The Raiders are stacking up the ugly blowout losses now. This one was at least competitive for the first half, albeit a shootout. By the third quarter, the shootout was over and the shooting themselves in the feet was in full effect. And a couple minutes into the fourth quarter, the rout was on.
Things looked bleak initially, with the Titans driving inside the Raiders 20-yard-line on their opening drive. But the tide turned back quickly with a tipped ball the was hauled in by Maurice Hurst and returned 55 yards to flip the field. The Raiders capitalized on it to get on the board first and the two teams swapped scores most of the first half after that, with just one punt.
It didn’t last, but, hey, the Raiders did score 21 points this time. They didn’t reach double digits in their previous two blowout losses. Baby steps.
Ballers: C Rodney Hudson, LG Richie Incognito, LT Kolton Miller
The center through the left side of the Raiders’ offensive line was putting in some good work in this game. After the turnover that gave the Raiders a short field, Hudson and Incognito laid key blocks to spring DeAndre Washington to go 14 yards for the touchdown.
Things shifted back to the Titans by the start of the second quarter after two straight scores to take a 14-7 lead. The Raiders needed an answer and they got it with a broken coverage leading to a wide-open 49-yards touchdown from Rico Gafford.
But for that to happen, first the Raiders had to convert on third and two. Thanks to big blocks from Incognito and Miller, Jalen Richard broke off a 10-yard run. Hudson blocked for a Richard 4-yard run on the next play. Two plays later, the Gafford touchdown tied it up at 14-14.
Obviously, the Raiders were unable to mount any long drives in the third, but whenever either Richard or Washington would get a chunk run, it was Hudson who was leading the way. And Miller kept the Titans pass rush out of the backfield.
Baller: P AJ Cole
The only punt in the first half was the Raiders. It was a good one, though. Cole’s punt went 42 yards and was fair caught at the 9-yard-line. It was the first of four punts he had that were stopped inside the 20.
His next punt went 37 yards and as downed at the 6-yard-line, then a 40-yard punt fair caught at the eleven, and a 47-yard punt fair caught at the 16. His only punt not stopped inside the 20 was a 55-yarder that went for a touchback. It came well after the Titans were just running clock. You certainly can’t blame the raiders defensive issues on poor field position.
Honorable Mention
Dion Jordan – Tipped the ball that Hurst intercepted which kept the Titans from scoring on their opening drive and set up the Raider’s first touchdown.
Foster Moreau – Caught the game-tying touchdown pass late in the second quarter. Earlier in that drive, he made a short catch, broke two tackles, and went for 7 yards to pick up the first down. His 6-yard catch in the third quarter nearly brought the Raiders into scoring range again, but it also ended his season with a knee injury.
Buster: DC Paul Guenther
At some point having so many Busters on defense that you can’t narrow it down has to come down to the guy who is in charge of them. And I’d say that time would be when the Raiders defense gives up 552 yards of offense to the opposing team.
The Raiders’ defense can’t just all be terrible. And yet they routinely give up big plays and long sustained drives. Guenther has brought in players each season who are familiar with his defensive scheme and it hasn’t worked out. This year the big acquisition was Vontaze Burfict and we know how that worked out.
Sure, the Raiders have lost some players, but what are we talking about here? Burfict was suspended and Guenther seemed to be the only guy who didn’t see that coming a mile away. Johnathan Abram was lost in the season opener, but Erik Harris has filled in admirably and even had some big games. Karl Joseph was lost a few weeks ago, but they quickly signed D.J. Swearinger.
Are we supposed to believe that those injuries are the difference between a competitive team and the most porous defense in the NFL that is tied for the most drives of 80+ yards in the NFL this season? They had three of those in this game. We can’t keep giving the man calling the shots a pass.
Busters: CB Trayvon Mullen, CB Daryl Worley, FS Erik Harris, SS D.J. Swearinger
Ryan Tannehill continues his domination of the Raiders Sunday to improve his record to 4-0 against the Silver & Black. He was having his way with the Raiders secondary.
Even still, the Titans were faced with their first third down on their third play. But Mullen gave up a 7-yard catch and the drive kept moving. Then he was called for holding. Swearinger missed a tackle on a 12-yard run and the Titans were officially in scoring range at the 21. Lucky for them, they had the hands of Dion Jordan and Maurice Hurst to save that drive.
