The Oakland Raiders played the Tennessee Titans in Week 2 of the 2008 NFL Preseason.
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Despite an 8 yard gain on first down, the Raiders went three and out. Vince Young was sacked on the second play from scrimmage, as the Titans went three and out as well. On the second Oakland possession, another opportunity was squandered. Justin Fargas picked up 9 yards on first down, and yet the team was punting a couple plays later. Tennessee was the mirror image, as a false start on 3rd and 1 followed by an incomplete pass led to another punt. Both teams were playing good defense, although part of it was inept offense.
On the 3rd Oakland possession of the game, Darren McFadden broke through for an 11 yard gain and the first 1st down for either team in the game. Yet 3 plays later, the Raiders were again punting the ball. Lendale White broke through for a 23 yard gain, giving the Titans their initial 1st down. It set up a 49 yard field goal that was no good.
On the next Oakland possession, JaMarcus Russell had a nice play action pass to Zach Miller for 23 yards. On the next play Russell completed a pass to Ronald Curry for 12 yards. Another pass from Russell to Miller went for 15 yards to the Tennessee 12. A 3 yard pass ended the quarter, as the question became if the Raiders could finish the drive they started. On 3rd and 7 form the 10, Russell escaped a sack and through a bullet to Miller for a touchdown. 16 seconds into the 2nd quarter had the Raiders up 7-0 on a 6 play, 61 yard drive.
Tennessee responded with Young completing a pass for 18 yards. Yet after some initial success, on 3rd and 7 from the Oakland 40, Young’s pass was tipped and nearly intercepted. Tennessee punted again.
Russell stayed in the game, as the Raiders began at their own 15. They went nowhere, and the team had acquired 7 penalties in less than a quarter and a half of football. A 71 yard punt by a backup punter filling in for the injured Shane Lechler bailed the Raiders out. Yet Vince Young was misfiring on all cylinders, as the Titans quickly punted it back. The Raiders did their part to keep them boring by running 3 plays, losing a yard, and punting on 4th and 11.
Vince Young was done for the day after a miserable outing. He went 4 of 13 for 37 yards. Former Raider Kerry Collins came in for the Titans and the team immediately picked up a spark. A pair of running plays had the Titans on the move. Yet on 3rd and 6, a Collins pass that was a bit high bounced off the receiver’s fingertips, falling incomplete.
On the next play, the Raiders made a mistake that would have had me screaming in rage if this was the regular season.
Johnny Lee Higgins fielded a punt inside the 10 yard line, for mistake number one. He then ran backwards and sideways, for mistake number two. He then fumbled the ball, where Tennessee fell on it for a gift touchdown. Yes, he did run a punt return for a touchdown a week earlier. This time he returned one zero yards for a touchdown for the other team. The Raiders were in complete control of the game, and one mistake later, with 4 minutes left in the half, the game was tied 7-7.
A personal foul on the ensuing kickoff on Tennessee had the Raiders starting at their own 42. The first play was an end around to Johnny Lee Higgins for 8 yards. It was a smart coaching move to get him involved quickly to get his confidence back. Michael Bush then entered the game and picked up the first down. The drive stalled at the 2 minute warning, and a punt had Tennessee starting at their own 15. They reached the Oakland 37, but turned it over on downs.
With 9 seconds left in the half, a run by McFadden went for 25 yards out, setting up a 56 yard field goal attempt by the backup to Sebastian Janikowski was good with plenty to spare. The Raiders led 10-7 at the half.
2 minutes into the second half, after a 19 yard Collins completion, the Raiders called timeout while on defense. It did not help, because on 2nd and 8 from midfield, Collins threw a bomb for a touchdown and a 14-10 Titans lead. Yes, this was against backups on defense, but a breakdown is a breakdown. The home crowd at Adelphia Coliseum finally had something to cheer about after a lifeless first half.
