Del Rio hopes win vs Miami helps Raiders get mojo back
Soaring Eagles separate themselves from the pack
ALAMEDA, California, Nov 7, (Agencies): Coach Jack Del Rio spent the week in Florida talking about the need for his Oakland Raiders to get their “mojo” back.
His team responded with a tight win over the struggling Miami Dolphins to send Oakland into the bye week on a good note. Whether that provided enough to build on for a resurgence down the stretch that could get the Raiders (4-5) back into the playoffs remains to be seen.
“I think we had a couple really good practices during the week,” Del Rio said Monday. “There are still things we need to clean up and be better at, really in all three phases. I think what I saw was I saw glimpses of what I know we can be as a football team when we put all three phases together, and that’s really what we’re looking for.”
There were a few good signs for Oakland in the 27-24 win. Marshawn Lynch returned from a suspension for making contact with an official and provided a boost to the running game by carrying 14 times for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Derek Carr once again hit on a couple of deep balls with
Miami Dolphins running back Damien Williams (26) dives over the goal line to score a touchdown in the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders on Nov 5, in Miami
Gardens, Florida. (AP)
a 44-yard touchdown to Johnny Holton and a big night with tight end Jared Cook, who had eight catches for 126 yards.
The defense had its struggles, allowing Jay Cutler to complete 81 percent of his passes and throw for 311 yards, while taking only one sack. But Oakland was able to limit the big plays and come up with two key stops following a successful surprise onside kick in the first half and a lost fumble in the second half that gave Miami the ball near midfield.
It added up to Oakland’s second win in three games following a four-game skid that had dealt a major blow to the team’s playoff hopes.
“You want to get hot at the right time,” Del Rio said. “For us, there’s no time like the present.”
The Raiders have a difficult closing stretch that starts with a “home” game in Mexico City on Nov 19 against the defending champion New England Patriots. Oakland also has a trip to the team with the NFL’s top record, Philadelphia, on Christmas night, and a road game at first-place Kansas City. It also has home games against Dallas, Denver and the New York Giants, along with a season-ending road game against the Chargers.
But this was a good weekend overall for the Raiders, who cut Kansas City’s lead in the AFC West to two games and made up ground on Baltimore and Buffalo, two teams in playoff contention who already had beaten Oakland.
“I’m looking all the time,” Del Rio said. “That’s just the fan aspect, but the professional aspect, we have to just focus on the process of what goes into playing really well, understanding your assignment, being accountable, doing your job, basic stuff. And that’s what we want to keep the focus of our attention.”
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles were dismissed as long shots when the National Football League season began two months ago but they have taken the league by storm to emerge as serious Super Bowl contenders.
Each year it seems at least one team comes out of nowhere to make a run at the postseason but nobody could have predicted the sheer dominance shown by the Eagles as they cruised to the league’s best record heading into their bye week.
Their chances this season rested on the shoulders of Carson Wentz and the second-year quarterback has answered the call, most recently on Sunday when he tossed four touchdowns in a convincing win over Denver that improved Philadelphia to 8-1.
Despite having at least two more wins than any other NFL team, the suddenly confident Eagles are far from complacent as they chase a maiden Super Bowl championship.
“We’re never going to settle,” said Wentz, who leads the NFL with 23 touchdown passes this season. “Touchdowns, whatever, that’s all great but being 8-1 is what it’s all about.
“I didn’t know what to expect with stats and all that stuff, that doesn’t really matter. But I will say I’ve always had high expectations for myself, for this team, so we’re fortunate where we’re at.”
The Eagles had an encouraging start to the 2016 season until Wentz began to struggle, as so many rookie signal callers do, en route to a 7-9 campaign.
But with a year of seasoning and upgrades to the team’s offense and defense, Wentz has proved to be the real deal and the former second overall draft pick is making a strong case for being named Most Valuable Player.