

It was only natural Vontaze Burfict’s name was going to come up.

When the fight between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers went down Thursday night — with suspensions that have a big impact on the Cincinnati Bengals — Burfict started trending on social media.

It isn’t hard to see why the former Bengals and current Oakland Raiders linebacker came up. He was suspended for the year after a hit on Sept. 29.

Burfict spoke out this time by giving a lengthy interview about the situation with Vic Tafur of The Athletic:

“The NFL had to suspend somebody for that last night, since that wasn’t a football act. My suspension was a football act,” Burfict said. “I was hitting somebody. I wasn’t taking a helmet off and swinging it at somebody.”

He continued, noting he turned the game off so his daughters wouldn’t see it: “I don’t want them to see that. Because that’s not what I do. That’s not part of football. I hit people on the field during the game. And they say that’s dirty, yeah, whatever. I get hit, too, during the games, so don’t complain. It’s football, bro.”

Burfict also had some choice words for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and those involved with the decision-making process that resulted in his season-ending ban.

While the former Bengals linebacker said he’s a target and he can’t change the media narrative around him no matter his off-field work, Burfict added he’ll attempt to make a return to the league next season.

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Raiders final injury report: CB Lamarcus Joyner OUT for Sunday

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

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:

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.

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.

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Steelers loss puts Raiders in driver’s seat for wild-card berth

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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