Oakland Raiders edge Detroit Lions 31-24 in Week 9
By Daniel Davis
In a game that went down to the wire, the Oakland Raiders took care of business at home against the Detroit Lions, 31-24.
The Oakland Raiders played host to the Detroit Lions in Week 9, their first game inside the Coliseum since Week 2 of the NFL season. Their last time in front of the home fans, the Raiders lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, but the outcome on Sunday was much more favorable for Raider Nation.
Raiders star rookie running back got the party started early, scoring on a two-yard touchdown run after the Raiders got the ball back due to a Lions fumble. Jacobs, who recently was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Month, ran tough the entire drive, and it was fitting that he would cap the drive off with a touchdown.
Detroit went right to work after the Raiders touchdown, as Matthew Stafford hit Marvin Jones Jr. to knot the game at 7-7. Stafford was outstanding in the first half, taking advantage of this Raiders secondary, hitting both Jones and Kenny Golladay at will.
In fact, it was a Golladay long touchdown that gave the Lions the lead in the first half, until a Jacobs touchdown right before half sent the Raiders into the locker room with a 17-14 lead.
In the second half, the defenses for each team decided to show up, as we got our first punts of the game. A Matt Prater field goal was the only points of the third quarter, tying the game up at 17 a piece, before a wild fourth quarter decided the outcome.
A Derek Carr to Foster Moreau touchdown would give the Raiders the lead at 24-17, which would prove to be the start of a see-saw battle the rest of the way. After the Lions tied the game up at 24-24, the Raiders would drive the length of the field, capped by a Carr to Hunter Renfow touchdown to give the Raiders a seven-point lead right before the two minute warning.
Leading 31-24, the Raiders needed to hold the Lions off, and Detroit did not go quitely. Stafford drove the Lions all the way down, and after a questionable timeout by the Raiders, the Lions had it on a fourth-and-1 from the 1.
Luckily for the Silver and Black, Karl Joseph came up with a huge play in the end zone, forcing the Lions to turn the ball over on downs, and sending the Raiders to their fourth win of the season.
With the win, the Raiders tied their win total from 2018, and are fully entrenched in the playoff race moving forward. The Raiders have a soft schedule ahead, and could end up in the playoffs in their last season in Oakland.