Crabtree grabs 3 TDs in big road victory.
Raiders 28, Ravens 27:
BALTIMORE — Say this about the Raiders: their games are not boring.
Oakland took things down to the wire again on Sunday as Derek Carr and Michael Crabtree led a game-winning drive and the defense delivered in the end of a 28-27 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
“It’s nail-biting,” safety Reggie Nelson said.
Nail-biting, but successful so far. The Raiders remained unbeaten in three road games and improved to 3-1 for the first time since 2002. It’s the first time they’ve started 3-0 on the road since 2000.
“A lot to smile about there,” coach Jack Del Rio said.
The end was filled with drama, as has been the case in every game. There were a few times when it looked like the Raiders were set to take charge; they opened a 21-12 lead early in the fourth quarter on the second of Crabtree’s three touchdown
receptions.
Baltimore (3-1) charged back when Steve Smith Sr. delivered a huge stiff-arm to David Amerson and went 52 yards for a touchdown, then Lawrence Guy forced a DeAndre Washington fumble to set up the Ravens’ goahead score with 3:36 left.
That left Carr in a position he’s experienced quite a bit in his young career. The offense ignited with back-to-back receptions by Crabtree and the Raiders were in the end zone before the two-minute warning even hit. The decisive 23yard completion came with 2:12 left.
That left the Ravens plenty of time, though, and they have one of the best and most clutch kickers in the league in Justin Tucker.
Baltimore opened the drive with an 18-yard run by Terrance West, who had 113 yards on the day. Joe Flacco hit Smith on consecutive 5yard passes, including one on third-and-4, to reach midfield.
Flacco had an open receiver on first down, but Chris Moore dropped the ball. After two more incompletions, he faced a fourth down with the game on the line.
With rookie safety Karl Joseph coming on a blitz, Flacco tried to find Kamar Aiken over the middle. But DJ Hayden stayed right with him and Nelson provided the clean-up work with a hit that guaranteed the incompletion and sealed the win.
“I knew I had to make a play,” Nelson said. “I was reading Flacco and I came across the ball and made the play.”
And now the Raiders have navigated one of the toughest portions of their schedule — three out of four games on the road — with only one loss to show for it.
“Good teams find a way to win wherever they are,” Del Rio said. “There are some things you have to do as a team, and we’ve embraced that.”
The Raiders have won four straight games that have kicked off at 10 a.m. PT, and are starting to debunk the theory of it being tough for West Coast teams to travel and win.
“For whatever reason, the league likes to put us in that window,” Del Rio said, “and we’re going to need to do well. I think we’ve learned how to travel well. Our guys are taking on that challenge. We’re going to have to travel all year.
We’ve got extensive travel. So, it will be important that we continue to take care of business no matter what.”
The next business will be to handle winning at home. The Raiders are 7-4 on the road since the beginning of last season, but just 3-6 at home.
“We need to win at home,” Carr said. “Sorry to the Raider Nation. We’ve got to do it in front of ya’ll.”
Where they win won’t matter as much if they keep racking them up, and the Raiders are showing an ability to win in different ways. The offense had its worst output of the season with just 261 yards, but the first touchdown was set up by special teams when Jalen Richard broke off a 47-yard punt return.
With the Raiders leading 14-12 to start the fourth quarter, the defense delivered a turnover when Bruce Irvin had his second stripsack of the season. Denico Autry recovered at the Ravens 29-yard line.
It took some help to reach the end zone when the Ravens jumped offside on fourth-and-inches from the 20. Three plays later Oakland was in the end zone.
But despite a tough day, the offense delivered when it needed to. Oakland had fewer than 200 yards of offense before it went 66 yards in six plays for the gamewinner as Carr directed the seventh fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
“The way we’re winning, it just shows the culture we’ve built in Oakland,” Carr said. “It’s paying off. We’re seeing the benefits.”
A lot of that culture starts with Del Rio, who seems to be building a winning attitude.
“Coach Del Rio is a real gritty, tough man and he’s instilled that in us,” Carr said. “He’ll get in a fight wherever, whenever for his brothers. We’re learning that.”