Week 14 Game Recap: Oakland Raiders 10, Cincinnati Bengals 27

What you need to know

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland pass defense, rated as one of the NFL’s top units, is good enough to win in this league. It’s a shame that the Raiders’ offense is so bad. The defense intercepted Carson Palmer three times and recovered a Rudi Johnson fumble, but the offense was only able to score three points off those turnovers and kept the defense on the field most of the game.

Since coming back from injury, Aaron Brooks has added stability to the quarterback position. He threw for one touchdown and was only intercepted once, while completing 23 of 39 passes. Nine different receivers caught passes, but the touchdown came in the fourth quarter when the Raiders were trailing 27–3.

Randy Moss left the game in the second quarter with an unspecified ankle injury. Ronald Curry and Alvis Whitted tried to pick up the slack, combining for 13 catches, 133 yards and one touchdown.

New offensive coordinator John Shoop was able to demonstrate a few new wrinkles in the Raiders’ attack. The running game never got untracked, but three running backs were involved in the passing game. If this becomes a trend it would mark a big change from Tom Walsh’s offensive schemes, where running backs usually blocked on passing downs.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals rode a three game winning streak into this clash with the Raiders intent on keeping their playoff chances alive. Despite turning the ball over three times in the first half, they still led 14–3 at half time.

Carson Palmer is beginning to play at as well as he did last year before his knee injury. He is making quick decisions, delivering accurate passes to his lethal receiving core, and scrambling when he gets pressured. He was able to complete 20 of 28 for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns.

Rudi Johnson carried 30 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns, providing Cincinnati with a balanced attack that the tough Oakland defense could not handle.

The Bengals’ defense, much maligned earlier in the season, has rebounded of late. They gave up a total of seven points in the previous two games, and against the Raiders, leading 27 – 3, they surrendered one meaningless fourth quarter touchdown. While the Bengals are near the bottom of the league in yards allowed, they are among the leaders in points allowed. Cincinnati is a classic example of a bend but don’t break defense.

With the Bengals’ defense playing better, Carson Palmer returning to last year’s form and Rudi Johnson providing a powerful running game, Cincinnati appears to be peaking at the right time.

What you ought to know

QB Aaron Brooks, Pass: 23 - 39 - 199 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 11 - 0

Brooks completed 23 of 39 passes while involving nine different receivers. He threw for one touchdown, was intercepted once, and sacked four times. He has added stability to the quarterback position since returning from injury.

RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 13 - 37 - 0, Rec: 2 - 2 - 0 (3 targets)

Fargas only gained 37 yards on 13 carries, as Oakland fell behind early in this game. He also caught two passes for two yards.

RB ReShard Lee, Rush: 1 - -3 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets)

Journeyman Lee only carried once and gained three yards. He also caught one pass for six yards.

RB Zack Crockett, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (2 targets)

The 240 pound fullback had no carries, but caught one pass.

WR Ronald Curry, Rec: 8 - 99 - 1 (9 targets)

After Moss left this game, Curry became more involved and scored the only Raiders’ touchdown. He accounted for 99 yards on eight balls.

WR Alvis Whitted, Rec: 5 - 34 - 0 (11 targets)

Whitted fumbled his first catch, which was recovered by the Bengals and led to their early 7–0 lead. On the day, he caught five passes for 34 yards, including a 19 yard catch for a first down on third and 18, and a six yard grab for a first down on fourth and four. He held on to five passes for 34 yards.

WR Randy Moss, Rec: 2 - 28 - 0 (3 targets)

Moss left the field in the second quarter with an unspecified ankle injury. His disappointing numbers are representative of his season to date: two receptions for 28 yards.

TE John Madsen, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (3 targets)

The rookie from Utah, and former teammate of 49ers' quarterback Alex Smith, caught two passes for 12 yards.

TE Courtney Anderson, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (2 targets)

The big tight end caught one pass for 12 yards.

TE Randal Williams, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets)

Williams caught one pass in the second quarter for five yards.

PK Sebastian Janikowski 1 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points

Janikowski came into this game having missed his last four FG attempts. His first try, from 51 yards out, hit the left upright, but he was good on his second kick from 33 yards. He also converted one extra point.

OAK Rush Defense

The Raiders were unable to slow down Rudi Johnson, who carried 30 times for a 3.9 yard per carry average. As a team, Oakland surrendered 136 rushing yards, which enabled the Bengals to control the ball almost 36 minutes.

OAK Pass Defense

The Raiders were unable to slow down Carson Palmer, who completed 20 of 28 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns. They were able to intercept Palmer three times, twice in the first half while the game was still competitive. They were unable to sack Palmer, and he was able to elude the rush when they pressured him. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson each went over 100 yards receiving.

QB Carson Palmer, Pass: 20 - 28 - 297 - 2 TD / 3 INT

Palmer is beginning to play himself back into pre-knee injury shape. He is making quick decisions, delivering accurate passes to his lethal receiving core, and scrambling when he gets pressured. He was able to complete 20 of 28 for 297 yards and two touchdowns.

QB Anthony Wright, Pass: 1 - 1 - 6 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -3 - 0

With 3:46 left in the game, Wright came in after Cincinnati took over on downs at the Raider 26 yard line. He handed off to Kenny Watson four times, completed his only pass to Jeremi Johnson, and then took a knee on three successive plays to run out the clock.

RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 30 - 117 - 2, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets)

Johnson carried 30 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Most of his carries were between the tackles, and the Raiders’ defense was unable to stop him. In this game, Johnson went over the one thousand yard mark, becoming the second player in team history to record three consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons. Corey Dillon was the first.

RB Kenny Watson, Rush: 5 - 22 - 0, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (2 targets)

Watson is the new third down back, replacing Chris Perry who broke his leg. He caught two passes for 25 yards, and gained 22 yards on five carries in mop up duty. He is considered to be not as good a runner as Perry, but a better blocker.

RB Jeremi Johnson, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (3 targets)

He only carried once for no gain, but he did catch three passes for 23 yards. He is primarily the blocking back who opens holes for Rudi Johnson.

WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 8 - 118 - 1 (11 targets)

Houshmandzadeh caught eight passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. He did not play much in the fourth quarter with the Bengals in front 27–3.

WR Chad Johnson, Rec: 5 - 101 - 0 (9 targets)

He was the third Cincinnati player to gain over 100 yards in this game. Johnson, despite creative defensive coverages, caught five passes for 101 yards.

WR Chris Henry, Rec: 2 - 31 - 1 (4 targets)

Henry scored the first Bengals’ touchdown on an eight yard pass from Palmer, but only caught one more pass in the game.

TE Reggie Kelly

Kelly was a non factor in the passing attack.

PK Shayne Graham 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 4 XP, 3 points

Graham did not attempt a field goal and was three of four extra points. His fourth attempt hit the left upright.

CIN Rush Defense

With Oakland falling behind 14–0 in the first quarter, the running game was abandoned. The Bengals held the Raiders to 16 attempts and a 2.8 yards per rush average.

CIN Pass Defense

Brooks was able to throw one touchdown pass in the fourth quarter with Cincinnati leading 27–3. He was sacked four times and intercepted once.