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| ATL at ARI | BAL at SEA | CLE at CIN | DAL at CAR | DEN at SD | GB at CHI | HOU at IND | KC at DET |
| MIA at NE | NYG at BUF | NYJ at TEN | OAK at JAX | PHI at NO | PIT at STL | TB at SF | WAS at MIN |
Week 16 Game Recap: Oakland Raiders 11, Jacksonville Jaguars 49
What you need to know
| Oakland Raiders |
The JaMarcus Russell era has officially begun. Is that a good thing? Well, the jury is still out. He was very composed, despite the blowout, but also threw three interceptions and made some very poor judgment calls when throwing the ball under pressure. Josh McCown started the game, but Russell came in on the third series, and finished the game. For now, it looks like the Raiders are ready to see what they've got in their rookie signal-caller.
The rushing attack was a bright spot, but in a rout like this, running the ball won't help a team catch up much. Dominic Rhodes was the only ball carrier for the entire game.
The combination of errant throws and blanket coverage meant that the receivers put up paltry numbers across the board.
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
The Jaguars were simply too much for the Raiders to handle. They dominated every aspect of the game, from start to finish.
David Garrard is the unquestioned leader of this team, and he showed why. He spread the ball around, rushed for a touchdown and threw for two more. Meanwhile, Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew combined for 17 carries and 6 receptions, for 251 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense managed to hold the Raiders without a touchdown until the dying seconds, and picked off the rookie quarterback three times. They didn't give up one play of more than 25 yards the entire game.
What you ought to know
| QB JaMarcus Russell, Pass: 7 - 23 - 83 - 1 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0 |
Russell played the majority of the game, though he did not start. He showed good composure at times, but also made many poor decisions under pressure. He also displayed good scrambling ability, but poor accuracy when throwing on the run. With ten seconds remaining in the game, he finally scored the Raiders first touchdown of the day, a short pass to his tight end, and then followed it up with a successful throw for the two-point conversion.
| QB Josh McCown, Pass: 6 - 8 - 46 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
McCown started the game but gave way to rookie JaMarcus Russell after only two series. He returned briefly when Russell got hurt, but then was replaced again shortly thereafter. He played well enough; it seems that in a game that was over before halftime, the Raiders simply wanted to see the rookie play.
| RB Dominic Rhodes, Rush: 27 - 115 - 0, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (4 targets) |
Despite the blowout, the Raiders kept handing off the ball, with Rhodes as the main beneficiary. He ran well, but on only one occasion did he have a big gain.
| RB Justin Griffith, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) |
Griffith was targeted in the first half, but resumed his blocking role in the second.
| RB LaMont Jordan (1 targets) |
Yes, there was a Lamont Jordan sighting. He was targeted once -- in the red zone, no less -- and never heard from again.
| WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Rush: 1 - -5 - 0, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (3 targets) |
Higgins caught two of three passes thrown his way, both for short gains. He also lost five yards on a reverse play.
| WR Ronald Curry, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (6 targets) |
Curry was able to catch a couple of short passes, as well as a two-point conversion.
| WR Jerry Porter, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (7 targets) |
Porter caught only two passes against a tough secondary. They tried to get him the ball down the sideline, but the coverage was too tight.
| TE Zach Miller, Rec: 3 - 27 - 1 (8 targets) |
Miller was the default top target for the Oakland quarterbacks. While the wide receivers were blanketed, Miller benefited by catching half of his targets (one reception called back on penalty) including one for a touchdown.
| PK Sebastian Janikowski 1 - 1 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points |
He kicked what were very nearly the Raiders only points, a 41 yard field goal early in the game.
| OAK Rush Defense |
Are the Raiders really this bad? Second play from scrimmage: a run up the middle turns into a 62 yard score. Next Jacksonville drive: rushes of 12, 16, 2, and 14 yards (for a TD). At one point the frustration level was so high that Warren Sapp and Company took four simultaneous Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties, allowing the Jaguars to go from what was about to be a 50 yard field goal attempt to first and goal.
| OAK Pass Defense |
Is the pass defense as bad as the run defense? It's a tough question to answer because as long as the run defense is that bad, teams don't really need to pass. But four passing TDs for the Jaguars says that, Yes, the pass and run defense are pretty much running neck and neck in the futility department.
| QB David Garrard, Pass: 11 - 18 - 199 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 19 - 1 |
Garrard was picked off for only the third time this season. Beyond that, he was almost perfect. He was one yard shy of 200 with two passing touchdowns, and also showed how dangerous he could be on the ground, adding another TD. He spread the ball around nicely, showing no favored receiver, and generally looked like the undisputed leader of his team out there.
| QB Quinn Gray, Pass: 5 - 8 - 54 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 16 - 0 |
Gray entered the game once the rout was complete -- or at least appeared to be. He added two more touchdowns to the score, on throws to Reggie Williams and backup TE Richard Angulo. Gray seemed a little off when he came in, but once he settled in, he ran the offense like the well-oiled machine it appeared to be.
| RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 10 - 44 - 1, Rec: 6 - 96 - 0 (7 targets) |
Jones-Drew was at least as dangerous as Fred Taylor, racking up yardage on the ground and as a receiver. His four first half carries were all for first downs (one for a touchdown), and three of his catches were also for first downs, including one 43 yard gain. He was the Jags leading receiver on the day, in targets, yardage, and receptions.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 7 - 111 - 1 |
Taylor scored on the second play from scrimmage, a 62 yard rush through the middle. He only had seven carries on the day, and that's all the Jags needed from him. He finished the day with over a hundred yards.
| RB Greg Jones, Rush: 5 - 11 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 1 (1 targets) |
Jones scored early in the game with his only reception, then returned very late in the game to spell Jones-Drew and Taylor.
| WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 3 - 49 - 1 (4 targets) |
Though the number of targets don't show it, Williams was the most dangerous receiver for the Jaguars. He was targeted on longer throws than the other wideouts, and also scored a touchdown.
| WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (4 targets) |
Wilford caught half of the passed thrown his way, for eight and 14 yard gains.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (2 targets) |
Northcutt looked good with limited looks, and also handled punt returns.
| WR Matt Jones, Rec: 1 - 37 - 1 (3 targets) |
After dropping his first targeted throw, he then made his next one count: a beautiful one-handed sideline grab for a 37 yard touchdown, that he made look way too easy. It was his only catch of the day.
| TE Richard Angulo, Rec: 2 - 29 - 1 (2 targets) |
Angulo picked up a lot of garbage time minutes this game, and he made them count. His first catch was for 22 yards, and his second found him in the end zone.
| TE Marcedes Lewis (4 targets) |
Lewis seemed to be the Jaguars only source of bad luck. He dropped the first ball thrown to him; was the intended target on Garrard's interception (only his third of the entire season); and was the intended receiver on another near pick by the Raiders. He didn't look awful, just cursed.
| PK Josh Scobee 0 - 0 FG, 7 - 7 XP, 7 points |
He was perfect on all seven PAT attempts.
| JAX Rush Defense |
They held the Raiders to mostly short gains, but if there was a weakness, this was it, as Dominic Rhodes was able to run on them consistently.
| JAX Pass Defense |
The pass defense simply shone. Three interceptions and great coverage all day long.
