Purdy
conspiracy theories against the Raiders posit that they never get a break because the officials are out to thwart the Silver and Black.
But in this Raiders season, at this Raiders moment, at this Raiders time, the Raiders were on the good side of both the Carrie play and two penalty calls on the last Titans drive. The first was a personal foul against Tennessee that moved the ball out from the 3-yard line of the Raiders to the 18-yard line. The other was an offensive pass interference call that nullified an apparent Titans touchdown.
Jack Del Rio, the Raiders coach, was asked to comment on the calls.
“I thought they were appropriate,” he commented.
In truth, all three plays did appear to be refereed correctly. But that did not mean they necessarily had to be refereed correctly. Officials do make mistakes. But Sunday, they didn’t. The Raiders, on the other hand, did make frequent mistakes — including five dropped passes on offense and some intermittent breakdowns on defense — but still managed to win.
That’s significant. Teams that make the playoffs in the NFL do so because they find a way to come out ahead on days like this one, enduring a sauna-like atmosphere (90 degrees with approximately a million percent humidity) and some tough second-half stretches The Raiders’ Derek Carr, left, congratulates Khalil Mack after the defense stopped the Titans in the fourth quarter. where nothing went right on offense.
Understand, this hardly guarantees that the Raiders will make the playoffs. We are just three games into the 2016 adventure. But by finishing up one-fourth of their road schedule (not counting the neutral-site game in Mexico City) with a 2-0 record and at long last demonstrating that their defensive unit can produce a shutdown sequence … well, those are good signs. Right?
The defensive thing, especially. After allowing 69 total points and 1,035 combined yards in the first two games, any sort of improvement for the Raiders defense would be welcome. Allowing just 10 points and 393 yards to the Titans qualifies as incremental improvement.
“We can get off their backs now,” said Raiders quarterback Derek Carr of his defensive teammates. “They won their game, the game for us. That right there was a prime example of what I’ve seen every day in practice.”
Sunday was far from perfect. The Raiders allowed Titans running back DeMarco Murray to accumulate 114 rushing yards. The Raiders received a break when Pro Bowl tight and Delanie Walker showed up on the inactive list with a hamstring injury. But the Raiders also had three takeaways. The Raiders secondary was not consistently embarrassed, as happened in stretches during Week One and Week Two. Defensive backs David Amerson and Reggie Nelson, as well as rookie safety Karl Joseph, made noteworthy pass breakups. Nelson and Sean Smith had interceptions.
“I saw glimpses of what it should look like,” Del Rio said of his defense. “Nowhere near what it needs to be yet. But certainly reasons to be optimistic, which I am.”
That last series, though, was the Raider defense’s ultimate grade card. A touchdown by the Titans would create overtime. A stop would create victory. The Raiders had punted the ball away to the Titans with 1:51 left and Tennessee began an offensive drive at its own 20-yard line. Quarterback Marcus Mariota, who had been iffy with his passes all day, suddenly became deadly accurate. Chunk play after chunk play, the Titans moved downfield to that first and 10 at the 18-yard line.
First down, incomplete pass. Second down, a short completion put Tennessee on the 13-yard line.
Third down? Oh, man. Mariota hit a wide open Andre Johnson in the end zone for an apparent six points. But out popped a flag. On the replay, it was obvious that Johnson had used his left arm to push off the Raiders’ Carrie and gain all that open space. Del Rio pointed out afterward that the Titans had already been penalized once this season for the same exact play. Carrie was not about to argue.
“I think it was a little extraneous,” Carrie described the push-off. “I think it was a great call.”
So, penalty assessed back to the 23-yard line, third down again. Mariota hit running back Murray just over the middle and he was tackled sure-handedly by Raiders rookie linebacker Cory James at the 12-yard line.
Fourth down and game to go. Carrie lined up against the Titans’ Douglas. Carrie expected a down and out pattern toward the back of the end zone. That’s what happened. Carrie remembered his technique keys.
“It’s something the coaches harp on all the time,” Carrie said. “Stay on top of the ball. Slip under the route. Inside leverage, making sure you take away the easy throw. The easy throw is always the inside pass. You force the quarterback to make the harder throw, which is the out-breaking routes. You play good leverage, so he has to throw the ball over you and make a perfect, perfect throw.”
Mariota could not make the perfect throw.
“I tried to fit it into a window,” Mariota said. “And unfortunately, it was a little too high.”
With no flags. In a game with few other memorable images — unless you include the first two Raiders to participate in a national anthem protest (raised fists by Malcolm Smith and Bruce Irvin), that wonderful sight of no laundry on the ground may be the lasting image.
The Raiders, down the stretch, were on the happy side of the law and the happy side of the scoreboard. In this Raiders season, mark it down.