Andrew Walter came in at quarterback, officially ending the important part of the game. Nevertheless, a pair of handoffs to Michael Bush had the Raiders on the move. Michael Bush looked good this preseason, although against backups on defense. On 3rd and 1 form the Tennessee 46, Bush was stopped just short of the first down marker. On 4th and inches, Walter snuck across for the 1st down. On 3rd and 9, the Raiders tried a handoff out of the shotgun, setting up 4th and 4 at the 40. Walter’s pass was off the mark and incomplete.
Travis Henry broke through for a 20 yard gain to the Raiders 40 on the first play of the next Tennessee drive.
Again, the Titans stalled, and the Raiders took over at their own 9 yard line. Running by Michael Bush combined with a 3rd and 10 pass by Walter that went for a first down by the nose of the football had the Raiders at the Tennessee 44. A perfect strike by Walter set up Oakland with first and goal at the 8. Naturally, this was followed by a false start. These are the Raiders after all.
Despite dominating time of possession 12 minutes to 3 in the 3rd quarter, the Raiders trailed. A 27 yard field goal with 12:45 remaining had the Raiders to within 14-13. A 17 play, 82 yard drive ate up 8:33 of clock, but produced only 3 points.
The Titans went 3 and out, and Walter went right back to work with a 22 yard completion. Another completion went for a first down to the Titans 48. On 3rd and 6, Louis Rankin ran for a first down. A 45 yard field goal attempt bounced off the upright and went through. The Raiders led 16-14 with 5:19 left.
This was a typical Raider game. The team was dominating the game, but led by only 2 points. The defense only gave up one touchdown, The offense moved the ball but could not finish drives. The time was right for a defensive collapse to end the game. In all fairness, the 3rd stringers were in the game, so there is no way to tell what would happen in a real game.
3rd string quarterback Ingle Martin came in for Collins. On 4th and 3, with 3:08 remaining, the Titans decided to punt. A penalty on Tennessee made it 4th and 8, as the Raiders had them rekick. The Raiders took over with 2:51 remaining at their own 20. They had a strong running game all game, so their was hope they would run out the clock. Marques Tuiasasopo came in for Walter.
Both teams brought in the 3rd stringers with little time left. A running play by Rankin picked up 6 yards, but he ran out of bounds. On the next play, Echemandu broke away for what appeared to be a touchdown. However, aft6er a 72 yard gain, he was pulled down at the Tennessee 6 yard line. A touchdown would ice the game. Echemandu took it down to the one yard line. On second and goal from the one, Echemandu was ruled just short of the goal line.
Only the Raiders could screw this up. They did. A fumble was recovered by Tennessee. 2:10 remained, and Tennessee was at their own 2. Now all that was needed was a defensive meltdown to make this complete. The defense obliged, and a 30 yard pass play had Tennessee at their own 38 with 1:32 remaining. On 3rd and 15 from the 33, Martin converted the first down.
Martin was then sacked for a 13 yard loss. After a short gain, on 3rd and 17 from their own 42, with 48 seconds left, Tennessee took their final timeout. A pass by Martin appeared to pick up the first down, but was reviewed to see if it was caught short of the marker. Given that the Raiders may have never gotten a call in their entire history, it would have been better to just give the Titans the game. The catch was made a yard short, but it was ruled a first down with 26 seconds remaining.
A short pass over the middle split the seams all the way to the Oakland 16 yard line. The Titans ran up to the line and spiked the ball with 2 seconds left from only 33 yards out. The kick was good, and the Titans had won a game that only the Raiders could lose.
The Raiders are not a complete waste. There is plenty of room for improvement. The starters outplayed the Tennessee starters, but finishing games, even in preseason, is helpful.
17-16 Titans.
eric
Raiders will be 4-12. Bills will be surprise wild card team in AFC.
Sports update: My kickball team, the Pink team, lost a heartbeaker.
I went 3-3, and 7-7 the last 2 games. I even had a home run due to some aggressive baserunning out of what should have been a single. I reaggravated my thigh. It was not enough. We lost 4-2.
eric