They even included a few San Diego Charger fans – another team that is making a play to move to Los Angeles.
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In what may have been their final time playing in this ancient, leaky, stinky behemoth, the Raiders went overtime to beat the Chargers 23-20 on national television.
One element of which was the recent addition by the Raiders and Chargers of Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger, who will head the Carson stadium project should owners ultimately green-light it. Iger, who has an option to buy into either the Raiders or Chargers, could be especially pivotal for the Raiders, who face perception obstacles based on the controversial ending to their previous stay in Los Angeles.
In what may have been the final National Football League game played at O.co Coliseum, the Chargers and Raiders decided regulation was not enough. Another thing to watch is the possibility that Woodson plays some snaps on offence.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Raiders received a HUGE defensive play from defensive tackle LEON ORR who punched the ball out of the hands of Chargers tight end DAVID JOHNSON, with his Raider teammate and defensive end BENSON MAYOWA taking the fumbled ball 44 yards down the right sideline to the SD 3 yard line.
One last time at the Coliseum.
From there, Carr completed a lovely fade pass to Michael Crabtree for a touchdown, then a two-point conversion pass to Seth Roberts for an Oakland 20-17 lead.
-OLB Melvin Ingram had one sack Thursday night against Oakland, giving him a team-high nine for the season.
A sign the team’s days as an AFC West punching bag are done.
Oakland is 6-8 on the season, 2-5 at home and 7-7 against the spread. “Obviously your first goal is to win the division”. “Just like the Raiders”. He caught 11 passes in their last meeting for 75 yards and two touchdowns in that game. The good news is Philadelphia will be facing the NFL’s fifth-worst run defence. What an awesome career he has had from MI and through the NFL.
Carolina Panthers (14-0) at Atlanta Falcons (7-7), Sunday, 1pm. Woodson played his final home game before retirement. The Panthers have yet to clinch homefield throughout the NFC play-offs and are still chasing perfection. Rivers has been a part of 20 games against the Raiders in his career. The Falcons will be facing a motivated Josh Norman, who drew three – and could have been more – personal foul penalties against New York’s Odell Beckham Jr.
Covered Seahawks for Tacoma News Tribune for six seasons.
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The Panthers will secure homefield throughout the play-offs and should be able to do so even at the Georgia Dome, where the Panthers easily won 34-3 last December to clinch the NFC South for the second straight season. Against a once-stout Falcons defence, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton had a flawless quarterback rating in the December 13 win while Carolina rolled up 142 rushing yards. Although this was Carr’s only touchdown of the game, he scored when it mattered most.
