Week 15 Notes and Observations: Oakland Raiders Clinch Playoffs in SD
By Kemp Moyer
Scouting notes and observations following the Oakland Raiders playoff-clinching Week 15 “road” victory over the AFC West rival San Diego Chargers.
The Oakland Raiders rebounded from a brutal Week 14 Thursday Night road loss in Kansas City to resume their “cardiac kids” winning ways in “Oakland South” AKA San Diego. The Raiders’ 19-16 win — keyed by 4 Sebastian Janikowski field goals and a rampaging defensive effort — secured the Raiders their first playoff appearance since the 2002 season.
Appropriately, the Raiders clinched the playoff berth on the same field they last played a postseason game, San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium. This game was much more positive than that early 2003 afternoon and a stadium full of a majority of Raiders fans celebrated the occasion.
With the playoff-clinching win in their pocket and the record now at 11-3, the Raiders resumed control of their own destiny in the AFC West, as the Tennessee Titans pulled a last-second upset win over the Chiefs in Kansas City. With the combination of Raiders win and Chiefs loss, the Raiders again flipped the standings — this time in their favor — in the most competitive division in the NFL.
The Raiders’ magic number for the division and a 1st round playoff bye now stands at 2. Any combination of 2 Raiders wins or Chiefs losses will secure the division, a bye, and at least one home playoff game for the Silver & Black.
With plenty more to play for – both in the regular season and beyond – here are various notes and observations from the Raiders’ latest home win.
Just Enough – Offense
1. Carr “Just Enough” Personified
Derek Carr has been in the MVP conversation most of the year. However, he laid an egg vs. KC in Week 14, with his worst game of the year. In Week 15, he righted the offensive ship. Not to an MVP level but to a “just enough” level. The “Just Win Baby” motto means a great deal to this franchise, and Carr did just enough to win, baby.
Since the Week 12 win over Carolina, Carr has battled a pinky injury that has forced the team into a purely shotgun/pistol offense. The offense has not been quite the same since that time, and last week it was brutal. But Carr and Co. bounced back vs. the multi-look Chargers defense.
Carr played all 62 offensive snaps and finished with a line of 19 for 30 passing for 213 yards and 1 TD on a fantastic catch by WR Michael Crabtree. Carr turned the ball over once with an ugly interception on a pass intended for Seth Roberts, but, aside from that, he limited mistakes and made key plays at key times, including a clutch scramble for a first down on the final game-winning drive for a FG.
All-in-all, it was a bounce back game for Carr, who was rewarded with his 2nd Pro Bowl berth in yesterday’s announcement. Carr is the leader of 7 Raiders Pro Bowlers, as well as 7 alternates. Quite a haul for Reggie McKenzie’s roster.
2. Passing Targets
Oakland’s pair of WRs, Crabtree and Amari Cooper, have carried the load in the passing game this season.
On Sunday, only Crabtree played a major role, as once again the Raiders failed to manufacture targets to Pro Bowl WR Cooper. For the Raiders’ offense to excel, they need to get Cooper more involved.
As has been the case all year, Cooper led all Raiders WRs with 51 offensive snaps played, but again his performance was limited by a lack of targets. Coop had just 1 catch for 28 yards on the day. This needs to change in the home stretch and playoffs.
Crabtree played 45 snaps and led the team with 6 receptions for 60 yards including the lone offensive TD on an amazing catch in the end zone. Crabtree’s foot was within a “blue sliver” of the white line and the play was ruled a TD on review after initially being ruled incomplete. Crab has been a clutch performer all year for the Silver & Black and Sunday added another chapter. Crab is a Pro Bowl alternate.
Roberts checked in with 33 snaps, and secured 2 catches for 27 yards, while TEs Clive Walford and Mychal Rivera each had 1 catch for a combined 28 yards. RB Jalen Richard caught 4 balls, but only for 13 yards Overall, the passing game got some decent chunks, but the long play on the day through the air was Cooper’s 28 yard pass. The vertical/explosive game was lacking.
3. Big Boys AKA Pro Bowlers
The continuity of the Raiders’ top flight OL continued as Donald Penn, Kelechi Osemele, Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson and Austin Howard all played the full 62 offensive snaps.
The o-line generally gave Carr time, but did yield 2 sacks on the day. The run game thrived, with holes often being massive, including on interior trap plays. The Raiders ran for a strong 145 yards of ground offense.
Overall, the OL played a good game, which is a mark of most Raiders wins in 2016. The OL has been recognized with Osemele, Penn and Hudson all named Pro Bowlers and Jackson named an alternate.
The home stretch and playoffs will be where these Big Dogs can separate themselves as a truly historic OL.
4. Murray and the Backfield
Latavius Murray (also a Pro Bowl alternate) logged 31 offensive snaps and compiled 81 yards on just 13 carries. Murray broke a couple inside traps, including a long of 33 yards. Overall, it was a solid day for Murray as a three-way contributor (ground game, pass catching, pass blocking), although he did lose a fumble.
Rookie Jalen Richard served as the primary complement on the ground, with 6 carries for 36, while fellow rookie DeAndre Washington returned to the field after a stretch of being a healthy scratch. Washington ran with some fire and put up 34 yards from scrimmage on 6 touches.
FB Jamize Olawale played 20 offensive snaps and had a nice highlight inside the red zone on a FB screen.
Overall, the story on offense was doing “just enough” to secure the win. The Raiders were balanced and consistently moved the ball. However, there are issues to clean up, including struggles in the red zone. The Raiders face an Indianapolis defense that should be beatable, however, the Raiders will need to improve the red zone efficiency and find a way to get Amari Cooper the ball.