The good feeling wouldn’t last. The next drive, Harris would give up a 12-yard catch and then miss a tackle on third and one to give up a 12-yard run. From there the linebackers were victimized the rest of the way for the score.
Even the tie game was short-lived, a stalled drive and a punt gave the Titans the ball back and on one play, AJ Brown got behind Daryl Worley to make the deep catch and go for a 91-yard touchdown. It was the longest completion of Tannehill’s career.
So, naturally Tannehill went after Worley again to start the next drive and Worley gave up a 22-yard catch. Two plays later, Swearinger had a lane to get after Tannehill on the blitz, but took a bad angle and Tannehill was able to escape for a 10-yard scramble.
Two plays later, Mullen gave up a 24-yard catch. Then on third and 13, it was Mullen again giving up a 16-yard touchdown pass to give the Titans a 21-14 lead.
Midway through the third quarter, the score was still tied 21-21 and the Raiders had even forced a punt! Just one, though. The next drive, they were on the move again, first with Swearinger giving up a 23-yard catch, then Mullen giving up a 10-yard catch.
A missed tackle by Erik Harris turned an intermediate catch into a 42-yarder and the Titans were in first and goal at the 10-yard-line. From there Henry took the ball up the gut for the touchdown and a 28-21 Titans lead.
Gruden vowed to make some changes this week and it was the newest member of the group Swearinger who was the goat.
Buster: LB Tahir Whitehead
That 42-yard catch on the fourth touchdown drive was surrendered by Whitehead. The next drive he gave up an eight-yard catch on third and 4 and the drive was finished off with Whitehead giving up the 17-yard touchdown catch to put the Titans up 35-21 to begin the fourth quarter. He was also out of position on the first Titans touchdown which came on a 12-yard Derrick Henry run.
Then, late in the game, with the Raiders well out of it, and the Titans bleeding the clock down, Whitehead made a run stop and was celebrating. What exactly was there to celebrate at that point? It wasn’t a good look.
Busters: DE Clelin Ferrell, DT Johnathan Hankins
The biggest play on the Titans’ opening drive was a 12-yard run by Derrick Henry. It went through Ferrell’s position, but he was blocked. Henry had three 12-yard runs in the first two Titans’ drives. The third of them went for a touchdown on a pitch that Ferrell overran and Hankins missed the tackle. The score was tied and Henry already had 50 yards rushing and a touchdown.
With the score still manageable at 28-21 in the third quarter, the Titans started their drive at the 16-yard-line. Ferrell was blocked on a 6-yard run to start it off. A few plays later, Ferrell and Hankins were both cleared out on a 24-yard run that put the Titans in Oakland territory at the 46.
Henry had 103 yards rushing before the end of the third quarter and the Raiders didn’t sack Tannehill once in the game. Not what you’re looking for from the defensive line.
Buster: RT Brandon Parker
The very first time Derek Carr dropped back to pass, Parker whiffed on his block to get him smacked. The next time the Raiders got the ball, they moved into Tennessee territory at the 48. Third-and-six turned into third and 16 with Parker flagged for holding. The drive stalled and the Raiders would punt. The Titans scored a touchdown on their next play to take a 14-7 lead.
The two teams would swap scores. The first play DeAndre Washington picked up nine yards. He almost gave some of that back on the next play when Parker again whiffed on his block, forcing Washington to make a nice move to elude the oncoming rusher and fight to get back to the line.
A few plays later, Parker gave up pressure on Carr, causing him to scramble to escape, missing an open Foster Moreau. On the next play, Carr eluded pressure around the back of the pocket from each side and threw a running pass for the first down to keep the drive alive.
So, yeah, the Raiders may have scored three touchdowns in the first half, but it was despite Parker, not because of him.
Buster: TE Darren Waller
Waller was putting together a good looking game. The Raiders were still within two scores to begin the fourth quarter, which is not a big deficit to overcome with that much time. Waller’s 15-yard catch certainly helped get things moving for the Raiders offense.
Then on the next play, Carr threw for Waller in the left flat and he held the ball away from his body allowing it to get punched out easily. The fumble was scooped up and returned 46 yards for the touchdown and the game was over with 13:12 still on the clock.
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