The Raiders (4-5) lost their second straight to fall further behind in the AFC playoff race.
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Throughout much of the game, Minnesota employed two deep safeties and was intent on keeping Carr from striking deep.
“He’s brought a different mentality the last two years”, Robison said.
“It feels good”, Peterson said after the game. Peterson extended his lead on the rest of his competition for the rushing title this season with 203 rushing yards Sunday.
Raiders coach Jack Dek Rio, who runs the defense along with first-year coordinator Ken Norton Jr., didn’t agree with Woodson’s analysis of the last two weeks. “We knew it was going to be a challenge because they have talented guys”.
Until passing was a necessity once it became a two-score game, the Raiders had 17 runs and 27 passes. Del Rio did not know if Hudson will practice Wednesday.
“The wedge was set to our right”, Del Rio said. “Whether it’s how you’re playing, how they attack you, what they do, what your injuries are… those aren’t excuses, they’re just factors that go into every opponent that you break down”.
If there was a sense of panic among the Raiders, it was impossible to detect.
“I think we’re developing toughness and smartness”, Zimmer said.
The truth may very well be that the Raiders just got beat by a better team, but after the outstanding offensive performance the Raiders put up against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9, you would expect the Raiders to put up more of a fight against Minnesota.
“When you lose, it’s hard”. “You have to rely on your foundation”.
“You have to be sharp the whole game with him”, linebacker Malcolm Smith said. “This team and everybody believes in one another”. I still have faith that they can do that and continue to grow as a team, even if in the back of my mind I am anxious that the team will fall apart all over again like they have through most of this millenium. I just saw the ball in the air and tried to box him out. The loss dropped the Raiders record this season to 4-5. An earlier interception was converted into three points for the Vikings. Wide receiver Amari Cooper caught five passes for 79 yards.
It appeared Asiata effected his brush block on the Raiders’ Neiko Thorpe, who really was the only member of the kick team who had a chance to get hands on the man who picked up the bouncing ball. It’s a big game this Sunday. Latavius Murray, coming off a concussion, had 48 yards on 12 carries and Jamize Olawale had a career-high five carries for 24 yards. But the Raiders didn’t trust that phase of their game enough and either felt incapable or weren’t capable of moving consistently enough to stick with it.
Teddy Bridgewater threw a touchdown pass, and the Vikings (7-2) held the Raiders’ potent offense in check for their fifth straight win.
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All of that is to say that the Raiders are going to need to get back on the winning track and hope for a lot of misfortune from a gaggle of other teams. Raiders penalties hurt the offense’s chances to score points, and they assisted Minnesota in scoring a few of theirs.
