Oakland (4-5) lost its second straight game, and its season has now played out in a steady pattern. Perhaps he heard the Raiders secondary was awful (worst in the league coming in) and so he was waiting for his receivers to beat them long, but his lack of urgency in the pocket hurt him much of the afternoon.
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“Every week when we come to work, there’s a stat”, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater explained. “As an offense we want to finish it”.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) gains yards against the Raiders during the first half of an NFL football game in Oakland on Sunday, November 15, 2015.
“It’s something we emphasize, we believe in”, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said of a kick coverage unit that had been strong until that letdown. “We had really captured the momentum and were playing well at that time so it was definitely a blow”.
Though the Vikings jumped up early, 13-0, the Raiders rallied in the second quarter, coming back on Derek Carr touchdown passes of 10 yards to Clive Walford and 34 yards to Andre Holmes to take the lead 14-13.
Carr said the Vikings (7-2) were “trying to take away the big-play opportunities, trying to play it safe. But we’re learning as we go”.
Oakland didn’t have the answers, and its five second-half drives resulted in three punts, an interception in the end zone and the end of the game.
And the Raiders, who two weeks ago were the putative favorite to be a Wild Card team now don’t win tiebreaker for eighth with Kansas City.
The Vikings traveled to Oakland and shut down the high-flying Oakland Raiders offense in an exciting 30-14 win. But Raiders cornerback Keith McGill, rushing off the right edge, got a hand on the football, sending it wide left.
That didn’t translate to the field.
Minnesota took advantage of its second chance and marched down for another field goal attempt, with Walsh burying a 34-yarder this time. Yet the Minnesota defense extinguished Derek Carr, Amari Cooper and the rest of them with a second-half shutout. Carr had been intercepted once by the elderly sensation at left cornerback, Terence Newman. Newman is tied for 84th on the NFL’s all-time interception list.
“Oh, man, he can do it all”, Raiders safety Charles Woodson said of Peterson. That’s the bottom line.
“I thought you were gonna take that to the house”, Adrian Peterson told Newman. “Just didn’t come down with it”.
The game was all but over at that stage, with just 2:03 to play.
-RB Adrian Peterson carried 26 times for 203 yards and a touchdown Sunday in a 30-14 victory against Oakland. And Peterson was able to gouge the Raiders for 203 yards and a touchdown, leaving the Raiders at a loss for how to fix the issue. That made it a two-score game, with the Vikes up 23-14.
Peterson has four straight games with at least 100 yards and leads the National Football League with 961 yards on the ground this season.
“He’s a great player”, Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack said of Peterson. I know it’s the big trend now, and everybody plays it, but that’s not my concern.
“It’s a disappointing loss”, left tackle Donald Penn said. “I’m glad we still have seven games left”. It’s going to be a learning process.
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“We got lambasted”, Zimmer recalled as he exited the Coliseum and headed to the team bus Sunday. “It’s not one game we’ve been in where I’ve seen guys hanging their heads, or where you feel the vibe that guys have quit”. He pointed to last season as something of a turning point, when the Vikings lost three games by less than three points in his absence and won their share of close games, too. Upset? Yes. Very upset. But it’s one game. We check this film and get ready, but there’s no panic at all.
