RAIDERS DROP GAME TO TENNESSEE 23-19

Vs.

By Scary Barry Rodriguez         November 24, 2013

O.co Coliseum , Oakland - A possible wild card berth was on the line when the Oakland Raiders played the Tennessee Titans. For the second game in a row rookie quarterback Matt McGloin was under center for the Raiders. The streaky Ryan Fitzpatrick was under center for the titans filling in for Jake Locker. It seems in this game two things the Raider could usually depend on failed them. The usually stout defense gave up 426 total yards and Sebastian Janikowski missed two field goals that could have meant the difference in this game.

Matt McGloin

The first half of this game was a contest between the kickers for both teams. All the points scored were the result of field goals. Two by Rob Bironas of the Titans and three by Sebastian Janikowski. Both offenses moved the both in a limited way but then fell short when it came to the red zone. The score at the half was 9-6 in favor of the Raiders.

  

Sebastian Janikowski

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick

The Raiders moved ball on the offense in the third quarter but had to settle for a 42 yard field goal from Janikowski. Unfortunately Janikowski missed a 48 yard field goal in the same period. This to go with his miss of a 32 yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. In a tight game these points were a make or break factor.

Rob Bironas

Justin Hunter

While Oakland was struggling on offense , Ryan Fitzpatrick started to find his range. He hit Justin Hunter with a 54 yard touch down strike to put the Titans in the lead. Going into the fourth quarter the Raiders needed a spark to turn the game around. Rob Bironas hit another field goal from 23 yards out to put the score at 16-12 in favor of Tennessee. Matt McGloin directed a nice drive resulting in a 27 yard touch down pass to Marcel Reese. The Raiders were ahead 19-16 . Oakland needed a defensive stop but couldn't get it ! Fitzpatrick picked apart the Raiders secondary for a game winning drive culminating in a 10 yard touch down pass to Kendal Wright with only ten seconds remaining on the game clock.

 

Marcel Reese

Kendal Wright

I was mystified why coach Dennis Allen didn't use any of his time outs during the final two minutes of play in order to give the Raiders one more scoring opportunity. It was a given that the Titans were going to score a game tying field goal or a go ahead touch down. It seemed that coach Allen assumed the Titans were playing for a tie ! Sometimes its the little things that separate who is a playoff team and who is not !

 

Dennis Allen

When it counted the Raider defense couldn't solve Ryan Fitzpatrick , who completed 30/42 for 320 yards and two touch downs. Rob Bironas accounted for nine points himself. Both Justin Hunter and Kendal Wright had success against the Oakland secondary. Wright had 6 catches for 103 yards , including the game winning touch down. Hunter snagged 6 catches for 109 yards and one touchdown. The anemic pass rush didn't help matters any. 

Rashad Jennings

Matt McGloin was steady but not spectacular , going 19/32 for 260 yards and one touch down that almost won the game . He was intercepted once which cost the Raiders three points but otherwise kept his team in the game. Rashad Jennings rushed for 73 yards on 16 carries and caught some passes. Without Janikowski's two missed field goals the offense played well enough to win. The Oakland defensive unit played tired. The Titans topped the Raiders in time of possession 35 minutes to 24 . The defense was on the field far too long.

Darren McFadden

 

Terrelle Pryor

Terrelle Pryor , the confident one watched the proceedings from the bench. McGloin will also start in the next game despite Pryor being physically able to play. In a rebuilding year with a new General manager and head coach , there are no guaranteed keepers on the 2013 roster for next season. Darren McFadden is good as gone . I expect most of receiving corp to be gone and even Janikowski isn't a sacred cow . The remainder of this season should just be considered as an evaluation period for everyone on the current roster.

 

 

This article is not dedicated to the former Oakland Raider linebacker who died in a recent car accident due to his reckless driving. An innocent man died in this incident. The Scary one doesn't believe that sports accomplishments can overshadow the needless death of another person. I live in the real world where everyone even jocks are accountable for their actions !

BarryRodriguez (c) 2013. All Rights Reserved.

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