Sunday's game was a missed opportunity to make some headway in the playoff picture. The Raiders fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-31 in a game full of big plays and back-and-forth momentum swings. The Raiders led 17-7 at halftime and had a ten point lead in the third quarter. There was a series of plays that determined the outcome. The Jaguars had a 3rd and 2 at their own 26 yard line and ran a sweep around the left side. The Raiders were able to get a good push up the middle, but Jennings was able to get the corner after Seymour just missed him for a four yard loss in the backfield and Routt just missed him for no gain, and was able to go the rest of the way untouched. The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Ford and five plays later, a ten point lead became a four point deficit. They never were able to recover from there. Let's take a look at some points to take away from the game:
McFadden can do it all. Darren really showed off his entire repertoire on Sunday and displayed the reasons his was highly touted out of Arkansas. He has speed, power, elusiveness, receiving skills and game changing ability. We haven't had this luxury in a running back since Bo Jackson. He had three TD's of over 36 yards including a reception for 67 yards for a TD. He can run up the middle, around the outside, and run the wildcat offense. Who knows where he would be this year if he hadn't missed two games. He is definitely the cornerstone to build this offense around.
Campbell is starting to learn his role in the offense. Over the last couple of games, Campbell has not tried to over-think things and just let the game come to him. He had an unbelievable game on Sunday completing 21 out of 30 for 324 yards and 2 TD's, no INT's. If he shows that same type of play the rest of the way, there will be reasons for optimism for the future of him as a Raiders franchise QB.
The Raiders must stop the big plays. The Raiders were gashed for big play after big play in the second half. This has been happening all year. They are close to making the play, but it just eludes them. They need to find a way to stop these big plays from happening and swinging momentum.
Adjusting the body clocks was effective. The Raiders were able to avoid getting behind early in the game like they had in previous trips to the East Coast. Unfortunately, they couldn't hold up in the second half. Cable decided a change was needed since they have to play three hours earlier than they are used to. I think it was a wise move and something that should be utilized in the future.
The defensive line might be the best pass rushing line in the NFL. This one is hard to argue. They have collectively as a group 30.5 of their 38 sacks from the front four. Five lineman have over four sacks. Considering that 38 sacks is good for second in the NFL, it's safe to say that 30.5 sacks for just lineman is the best in the NFL. What does this mean? It means they can use more players in coverage and not have to rely on blitzes to get pressure. They are able to get sacks by just rushing four, freeing up the linebackers to guard the middle.
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