Oakland Raiders 2014 Draft Class Shines in Season Defining Win

Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Khalil Mack (52) celebrates behind San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore (21) after a Raiders sack against the 49ers during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Bottom Line

When you look at a group of young players, there’s usually a certain game where you can see it all coming together. For this young group of Raiders, their win over the 49ers looks like the type of game that it is all starting to click for them. Their rookie quarterback (Carr) picked one of the NFL’s best defenses apart while rookie outside linebacker (Mack) abused one of the NFL’s best left tackles.

Then you have Ellis clogging up the middle in the running game and while the 49ers had a good average running the ball, it didn’t consistently work. I also want to give some honorable mention to 7th-round pick T.J. Carrie even thought he’s not a starter yet. He was a part of holding 49ers receivers Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree to 56 and 54 yards receiving respectively.

Now, the Raiders have the Buffalo Bills left along with rematches against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos. Seeing the youngsters play well in those three games will go a long way for the Raiders but I don’t know how good winning them would do. Defensive lineman Leonard Williams is out there to be picked first and that would really help turn the Raiders around next year.