The up-and-coming Raiders couldn’t handle Minnesota’s one-two punch on Sunday.
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Said Bridgewater when we spoke at his locker after the game: “I really don’t care about fantasy football. We’re a little sad because we know we left a lot out on the field today”. But he also has a firm grip on reality.
Ellison, this week’s special teams captain for the Vikings, finished off Janikowski with a pancake block at the Oakland 30 to make sure Patterson wouldn’t be touched during the 93-yard TD return.
Meanwhile the Vikings are tied for first in a toiling NFC North that could come down to the wire if Minnesota proves it has enough to keep up its momentum. They are growing up, becoming a legit contender, right before our eyes.
Sunday, the aggression paid off on a 38-yard throw to rookie receiver Amari Cooper.
While Captain Munnerlyn, Chad Greenway and Linval Joseph were the team’s leading tackler, the old man Terence Newman played like a “new man” and was the clear standout. And then Adrian Peterson removed any doubt with an 80-yard touchdown run. He’s still the man. For the first time since he’s been back, after missing the bulk of last season due to off-field issues, Peterson put up a 200-yard game. Or 203, to be exact. Normally, we practice hard, we study hard, work hard and play hard, but that night was just awful. Teddy Bridgewater (drafted 32nd overall in 2014) and Derek Carr (36th overall) both came out of the same draft and so their careers are going to do that thing where they’re inextricably linked for as long as they play and there’s nothing you or I can ever do about it. But this may not be Bledsoe-Mirer or Manning-Leaf or Luck-Griffin. Without Peterson last season, the Vikings grew the offense in other ways out of necessity. Now that Peterson’s back, that growth has continued – with Bridgewater the best reflection of that.
“I like his poise”, Peterson told USA TODAY Sports. Just download the software and you can instantly watch Minnesota Vikings vs Oakland Raiders online live no matter where you are! “They tried to take away big-play opportunities”.
And though Peterson had only 31 yards against the 49ers, that, too, was an anomaly. But you could not blame him for making a boneheaded blunder that put his team in a bad spot, because that never happened. Bridgewater was sacked four times and hit seven times, which isn’t a good number for a guy coming off a concussion.
Minutes after that workout, Turner was one of the coaches who shrugged about Bridgewater’s showing, contending that any concern about mechanics would be an easy fix.
Diggs, a sixth-round draft pick, will undoubtedly get numerous same routes to run that Antonio Brown got last week en route to 17 receptions for 284 yards. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat) Oakland Raiders wide receiver Andre Holmes spikes the ball after scoring against the Minnesota Vikings, during their game in Oakland on Sunday, November 15, 2015.
Carr threw touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter to give Oakland a 14-13 lead, but Cordarrelle Patterson returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a score. Stefon Diggs led in receiving with 42 yards in three catches.
The Raiders are 4-4 and right in the middle of the AFC playoff picture.
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With quarterback Derek Carr engineering an offense that includes big-play receivers on the outside in Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper, a unsafe running game led by Latavius Murray and a strong offensive line, the Raiders have topped 34 points in three consecutive games for the first time since 1995.
