The Oakland Raiders (3-4) defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) 21-18 as Oakland tries to stay relevant in the AFC wild-card race.
Game Analysis for the Oakland Raiders
Pass Offense: Pryor finished 10-of-19 for 87 yards. He threw two interceptions and was sacked as many times. Wide receiver Rod Streater led the Raiders in receiving with four catches for 45 yards.
Run Offense: Pryor finished with nine carries for 106 yards and a touchdown. His 93-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the game is the longest in league history for a quarterback. McFadden finished with 73 yards on 24 carries. Although his yards per ...
The Oakland Raiders returned two defensive starters in 2013, and one of those starters—safety Tyvon Branch—is out with an injury. The other starter—Lamarr Houston—has switched from left defensive end to right defensive end.
Considering that the Raiders basically picked up an entirely new defense in free agency, it was hard to know what to expect from the unit. The results have been positive so far, and the Raiders have allowed just 22 points per game, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers—their opponent Sunday—for 13th in the league in scoring defense.
Can a ragtag group of veteran defensive players and a couple rookies legitimately ...
Grant Balfour has been a force at the back of the Oakland Athletics' bullpen for the last three years, but could be on his way out now that his contract has expired.
After the A's second straight trip to the American League Division Series in 2013, MLB.com writer Jane Lee said the team wants to maintain its solid core.
Retaining Balfour would help the A's return to the playoffs, but he comes with a lot of baggage. A's general manager Billy Beane needs to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of bringing backs his closer.
Pros:
He Locks Down the Ninth Inning
Balfour served as a ...
It's rare to find a quality player on waivers, but it does occasionally happen. When quality players are put on waivers, usually they are young and still in need of development—they become good players after spending some time with their new team.
Typically a player doesn't get enough opportunity to develop and may no longer have a solid role on the team, prompting his release. Coaching, scheme changes and injuries are all reasons a quality player might hit waivers. In the case of of linebacker Martez Wilson, all of the above are true.
Wilson, a third-round pick in 2011, was claimed off waivers by the ...
Just as they do every offseason, the Oakland Athletics must make decisions on key free agents, arbitration-eligible players and potential trades. Yet this year, the stakes are very high.
The A's are coming off a repeat AL West championship. Unfortunately, they are coming off a repeat ALDS Game 5 loss. The core of the team—Josh Donaldson, Yoenis Cespedes, the young pitchers in the starting rotation—are all returning. For others, such as Jed Lowrie, Brandon Moss and Josh Reddick, it's just a matter of how much they'll earn.
But after two years of coming so close to an ALCS, fans should expect more. ...
Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie has had to make some tough choices over the past 22 months while cleaning up the team’s payroll mess. Now he faces an even more difficult decision: whether or not to trade running back Darren McFadden.A few years ago, that kind of talk would have been considered blasphemy by many fans. Now it’s something the Raiders need to consider seriously as next week’s trade deadline approaches.McFadden is in the final year of his contract and is slated to become a free agent at the end of the season. While there had been minor discussions ...
The Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers renew one of the AFC’s oldest and most storied rivalries when the two teams hook up in Week 8. The winner will take an important step toward getting back in the playoff hunt, while the loser will drop three games under .500 and face an uphill climb the rest of the season.
Both teams have more in common than just their respective 2-4 records.
The Raiders have gotten an up-and-down performance from their quarterback, very little production out of the running game and have had to mostly rely on a rebuilt defense.
The Steelers likewise have had ...
Coming off their Week 7 bye, the Oakland Raiders will look to improve on what was a disappointing, yet somewhat promising start to the season.
Thus far, the offense has shown flashes of explosive playmaking ability but has left many more plays on the field than they would have liked.
A young, but extremely talented and underrated unit, the offense will need to take a big step forward in the remaining 10 games of the Raiders’ season.
First and foremost, all facets of the running game need to come together, and the rest will follow accordingly.
Here are the grades for each position group ...
Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor declined to take a break during the bye last week. Instead, he spent the downtime at the team’s facilities in Alameda getting in some extra work on and off the field with offensive coordinator Greg Olson.
Whether that makes a difference or not in his play remains to be seen. However, at a time he could have been licking his wounds coming off the worst game of his career, Pryor was putting in the time to try to get things turned around in Oakland.
Getting help along the offensive line would be a good place to start.
Fresh ...
Six games into the 2013 season, Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen still isn’t certain what type of team he has.
On one hand, the Raiders have an improving defense and a promising prospect at quarterback. On the other, Oakland’s running game has been suspect all season and the offensive line has been in shambles due to injuries across the board.
Yet despite playing in a division where the NFL’s only two remaining undefeated teams are, the Raiders are still in good shape to end their run of 10 consecutive seasons without a winning record. Considering their remaining schedule, it’s also conceivable, albeit ...