Raiders week 2 Ballers & Busters vs Jets

Coming off a big win in Tennessee in the season opener, the Raiders were back in Oakland for their home opener. And facing a woeful Jets team, it promised to be a fun one for those in Silver & Black.

The Raiders jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but 10-0 run by the Jets would make it a bit more interesting than anyone wanted before half time. Those scores were made possible in part by two terrible penalty calls, one of which was possibly the worst call I have ever seen by an officiating crew.

The horrendous one was on Bruce Irvin who made a perfect open field tackle on Matt Forte near the line, taking him down before the whistle. Pretty standard. And yet the officials threw the flag for unnecessary roughness AFTER the play. That was flatly false and the tackle wasn’t anything but a damn good one. I hate seeing flags like that on any football play regardless of the team. That’s football. You don’t penalize football players for making football plays.

Their next drive, the Raiders made the stop for a loss only to have Marquel Lee flagged for taunting. Upon review, the taunting was tantamount to quickly saying something (not yelling) to the player he had just tackled. And when I say quickly, I mean enough time to say at most two words, then turn and walk away. It’s like the officials are upset they don’t get to flag the players for celebrations anymore, so they’re making up their quota elsewhere.

That penalty moved them into field goal range and they pulled to 14-10. That was as close as they would come.

A touchdown off a muffed punt would make it 21-10 at halftime. After a Jets drive for a field goal to start the second half, the Raiders ran away with the game, rattling off 3 straight touchdowns, with the third coming off a strip sack inside the Jets’ 20-yard-line.

A late touchdown by the Jets was mostly window dressing with a short field goal by the Raiders giving us the final score of 45-20.

Ballers

Michael Crabtree

He had three touchdowns in this game (you can see those here). He also caught every pass thrown his way (6) to lead the team with 80 yards receiving. From the first time he saw the ball, it was one big play after another. Sometimes even when he didn’t touch the ball.

Derek Carr’s second pass of the game went to Crabtree off a flea flicker in which Crabtree got wide open for 26 yards. His next catch finished off that drive with a perfectly played leaping fade for a touchdown from 2 yards out.

His next big play was as a blocker for Jalen Richard on a short catch to help him pick up 39 yards. He finished off that drive with a 26-yard touchdown catch in which he shook his defender out of his shoes, stopping on a dime and coming back to get the Carr delivery. The defender was so fooled, Crabtree easily trotted into the end zone.

The very next offensive play for the Raiders, Carr went to Crabtree for 21 yards.

The first Raiders drive of the second half, Crabtree laid a key block on a DeAndre Washington 10-yard run and later had a 4-yard catch. They scored the touchdown two plays later.

After a turnover gave the Raiders the ball inside the 20 to begin the fourth quarter, a pass interference on the Jets put the Raiders in first and goal from the one. And Carr went for his trusty target Crabtree for the touchdown and a 42-13 lead.

Derek Carr

As detailed above, Carr threw for three touchdowns in the game. He also completed over 82% of his passes (23 of 28) with no interceptions for a passer rating of 136.6.

The Raiders were 8 for 12 on third downs, mostly on plays Carr made. His first touchdown drive, he got the Jets to jump offsides on a hard count on third and 6 which put the Raiders in third and 1 instead. A few plays later, he converted third and 4 with a 9 yard pass to Washington.

The following drive, which also went for a touchdown he converted a third and 7 with a 14-yard pass on an out route to Amari Cooper. The 26-yard touchdown to Crabtree was on third and 6. He would convert two more third downs through the air on the Raiders final drive of the day to bleed time off the clock and secure the win.

Karl Joseph

Ken Norton Jr kept sending him on blitzes because it kept working. He consistently disguised them and timed them perfectly to streak in for either a pressure or make the play himself.

Joseph was in on the first defensive play of the game for the Raiders, stuffing a run for a 2-yard loss. The Jets went three-and-out. His first blitz led out the second quarter and while he got good pressure, Josh McCown was able to just get the ball off. But it was a sign better was to come.

On the Jets’ first drive of the second half, Joseph made the tackle on third and 10 short of the sticks. The Jets went for it on 4th and one and the Raiders stopped it and they settled for a field goal.

The next drive, Joseph got pressure on 3rd and 8 that resulted in a sack. Though he didn’t get the sack, the very next time the Jets saw the ball, Joseph was sent on the blitz again and this time he did get the sack. He also forced the fumble and recovered it at the 18-yard line. In two plays the Raiders were in the end zone for their sixth touchdown of the game.

Kelechi Osemele, Rodney Hudson

The Raiders’ Pro Bowl interior linemen were living up to it against the strongest part of the Jets team. On the Raiders’ first scoring drive, Osemele helped turn a run on third and one into a 13-yard gain by Marshawn Lynch. Then on the final touchdown of the first half from two yards out, Osemele and Hudson led the way to escort Lynch into the end zone.

