The Oakland Raiders were trying to reach .500 and create a winning streak this past week against the Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 9 matchup.Oakland was never in the game as they were down 21-3 with 11 minutes in the second quarter and it only got worse from there, ending with a 49-20 loss.
The Raiders will head to New York in Week 10 to take on the Eli Manning and the Giants, but let’s see what was trending up and down in the Week 9 rout.
Trending Up
Rashad Jennings
This was Jennings’ best game of the season and the fifth-year back will likely get the start next week if McFadden is not ready to go. He has filled in well this season when given opportunities, averaging 4.7 yards per carry and has 19 receptions in eight games.
Jennings showed some tough running this past week and may garner split carries the rest of the season even if McFadden is healthy.
Sebastian JanikowskiThe Raider kicker was a perfect 2-2 in field goals th
is week and could be turning things around. Janikowski had a 24-yarder and a 53-yarder to improve his season total to 69.2%.
He has now made four of his last five field goals and hopefully is on his way to becoming the reliable kicker that the Raiders have counted on.
The fact that he kicked a field goal over 50 yards can give the Raiders hope that he is back to normal. Having trust in Janikowski can give the Raiders that extra dimension of being able to put points on the board from further out.
Rod Streater
The second-year receiver from Temple had his best game of the season with six catches for 98 yards. Streater recorded a majority of the yards on a 66-yard reception in the first quarter but was able to take away the leading receiver title away from Denarius Moore.
Streater has 28 catches for 417 yards this season as the number two receiver, but this was his first game with at least five receptions since Week 1. The Raider receivers have come under a little fire this season for not creating enough separation from corners to get open for quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Streater must continue to become a solid second threat for the Raiders if they plan to fix the passing game.
Trending Down
Raiders’ Passing Defense
The defense had no answer for the Eagles offense as they gave up touchdowns on the first four drives of the game. Cornerback D.J. Hayden was seen falling twice in coverage allowing two touchdowns and the Raider defense allowed Foles to average a touchdown for every four pass attempts.
The pass rush was non-existent for most of the game, but the secondary did not help the cause by looking lost on most plays. The Raiders take on another good passing team this week and must improve their effort if they hope to stop the Giants.
Darren McFadden
The former Arkansas running back has struggled to get it going all season and may miss more time if the hamstring is not ready to go. The Raiders had hope that McFadden could replicate his 2010 season when he had 1,157 rushing yards but has failed to do so.
At this point, McFadden is better off getting healthy than trying to rush back before he is ready. Until then, Jennings and Marcel Reece can handle the duties.
Terrelle Pryor
The 24-year-old once again seemed uncomfortable in the pocket and could not get the offense going. Although the Raiders outgained the Eagles, they could not find the endzone enough to keep up with the Eagles scoring. The offensive line did a slightly better job this week, overlooked because of the pressure Pryor creates by leaving the pocket. The Raider quarterback must develop a better pocket presence and stand in to look for a play instead of running out.
Pryor now has seven interceptions in his last three games with zero touchdown passes. The third-year quarterback will get another chance this week against the 16th-ranked passing defense.
