“It’s hard to complete balls against them”.
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Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, left, celebrates with defensive end Khalil Mack, right, after the defense stopped the Tennessee Titans from scoring on the Titans’ last play of the fourth quarter in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Coach Jack Del made a couple of lineup changes, starting linebacker Cory James and rookie safety Karl Joseph, their top draft pick. A flawless example of Raider “smarts” was Reggie Nelson’s pick at the end of the first half: He intercepted the rock with about eight seconds remaining, in Titan territory and within range for Janikowski, yet he didn’t run out of bounds.
However, Oakland was able to keep Tennessee (1-2) out of the end zone when it mattered most, thanks to Carrie and a pair of costly penalties on the Titans.
Tennessee was hoping for a penalty on TJ Carrie on the flag, but none was thrown and the Raiders celebrated a needed victory.
“If he doesn’t fall down, they don’t call it”, Johnson said of the play. Carr executed big throws to Latavius Murray and Amari Cooper, and the Raiders notched a touchdown on the opening drive.
Both Wright and Derrick Morgan practiced this week and Titans head coach Mike Mularkey sounded hopeful about both players.
“It’s nowhere near what it should be yet, but there’s certainly reasons to be optimistic, which I am”, Del Rio said. But then, Taylor Lewan’s brain short-circuited. Not entirely. Lewan received an unnecessary roughness penalty, but Herebstreit deserves a similar penalty for his comments.
Tajae Sharpe caught a 19-yard pass and was being tackled when Lewan flew in to clean up the pile.
Tennessee mustered only 152 yards of offense, and the Raiders limited the Titans to 1-of-7 on third-down conversions in the first half. Asked about the penalty, Mularkey said Lewan and the Raiders thought the play was still alive.
MARIOTA’S TURNOVERS: The Titans quarterback, the No. 2 pick overall out of OR in 2015, now has seven turnovers through three games.
That contributed to the second-half shut out where the Raiders couldn’t put points on the board.
After Mariota’s 11-yard pass to DeMarco Murray pushed the ball back to the 12, Tennessee used its last timeout to set up its final play. The capper was a thing of beauty when Carr hit Seth Roberts on a short out route and Roberts blazed past Brice McCain for a 19-yard touchdown. His field goal came after a holding penalty wiped out a TD pass by Carr.
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The result was the Titans’ 16th loss in their last 18 home games, dating back to the 2014 season’s beginning. Prior to the Titans’ final drive, Sharpe had just one catch for six yards on five targets.
