NFL 2018 Preseason Week 3 Raiders Recap
The Oakland Raiders hosted the Green Bay Packers in the third preseason game for both teams. Normally the third preseason game is the closest to regular season action. Starters often play into the third quarter as teams see where they really are.
Not this year. Not this game. Aaron Rodgers did not play at all as backup Brett Hundley got the nod. The Raiders did play their starters. Coming into the game the Raiders were expected to have a high-octane offense and a suspect defense. With Khalil Mack still holding out, that is only amplified.
Derek Carr and most of the starters had last week off, but they started this game. On the first play from scrimmage, a perfectly executed play action pass went to Amari Cooper for a 49 yard gain. Al Davis had to be smiling above at the completed bomb. Cooper showed extra awareness by running for extra yards when the defenders thought the play was over. Another completion by Carr on the drive to Jared Cook led to 1st and goal at the 5. Jon Gruden wanted Muscle Hamster Doug Martin to get some carries to see if he could be the top backup to Marshawn Lynch. Yet a pair of carries set up 3rd and goal at the 3. Former left tackle and current right tackle Donald Penn was manhandled on the play, leading to Carr fumbling. Carr fell on the ball at the 15. Mike Nugent hit the 32 yard field goal to make it 3-0 Raiders, but it was another unfinished drive. It was also Carr’s only drive of the night.
The Raiders defense has been awful the last couple years. Earlier in the week, 2017 second round pick Obii Melifonwu was cut. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was brought in. With the Packers facing 3rd and 9 at their own 20, Hundley easily took apart the Raiders defense and moved the Packers into the red zone. The Raiders got lucky when a pass to the end zone was dropped. On 3rd and 1, a run up the middle was stuffed. Mike McCarthy decided to go for it on 4th and 2, but a false start killed that. Mason Crosby hit the field goal for a 3-3 game.
With 3 1/2 quarters to play, both teams now had backup quarterbacks playing. An illegal block negated a 58 yard kickoff return. Connor Cook completed a couple of solid passes to get the Raiders to midfield. aAfter that, under pressure, he misfired a couple times and the Raiders punted. Penalties had the Packers facing 3rd and 22 inside their own 10. McCarthy went with a give up run and a punt.
In the second quarter a promising drive ended without points. From the Green Bay 40, Connor Cook tried to go for the bomb. The receiver had a couple steps but the ball was badly underthrown and intercepted. With the Packers facing 3rd and 7 at their own 20, Arden Key sacked Hundley for a 12 yard loss. Cook stayed in the game, but the first string offensive line was done for the night. On 3rd and 4, a simple pass in the flat was off the mark and dropped. on the next Oakland series they moved to the Green Bay 32. Yet Cook again misfired on third down and Nugent missed a 49 yard field goal wide. Aided by a defensive penalty for lowering the head to initiate contact, the Packers moved to a 3rd and 4 at the Oakland 30. Hundley misfired. In the regular season, a field goal would be a no brainer. In preseason, going for it is fine. Hundley threw incomplete again.
With a little over 90 seconds left in the half, Cook had a sideline pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Illegal contact on the defense nullified the entire play. Hundley would then get belted and fumbled. This hideously ugly game went to the half tied 3-3. The only thing to be learned from this game is what we already knew. Brett Hundley and Connor Cook are not Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr
The ugliness continued when the Packers fumbled the second half kickoff. They retained possession as former Browns bust Deshone Kizer took over as the Packers third string quarterback. With the Packers facing 3rd and 12 deep in their own territory, Kizer barely avoided being sacked in the end zone for a safety. EJ Manuel came in for the Raiders as the battle of third string quarterbacks was now in full swing. Manuel did run for a 13 yard gain, but then on 3rd and 11 a high snap was mishandled for a big loss. On 4th and 27, another punt.
On the next series, Emanuel fumbled the ball away to set the Packers up at the Oakland 35. Late in the 3rd quarter, the Packers faced 2nd and goal at the 3. Hundley threw incomplete twice. In a bizarre decision even for the preseason, Mike McCarthy opted to go for it rather than kick the field goal for the lead. On 4th and goal from the 3, a draw play went for the touchdown. However, in this blunder-filled game, an illegal chop block nullified the score. Mason Crosby hit the 36 yard field goal for a 6-3 Packers lead after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter Manuel led the Raiders 64 yards in 13 plays in nearly 6 minutes. He zipped a pass over the middle to Greg Whalen for a long gain. On 3rd and 3, Chris Warren took a pitchout 10 yards. On 3rd and 9 from the Green Bay 12, Manuel went to the corner of the end zone and overthrew Seth Roberts. Nugent hit the 32 yarder for a 6-6 game with 11:45 left in regulation.
The Raiders missed a golden chance for the lead when a near interception was dropped. Defender Pringle had a clear streak to the end zone, but it was not meant to be. On 3rd and 10 from the Oakland 45, Manuel found Hatcher for 15 with another 15 tacked on for roughing the passer. On 1st and goal at the 9, a fade pass to the end zone drew defensive pass interference meant 1st and goal at the one. After 55 minutes of futility, the game saw its first touchdown that actually counted. Warren banged into the end zone, and somehow there were no penalties to nullify the score. The 68 yard drive had the Raiders up 13-6 with 5 minutes left in regulation.
Kizer the completed a deep ball for 28 yards, with another 15 tacked on for a hit on a defenseless receiver. It was a mind-blowing call given that the defender clearly led with his shoulder and not his head. It was a textbook hit. For years nobody knew what a catch was. Now nobody knows what a tackle is. On 3rd and 4, Kizer scrambled for a 6 yard gain to the Oakland 25. With 2:15 to play the Packers had all 3 timeouts plus the 2 minute warning. 3 straight incompletions meant 4th and 10 with 1:54 to play. Kizer was sacked.
The Packers took timeouts on defense. On 3rd and 1, Warren got stopped and the Packers still had life in the game that would never end. A holding penalty on the return had the Packers taking over at their own 8 yard line with 80 seconds to play and 0 timeouts. Kizer completed 3 short passes that had the Packers far short of midfield and nowhere near Hail Mary territory. In attempting to stop the clock, Kizer fumbled the snap and the clock kept running. By the time Kizer recovered, there was time for only one more play, an incompletion. The Raiders finally had the ugly win.
The Raiders managed to defeat a third string quarterback who was not good enough to stay on the roster of a team that went 0-16 last year. Both teams had at least 10 penalties for 100 yards. There is plenty of room for improvement, but the bottom line is the Raiders have no depth at quarterback. Without Derek Carr, they have no chance. 13-6 Raiders
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