Game Recap: Raiders hold on to win 31-24 against the Lions

In their first home game since Week 2, Oakland outlasted their opponent to secure a win in the waning seconds. The Lions and Raiders were evenly matched, trading scoring drives from the onset.

The Lions opened up the game with a drive into Oakland territory. As they were closing in on the red-zone, the Raiders came up with their first turnover of the game after Maurice Hurst came up with a mis-handled fumble.

When the offense took the field, it was all about running the football. Josh Jacobs carried the rock most of the way, ending with a 2-yard run for a score.

Matt Stafford and the Lions didn’t take long to answer back with a score of their own, but it took them four tries once they arrived in the red-zone to score a 2-yard passing touchdown on a shake route to Marvin Jones with Daryl Worley in coverage.

After a 10-play drive that resulted in a field goal by Daniel Carlson, Detroit got the ball back and made short work of the Raiders defense. Stafford diced the Raiders offense and hit WR Kenny Golladay for a 59 yard bomb when Erik Harris was late getting over the top of a deep route.

The Raiders offense sputtered and promptly punted it back to the Lions. Stafford continued to target Worley in coverage, but this time it went in the Raiders favor. Worley came up with the Raiders second turnover on a circus catch interception in the end zone with 6:26 remaining in the half.

Down 14-10, the Raiders set out to get ahead. An 11-play 80-yard drive was capped off by yet another Jacobs touchdown run that put the Silver & Black up 3 points going into halftime.

Both offenses struggled to move the ball efficiently to start the second act. The Raiders even opted for a beautifully executed fake punt, but still were unable to capitalize and put points on the board. Eventually, the Lions were able to snag a field goal to tie the game.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, the Raiders were knocking on the door. After switching sides to start the 4th quarter, and a few odd play exchanges involving questionable penalties, they punched one in on the second play of the 4th quarter — a 3 yard touchdown strike to TE Foster Moreau.

The Raiders defense was then able to force the Detroit offense off the field, but eventually the Lions roared back. A great corner route from the RB in the backfield victimized Tahir Whitehead in coverage, thing the game at 24-24.

Carr and the offense get the ball back with 5:16 left in the game. Gruden dials up his own deep pass to an RB, with Richard up the seam hauling in a fantastic catch. Carr and the offense moved into the red zone, and a scramble drill hook-up between he and rookie WR Hunter Renfrow put the Raiders up 31-24.

The Lions got the ball back with a little over 2 minutes left in the game, and the Raiders defense gave up chunk play after chunk play to keep their hopes alive. After multiple big plays and a few penalties allowed them to rally to the 3-yard line, they rushed to snap the ball before the clock ran out, only for the Raiders call time-out with 8 seconds on the clock. The announcers wondered why a time-out was called, seemingly bailing out the Detroit offense. It worked in the Raiders favor, however, allowing run-stoppers to come into the game on the Raiders defensive line, including rookie DE Clelin Ferrell. Stafford gave a play-action fake and when he turned around, the rookie DE was right in his face, forcing him to throw a jump ball to his tight-end off his back foot, with Karl Joseph waiting in coverage. Joseph came up with a big-time pass break-up to secure the win for the Raiders. Perhaps the biggest play of his career.