Raiders vs Packers: Four winners, four losers

Winners

Aaron Rodgers

Perfect. Passer. Rating. Rodgers had an historic day against the Raiders. Only six of his passes fell incomplete and half of those were drops. He completed 25 passes for 429 yards and 5 touchdowns. And he even scored a rushing touchdown. That’s six touchdowns. The Packers had 22 first downs in the game and 15 of them were through the air. He took whatever he wanted all day. If he wanted to score fast, he did. If he wanted to run clock, he did. He was only stopped twice all game. All the rest of the drives were for touchdowns to five different receivers and Rodgers calling his own number.

Tight ends

It was once again a game for the tight ends. Raiders tight end Darren Waller led the team with 7 catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. And that was while having one touchdown called back due to a holding penalty. Foster Moreau had the Raiders’ other touchdown on the day, which was following that Waller touchdown that wasn’t. Of Derek Carr’s 293 passing yards, 172 went to tight ends including both touchdowns. Even Aaron Rodgers’ number one target was Jimmy Graham who had four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Josh Jacobs

Even in a game which the Raiders played the second half with a large deficit, Jacobs still put up 124 yards on 21 carries. He now has 554 yards in six games. That’s nearly 100 yards per game. Whether it’s against a top run defense like the Bears or a porous one like the Packers, he gets his. Even with him getting banged up and coming in and out of the game, he doesn’t appear to be fazed.

The punters

What a nice, relaxing day for these guys. They didn’t get much work in the game. There was a total of five punts in the game. The Raiders drives were field goal, punt, touchdown, fumbled touchback, end of half, TD, turnover on downs, interception, punt, touchdown. The Packers drives were TD, punt, TD, TD, TD, TD, punt, TD, punt, End of game. Both of AJ Cole’s punts were not returned for an average and net of 53.0. JK Scott had an average of 55.3 on his three punts, and only one of them really even mattered.

Losers

Derek Carr

The Packers won 42-24 over the Raiders. An 18-point win. They were behind 14-10 when Carr fumbled the ball through the end zone for a touchback in the first half. It meant the Raiders were held scoreless and left over a minute for the Packers to drive for a touchdown. They did, making that a 14-point fumble because had Carr held onto the ball, they have a couple more downs to punch it in. Meanwhile they take enough time off the clock to keep the Packers from scoring before the half. That means instead of a 17-14 Raiders lead at half, it was 21-10 Packers. Late in the third it was 35-17 when the Raiders were in fourth and goal from the one and are forced to go for it and were unsuccessful. Had the score been closer, they would have taken the points and kicked the field goal instead. Carr’s other turnover was an interception in the end zone. He threw it into double coverage on first down. They were at least in range of a field goal and with several more downs, they may have scored a touchdown. Do the math and that’s at least a 20-point swing and perhaps 24. In an 18-point game.

Raiders pass rush

Maxx Crosby got a sack on Rodgers. That’s the only time a Raiders pass rusher laid a finger on him. He was hit two other times, both on blitzes. Rodgers often times had all day to throw. He can pick a defense apart with less time. But with all the time in the world, he scores six touchdowns, five through the air.

Raiders defensive backfield

Zero interceptions. Zero passes defended. Just three on-target incompletions. 429 yards through the air. Five touchdown passes. Ugh. Lee.

Officials

It seems like just six days ago everyone was up in arms about the officiating in a game involving the Packers. Oh yeah, it was the Monday Night game in which the Lions were completely jobbed by the officials to hand the game to the Packers. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they handed the game to the Packers, but it sure seemed like they were trying.

There were three instances in particular that stand out. The first was the Packers touchdown at the end of the half. Kumerow caught the pass and went up the right sideline treading the sideline and appeared he may have caught it with the side of his shoe. It looked pretty close, and on replay he probably was out. But the ruling on the field was a touchdown and the play stood. It wasn’t a glaring mistake, so they stuck with it. The other two calls were absolutely and comically wrong.

That final drive of the first half had some assistance by a Benson Mayowa roughing the passer penalty. The terrible roughing penalties aside, this isn’t about that. It’s about how Rodgers’s pass was ruled complete on the play, when it was so hysterically incomplete. It’s absurd that Jon Gruden had to challenge it because the pass went through Gareon Conley’s hands, hit the ground, and bounced into the arms of Packers receiver Lewis who never actually ever had a shot at the ball in the first place.

The Packers very next drive to begin the second half, they were at the Oakland 7-yard-line and Rodgers found Geronimo Allison out right who tried a similar tip-toe up the sideline as Kumerow did. But Allison stepped literally his entire foot out of bounds on the play. There was an official right there at the goal line to see it and... touchdown. It was overturned on replay, but come on, how does he not see that?

As much of a black eye as the officials rightfully took in the Packers-Lions game, they simply and utterly embarrassed themselves in this one. If I were more of a conspiracy theorist, I might think the Packers are getting some, um, interesting benefit of the doubt.