Oakland Raiders young defense steps up in 17-10 victory over Bengals

The Oakland Raiders avoided a potential trap game on Sunday, as they erased a slow start in their victory over the winless Cincinnati Bengals.

It took a while for the Oakland Raiders to get on the board against the Cincinnati Bengals, as they saw themselves staring down a 7-0 deficit heading into the second quarter. From there, it was all Raiders, as they scored 14 second quarter points, and never looked back, beating the Cincinnati Bengals at home.

Oakland fell down 7-0 after a solid drive by Ryan Finley and the Bengals, a drive set up by Josh Jacobs‘ red zone fumble. The fumble was a rare miscue for the Raiders rookie, who many believe is the front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

With the crowd a bit stunned, Derek Carr went to work, completing 14 straight passes, and getting the job done with his arm, and his legs. He hit Foster Moreau for a second quarter touchdown to get the Raiders on the board, before leaping into the end zone to give the Raiders their first lead of the game five minutes later.

Carr was magnificent in the first half, as was rookie Hunter Renfrow, who made big catch after big catch. He has been a tremendous find for the Raiders, and was one of a group of rookies who made their presence felt once again in Week 11.

A Raiders timeout negated a Bengals field goal to cut the lead to four before the half, as kicker Randy Bullock missed from 50-plus in his second try, and the Raiders went into the locker room for halftime up 14-7.

In the third quarter, there were not many points to come by, as a Carr interception hurt the Raiders only real chance of scoring in the quarter. The Bengals were able to get stops on third down, and a Bullock field goal sent the two teams into the final frame with the Raiders clinging to a 14-10 lead.

Oakland would tack on three points via a Daniel Carlson field goal to go up seven, and their young defense helped seal the victory in front of the home fans. After getting the ball back with less than two minutes left in the game, the Bengals had their opportunity to tie it up, but Maxx Crosby and Trayvon Mullen stepped up big time.

Crosby notched his fourth sack of the game on Finley, and on the next play, Mullen picked off the rookie quarterback for the Bengals, ending any chance of a comeback for Cincinnati. For the Raiders, this one may have been a harder game than many expected, but a win is a win, and the Silver and Black are now 6-4.

Rookie Josh Jacobs made his presence felt in this one once again, rushing for over 100 yards for the fourth time this season. With his fourth 100-yard game, the rookie from Alabama broke Marcus Allen‘s team record for a rookie.

Here are the three stars of the game.