The next touchdown drive, the two teamed up to block on a 6-yard run, and then paved the way for Cordarrelle Patterson to race for a 43-yard touchdown run. The next touchdown, Osemele blocked on a 7-yard Lynch run and then Hudson shot over from the center spot to lay a perfect, hold opening block to spring Jalen Richard for a 52-yard touchdown.

Osemele would make a couple key blocks to help the Raiders pick up two third down conversion on their final drive to bleed time off the clock.

Gareon Conley, TJ Carrie

Carrie would end the first Jets’ series when he got pressure on the blitz around the right side and when McCown scrambled, he maintained pursuit to stop him for one yard on third and nine. The next series, Conley would see his first pass as a pro and he played it like a pro, staying right with his man, reaching up and swatting the ball down.

In the second quarter, Carrie made the tackle for a loss, even though the Jets were gifted the first down on the bogus taunting penalty on Marquel Lee. A few plays later, Conley came up and helped make a run stuff for two yards to set up third and one. The Jets wouldn’t convert and settle for a field goal.

The first drive of the third quarter, Carrie defended a pass in the end zone and on the next play made the tackle at the line on a catch for no gain to set up third and 10. The Jets would again settle for a field goal.

Early in the fourth quarter with the Raiders having scored their fifth touchdown of the day, and Marshawn Lynch fresh off his sideline dance session, Karl Joseph would get the strip sack. McCown was scanning the left side of the field where Conley had his man blanketed and it took just long enough for Joseph to get around for the sack.

In his debut, Conley gave up just one catch for 8 yards with a pass defended. Carrie gave up two catches for 23 yards with a pass defended and 5 solo tackles.

Nicholas Morrow

Conley wasn’t the only one who had his man blanketed in coverage when Joseph made the sack. The first place McCown looked was Morrow’s way, who was split out wide left and kept coverage on his man to keep McCown from taking a chance.

Morrow had outstanding coverage all day. The only catch he ‘gave up’ he stuffed for a three yard loss. He also had a pass defended and a run stuff. Good start for this former Division III rookie. He saw 25 snaps and if he keeps playing like this, we could see a lot more from him.

Mario Edwards Jr

It’s been a while since Edwards made any noise for the Raiders. From the first defensive play of this game, he was a thorn in the Jets’ side. They ran up the gut on their first play from scrimmage and Edwards was there to stuff it for a loss of two, helping lead to a three-and-out. The next Jets series ended with Edwards laying a hard sack on McCown.

The final play of the third quarter, Karl Joseph flushed McCown from the pocket and, just like he did last week, Edwards was right there to make the sack, along with Denico Autry. That half sack gives him 2.0 sacks in the first two games which matches his entire career total prior to this season.

Marshawn Lynch

It was a happy homecoming for Beast Mode. And he was part of the reason why. Early on the Raiders second series, Lynch got the ball on a flea flicker, tossed it back to Derek Carr and then turned back and laid a crucial block to allow Carr time to get the ball away to a wide open Crabtree for 26 yards. A few plays later, on the same drive, he went up the middle on third and one and took it for 13 yards. It set the Raiders up at the 17-yard line and they would score a touchdown a few plays later.

Late in the first half the Raiders got the ball at the Jets’ four-yard line off a muffed punt. This time they chose to hand the ball three times to Lynch. The second run, he broke two tackles in the backfield to stave off a loss and pick up two yards. Then he went up the gut for the touchdown from two yards out to send the Raiders into the locker room up 21-10. It was his first touchdown as a Raider.

Jalen Richard

Just as he did masterfully last season, Richard provided the instant spark for the offense spelling the work horse back. This pocket rocket is a big time playmaker. The first play of the second quarter, he caught a short pass from right to left, saw two defenders, timed it, and burst through to split them for pick up 39 yard and put the Raiders in scoring range at the 30.

To begin the fourth quarter, they put the ball in Richard’s hands again. He took the pitch out right, put his foot in the ground and shot up the field, outrunning several prospective tacklers for a 52-yard touchdown.

Richard would add a 12-yard screen on third and 11 on the Raiders’ final drive which put the Raiders at the 23-yard line and allowed the Raiders to take a couple more minutes off the clock. He would lead the Raiders in rushing (58) and yards from scrimmage (109).

Honorable Mention

Cordarrelle Patterson – A field goal by the Jets to start the third quarter, brought them back to within one score. A few plays into the next drive, Patterson would take the hand off, break a tackle, and fly for a 43-yard touchdown. The Jets would never recover.

Marquette King, Johnny Holton – In the waning seconds of the first half and the Raiders clinging to a 4-point lead, King launched a 55-yard punt. The return man Khalif Raymond called for the fair catch at the 14-yard line and couldn’t handle it. Holton was the first man downfield, diving on the muffed punt at the 4-yard line. The Raiders would score on three plays for a 21-10 halftime lead.

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