Coming off another close game the Oakland Raiders looked to play a complete game against the Indianapolis Colts. They almost succeeded. The Raiders dominated the beginning and almost to finish escaping with a 33-25 victory. Derek Carr, a dominant rushing attack and opportunistic defense were the biggest of the Oakland Raiders week 16 takeaways.
Oakland Raiders Week 16 Takeaways
Derek’s Done
Going into Saturday’s game, Derek Carr was coming off a less than spectacular two game stretch. Against the Colts Carr was electric he finished the day with 228 yards and three touchdowns. The Colts much-maligned defense had no answer for Carr and company as three different receivers caught touchdown passes. Carr was in control of the game from the get go, continuously finding the open man and making the right decision. His pinkie was a non-issue as he was able to take more than a few snaps under center which opened up the offense and allowed the Raiders to take some play action shots. While the deep pass wasn’t there as it was earlier in the season, Carr was able to take intermediate pass after pass as the Colts had a very hard time covering Raiders receivers.
Unfortunately for as good as Carr was it does not matter as he left the early in the fourth with the Raiders up 19. Carr suffered a broken fibula. Without their franchise quarterback at the helm, the Raiders season is likely over.
Ground and Pound
Despite the Raiders season likely ending with the news of Carr’s broken fibula, the Raiders were able to rush for over 200 yards with the rookie running backs doing most of the damage. DeAndre Washington ran for 99 yards on 12 carries and Jalen Richard had another 66 yards on just six carries while combining for two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. The Raiders offensive line deserves as much credit as anyone for absolutely mauling and overpowering the Colts defensive front seven. The rookie duo however was electric in making the colts defenders miss tackles and gaining extra yards. Both Richards and Washington showcased excellent burst and shiftiness at the line of scrimmage and into the Colts secondary.
Opportunistic Defense
The Raiders may have allowed 25 points but they still forced three turnovers and dominated the game until Carr left with an injury. Carr’s absence deflated the entire stadium and presumably took the air out of the entire Bay Area’s lungs. The Raiders defense gave up a quick touchdown and field goal to bring the game closer before Matt McGloin got the ball back and sealed it with a gutsy throw to Amari Cooper to prevent the Raiders defense from taking the field again.
The Raiders pass rush was very active in the first half while they didn’t have any sacks they were very adept at making life hard for Luck who turned the ball over twice on interceptions with pressure in his face. In the second half particularly after Carr’s broken fibula, the defense had absolutely no answer for Andrew Luck and company.
But for most of the game the Raiders defense held strong and flustered the Colts for most of the game. The Colts struggled to put points on the board and to move the ball consistently and had issues holding the ball. It was a quality effort throughout most of the game despite the loss of the leader and quarterback.
