Whether the Raiders air it out or not has proven to be a factor in them winning or losing games a lot this season. It was certainly a factor in their loss last week in Buffalo and their win over the Chiefs the previous week.
It was noted last week, that Derek Carr’s average depth of target according to Pro Football Focus this season was just 4.45 yards off the line. That was 3.28 yards fewer than last season and nearly half the league average (8.70).
That changed in Miami.
The Raiders offense totaled seven plays of at least 20 yards, which is the most by the team in a game so far this season.
Two of those big plays were touchdowns — a 44-yard bomb to Johnny Holton and a 22-yard run by Marshawn Lynch, giving them a league-best 26 touchdowns of 20 yards or more since 2016.
You can see the Holton bomb here, and this is what Marshawn’s run looked like.
Hey, remember this? pic.twitter.com/CAQq60CI11
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 6, 2017
That 22-yard run by Marshawn was the longest of the season for him. It was his second touchdown run of the game, making for his first multi-touchdown game since the 2014 season.
As for the Holton bomb, it was the Miami native’s second career touchdown with both coming on his only two catches this season. His first touchdown was from 64 yards out in Week 4 against the Broncos.
The other plays of 20 yards or more were passes to Seth Roberts for 29 yards, Jared Cook for 35 and 27 yards, and Amari Cooper for 26 and 20 yards.
Other superlatives
- QB Derek Carr surpassed 13,000 passing yards in his career, just the fourth quarterback in team history to do so.
- Carr surpassed 300 yards passing for the third consecutive game.
- RB Marshawn Lynch passed Earl Campbell (12,665) on the NFL’s all-time rushing list.
- Lynch’s 55 touchdowns on the ground since 2011 lead the NFL.
- TE Jared Cook posted season highs in both receptions (8) and yards (126).
- Cook now leads the team with 39 catches for 499 yards on the season. He needs just 14 catches for 260 yards to set new season career highs.
- LB Bruce Irvin led the league in 2016 with six forced fumbles. He recorded his first of this season in the second quarter when he stripped the ball from RB Damien Williams. It was recovered by CB TJ Carrie.
- LB NaVorro Bowman led the team in tackles (10) for the third consecutive week — every game he’s played for the Raiders.
- T Donald Penn extended his starting streak to 165 games, the longest active streak in the NFL among offensive lineman.
- Tavecchio recorded a career-long on the final play of the second quarter with a 53-yard field goal. The score gave the Raiders a 13-9 lead at the half.
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