This game started out like a dream for Raiders fans. They caused the first 2 drives by the Redskins to go 3 and out, and then better yet they blocked the second punt and recovered it for a TD. Within 5 minutes of the start of the game it already was 7-0 Oakland.
It was a terrible performance for Matt Flynn in this game besides one solid drive. The first time the Raiders had the ball it was clear the same problems that hampered Matt this preseason followed him into this game. Despite two nice runs by Darren McFadden, a batted down pass and a sack ended things quickly on their first drive.
The next time the Raiders had the ball though Flynn handled the drive very well, it was his only good drive of the day. He consistently took what the defense was giving him and led the team all the way down to the endzone to make the score 14-0. It seemed like the Raiders were on their way to a route but that was just wishful thinking.
The TD was a nice pass to Mychal Rivera for the rookie TE's first touchdown of his career. Unfortunately the Redskins drove down for a field goal and then Flynn followed that drive up with a terrible pick 6 when he tried to force a pass in and it was intercepted and returned for a TD. The game started out 14-0 but just like that it was 14-10.
It looked like the Raiders were going to punt it away after a 3rd down play deep in their own territory came up an inch short of the 1st down but Dennis Allen showed some brass by calling a fake punt. It was a great call, though it would've been heavily criticised had they not gotten the yards needed. It didn't matter though as they had to punt it later in the drive anyway.
The Raiders defense was still playing aggressively and stopped the Redskins on the rest of their drives in the 1st half. Too bad the Redskins returned the favor by stopping the Raiders offense as well so the score at the half was 14-10 Oakland.
The Raiders won the coin toss to open the game and elected to defer so they started out the 2nd half with the ball and the lead. Unfortunately the bad Matt Flynn was still on the field, as opposed to the rarely seen good version. It would have been big for the team to score on that first drive but they went the opposite route instead by going 3 and out.
The Raiders defense again corraled RG3 from making any plays though and forced a 3 and out from the Redskins in return. Once again Oakland had the ball and the lead, and once again they failed to get a first down. Terrelle Pryor's speed is definitely sorely missed while watching Flynn get engulfed in the Redskins pass rush.
The Raiders defense decided they had enough of trading punts though and stripped the Redskins TE after a long reception. The Raiders offense still couldn't move the ball but the defense had gotten them good enough field position for a 52 yard field goal attempt.
Sebastian Janikowski must have been jealous that the offense was sucking so bad though and wanted in on the action too. He booted the kick to the left of the upright where everybody knew the moment it left his foot that it was no good. Chalk it up as yet another failed opportunity by the Raiders.
There are only so many missed chances that a team can have before their opponent gains some momentum from them. This was the case after the missed field goal by Janikowski as the Redskins ripped out all the hearts of Raider Nation by scoring a TD on 3rd down to take the lead 17-14.
A holding call and 2 sacks ended the Raiders next drive quickly and the ball went right back to Washington. Thankfully the Raiders must have tricked them into believing when you have the lead and the ball you must make sure to do nothing with it and they ended up just trading punts with no further harm being done.
Once again the Raiders could do nothing with the ball though so back to Washington with only 11 minutes left in the game. Thankfully this Oakland defense is legit and they held strong to get the ball back for their offense. Say what you want about this Matt Flynn led offense but the defense definitely played this game with a lot of heart.
Sadly Flynn continued to show absolutely no awareness of pressure. He actually had the offense moving into Washington territory before his obliviousness to the rush struck again. This time it struck in the form of a sack and fumble when the rusher stripped Flynn from behind while he tried to throw. Just 3 plays later the Redskins were in the endzone scoring their 24th unanswered point to make the score 24-14 with less than 7 minutes to go.
Finally Oakland's offense showed some life for the first time since the first quarter as they drove the ball into the redzone. Too bad they got stopped once they got there. They went for it on a 4th down try while in field goal range and down by 10 with 4 minutes to go. They should have just taken the points but instead they were stopped on their attempt to go for it.
The Redskins ran the clock down to 21 seconds before punting the ball back to Oakland. The Raiders did nothing with the remaining time and the Redskins held on for the 24-14 win. It was a heartbreaking loss considering the Raiders led 14-0 after the first quarter only to give up 24 unanswered points to lose.
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