Raiders’ ground game improves against Bills
Murray, Richard combine for 135 yards in sixth straight win
OAKLAND — The Raiders finally found some running room again on Sunday, even with quarterback Derek Carr unable to line up under center.
Latavius Murray had 82 yards on 20 carries, and Jalen Richard added 53 more on the ground. What’s better is Oakland finally was able to break a few explosive plays on the ground en route to a 38-24 win over the Buffalo Bills.
Murray’s 22-yard run on the third run play of the game snapped a streak of 61 rushes without recording a run of 10 yards or longer. Richard also added a 21yard run that helped set up a Murray touchdown, and the Raiders finished with 139 rushing yards on the day.
With two touchdowns, Murray added to his career-high total and now has 11 scores. He became the first Raiders running back since Marcus Allen in 1990 to rush for double-digit touchdowns.
“I just think it’s a testament to what the O-line has been doing up front, and I think it’s a combination of the backs as a whole,” Murray said. “Yeah, I’m going in there and putting in a bunch of touchdowns, especially there on the goal ine, but that first one, I told Jalen ‘thank you’ because he’s the one that set that up for me. It’s been a team effort, a group effort, starting with the O-line and the running backs as a whole. I’ve just been fortunate to have the opportunities to finish off the runs.”
Richard’s big run saw him break into a high step as he powered his way down to the Buffalo 13-yard line.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Richard said of the high step. “Sometimes I’m running, and I don’t know what I be doing. The line blocked it, it was an open crease, and I saw it and I hit. I just had it determined to try to get into the end zone.”
The Raiders weren’t necessarily their most efficient and had a few too many runs for no gain, and Carr’s status may have been a factor, even if he wouldn’t admit it. Carr took every snap from the shotgun, even on a third-and-inches situation. Murray was stuffed for no gain on that play.
But the explosive plays that had been absent since the Denver game helped make up for it, and the Raiders finally got on track after rushing for just 85 yards the previous two games combined.
One of the key steps n Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith must complete before he can be reinstated to the NFL — meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell — still hasn’t happened, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Per Rapoport, Smith has completed all of his other meetings, spent an extra 60 days in rehab for substance abuse and wishes to meet with Goodell, but nothing has been scheduled yet.
Smith has been eligible for reinstatement since Nov. 17, the one-year anniversary of his banishment from the league. But there’s a lengthy process required because he was a Stage Three member of the substance abuse program, and his suspension was an indefinite one that requires him to apply to be let back into the league.
Smith has to provide the NFL with any information regarding his treatment, which, according to ESPN included 120 days at a facility in Carbondale, Colorado, must detail any use (or abstinence of) of substances during his suspension and meet with the NFL’s medical director and medical adviser.
While suspended, videos posted to a Periscope account linked to Smith showed someone who seemed to be him talking about and holding a handrolled cigarette. He initially tweeted a denial that it was him, but has since deleted that tweet.
That led to an NFL investigation and undoubtedly complicated Smith’s case. His suspension came as a result of an arrest for DUI, hit-and-run and vandalism in August 2015, his fifth run-in with the law since entering the league in 2011. The 49ers immediately released him, and the Raiders signed him a month later.
While general manager Reggie McKenzie last week declined to rule out Smith returning and making an impact this season, Rapoport reported Sunday that the Raiders are “not counting on his return.”
Raiders rookie safety n Karl Joseph left Sunday’s game with a foot injury and didn’t return. He was hobbling in the locker room afterward.
Undrafted rookie n linebacker James Cowser, playing in his second NFL game, recorded his first career sack. The Southern Utah product set the FCS career record for sacks during his time in college.