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QB sacked on three consecutive plays; Oakland firmly in race for No. 1 pick
More on Foster: “Too many things have happened,” said San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan.
Bucs 27, 49ers 9: The offense, missing some key weapons, sputtered all game and QB Nick Mullens was sacked 4 times.
Ravens 34, Raiders 17: The league’s best defense stymied Oakland, but the game was in play until a Carr fumble in the fourth quarter.
BALTIMORE >> Derek Carr’s quest to ruin the Raiders’ draft position met its match in the Ravens on Sunday, and the No. 1 pick remains firmly in sight after a 34-17 loss in Baltimore dropped the Raiders to 2-9.
The game unofficially ended with six minutes left, when Carr fumbled on fourth-and-8 from his own 38-yard line, and 16th-year linebacker Terrell Suggs carried the ball with one hand all the way to the end zone to put the Ravens up 17. Game, set, match.
Carr injured his ankle on the play, but returned for the Raiders’ next drive even after A.J. McCarron warmed up on the sideline with his helmet on.
It didn’t matter who the Raiders threw under
center against the league’s best defense, and a Raiders offense that hung tight for over three quarters had no answer at the end. Carr was sacked on three straight plays late in the fourth quarter, all by Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon, who didn’t break stride as he sprinted into the tunnel to celebrate after his third.
“Not that I can remember, I don’t think so,” Carr said when asked if he remembers ever being sacked three plays in a row. “It’s frustrating.”
Carr has now been sacked 35 times, one fewer than he was sacked the past two seasons combined.
Here are a couple takeaways from the game, a surprisingly close one that turned into an expected blowout.
THE RAVENS ADJUSTED WISELY >> After Jackson and running back Gus Edwards combined for 232 rushing yards last week, the pair only totaled 10 rushes and 64 yards in the first half.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh must’ve realized at halftime the Raiders had the second-worst run defense entering Sunday at 142.3 rushing yards allowed per game, and the Ravens ran 12 times compared to one pass on their 6:50, 75-yard scoring drive to open the second half, capped off by Jackson’s 5-yard touchdown run.
Jackson finished with 11 rushes for 71 yards and a touchdown (stats include two end-of-game kneel-downs as 1-yard losses), and Edwards 23 carries for 118 yards. The Ravens dominated secondhalf time of possession via the ground. The Raiders had no answer, as the Ravens’ first two drives of the second half spanned 15:43 and featured 23 runs in 30 plays, both drives ending in touchdowns as the Ravens widened their lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter.
“First half, they tried to change some things up,” rookie defensive end Arden Key said. “Second half, they just went back to what they do best, and we didn’t stop it.”
Just for laughs, Packers castoff Ty Montgomery added 6.4 yards per carry on eight carries, as the Ravens pulled away in the second half by exposing the Raiders’ porous run defense. RAIDERS RECEIVING CORPS IS WEAK >> No. 1 receiver Jordy Nelson returned to action Sunday and didn’t catch a pass while only being targeted once. No. 2 receiver Seth Roberts is decent. No. 3 option Marcell Ateman isn’t fast and dropped two catchable balls against the Ravens. No. 4 target Keon Hatcher was targeted once in his first-ever regular season game with the team. No. 5 option Johnny Holton’s hands aren’t anything to write home about.
“I just didn’t make enough plays,” Nelson said. “I thought we made some plays. We were moving the ball well, but we just didn’t make enough of them.”
Carr’s numbers weren’t great Sunday (16 of 34 for 194 yards and a touchdown), but his receivers didn’t help.
“The Ravens played a lot of tight coverage and we had some opportunities to make plays, but we didn’t make them,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “...We just didn’t make plays against a very good defensive team that needed to be made today.”
Tight end Jared Cook is by far and away Carr’s best target, a problem for a team who should look at wide receivers in the first round of the draft.
RAIDERS ARE FINDING THE PICKS >> For the second straight game, the Raiders tallied multiple interceptions. A week after Gareon Conley and Karl Joseph picked off Josh Rosen, Reggie Nelson and Marcus Gilchrist intercepted another rookie quarterback in Jackson.
Both picks resulted from tip drills, the first a Nelson pick after deflections by Erik Harris and Tahir Whitehead, the second a Gilchrist pick in the end zone at the end of the first half after a pass deflection by Conley in tight coverage against Michael Crabtree.
The Raiders now have nine interceptions through 11 games, a year after they finished last in the NFL with five interceptions and didn’t grab their first until Week 12 against the Broncos.
“That’s always positive. We’re playing good,” Reggie Nelson said. “We’re trying to get better each week ... Guys made plays on the ball today. People were in the right spots to make those plays. That’s how you win games, by creating turnovers.”