5 Oakland Raiders who helped themselves vs. Tennessee Titans

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NASHVILLE, TN- SEPTEMBER 10: Kicker Giorgio Tavecchio /

1. Giorgio Tavecchio

Did anyone look better than the young kicker this week? Filling the shoes of one of the best kickers ever is no easy task, but Giorgio Tavecchio passed with flying colors. Only added to the active roster yesterday due to Sebastian Janikowski‘s back ailment, Tavecchio got pretty lucky to get his first professional appearance for the Raiders.

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That didn’t impact him in the least so it seems. Tavecchio was money, emulating some of the things Janikowski has been doing since the early 2000’s. The Cal product was 4/4 in his field goal attempts. He hit from 20 yards, 52 yards twice, and clinched the game with his 43 yarder. He also went 2/2 on PATs, making him perfect on the day.

It wasn’t just that Tavecchio hit on all of his attempts on Sunday, it was the manner in which he did. All of them were essentially right down the middle, and from those distances, that is quite impressive. Also, on the 43 yarder, the game was very much still hanging on the balance. Had he missed, it would have been a one-score game and the Titans would have had the ball with good field position.

Tavecchio, left-footed like the fan-favorite Seabass, really helped himself against the Titans. And although it is a little early to judge, could this possibly be the beginning of the end of the Janikowski? Janikowski will miss at least seen more games, but if Tavecchio is playing well, is there any reason to put Janikowski back out there?

Next: 3 takeaways from the win against the Titans

Regardless of what happens down the road, Tavecchio calmed his pregame butterflies and put on a show in Nashville. Hopefully he will continue to be money and make the transition without Seabass go as smoothly as possible. He, more so than any other Raider, helped himself the most this week.

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