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Week 17 Game Recap: Oakland Raiders 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
What you need to know
| Oakland Raiders |
Oakland opened scoring in the game with a second quarter Michael Bush touchdown from four yards out, and answered a Tampa Bay score with a touchdown pass from JaMarcus Russell to WR Chaz Schilens from three yards out right before the half to take a 14-7 halftime lead.
Oakland's offense stalled in the third quarter, where the Buccaneers were able to tie the score up at 14. A Matt Bryant field goal gave Tampa Bay a 17-14 and the Buccaneers struck again behind a Cadillac Williams score before Oakland rang off 17 straight points to win the game and spoil Tampa Bay's playoff hopes. WR Johnnie Lee Higgins scored from 12 yards out on a pass from Russell and RB Michael Bush sealed the deal with a 67 yard run that gave Oakland a 28-24 lead. K Sebastian Janikowski added a field goal to give the Raiders a 31-24 lead, and the Oakland defense sacked Tampa Bay QB Jeff Garcia on a third down play with little time remaining to win the game.
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
The Buccaneers answered an Oakland score with one of their own, as Cadillac Williams took a handoff in from nine yards out to tie the score up at 7-7. Oakland responded with another score, and QB Jeff Garcia hit WR Michael Clayton from 58 yards out to even the score at 14-14. A Matt Bryant field goal and the second of Williams' touchdown runs gave the Buccaneers a 24-14 lead, but all of the momentum Tampa Bay had built up seemed to come to a complete halt when Williams wend down after a big run holding his knee, and had to be helped off the field. The Williams injury seemed to be serious and also seemed to deflate any energy the team and/or fans had and the play on the field definitely reflected it.
The Buccaneers defense allowed 17 unanswered points and let the Raiders punish them on the ground, but still had the ball late in the game with a chance to tie the score. However, following a big fourth down conversion on a long pass play, QB Jeff Garcia was sacked a few plays later as time expired, along with any hopes Tampa Bay had at a spot in the post season.
What you ought to know
| QB JaMarcus Russell, Pass: 14 - 21 - 148 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Russell was up and down against the Buccaneers as he finished 14 of 21 for 148 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the passing game, and one rush for two yards rushing. Russell connected with WR Chaz Schilens in the second quarter for a three yard scoring pass right before the half, and later in the fourth with WR Johnnie Lee Higgins from 12 yards out. After the Higgins score cut the Tampa Bay lead to three, Russell had it easy for the rest of the game. RB Michael Bush took the next drive to the house on one play, and Bush shouldered the load on Oakland's last scoring drive that ended in a Sebastian Janikowski field goal.
| RB Michael Bush, Rush: 27 - 177 - 2, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Michael Bush simply tore apart the struggling Tampa Bay rush defense to the tune of 27 rushes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and added a six yard reception for the Raiders. Bush's touchdown runs came from four and 67 yards out, the latter of which proved to be the game winner for the Raiders. Bush showed toughness running inside and the burst and speed he showed early in his college career before breaking his leg, and proved to be too much for an ailing, struggling Buccaneer defense as the game went on. On the Raider's final scoring drive, Bush was given the ball 10 straight times, a drive that ended with a Sebastian Janikowski field goal.
| RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 6 - 11 - 0 |
Fargas chipped in with six rushes for just 11 yards on the ground and did not record a reception on zero targets in the passing game.
| RB Darren McFadden, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
McFadden made minor contributions as he finished with one rush for two yards on the ground and two receptions for 10 yards on three targets in the passing game.
| WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Rec: 6 - 52 - 1 (8 targets) |
Higgins was the most targeted Oakland receiver as he finished with eight targets that resulted in six catches for 52 yards and a 12 yard touchdown reception. JaMarcus Russell seemed to be locked onto Higgins for most of the game.
| WR Chaz Schilens, Rec: 3 - 46 - 1 (3 targets) |
Schilens caught all three passes thrown his way for 46 yards that included a second quarter score from three yards out right before the half.
| TE Zach Miller, Rec: 2 - 34 - 0 (3 targets) |
Miller was targeted three times and finished with two receptions for 34 yards. Both of his catches resulted in first downs, one of which came on a third down play.
| PK Sebastian Janikowski 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Janikowski connected from 25 yards out on his only field goal attempt and added four extra points to finish with seven points in the game.
| OAK Rush Defense |
Oakland allowed 125 net rushing yards on 26 attempts, for a 4.8 ypc average and allowed two rushing scores. For the game, they gave up five rushing first downs and while Cadillac Williams was able to put up big numbers on his touches, they held Warrick Dunn in check.
LB Kirk Morrison finished with a team high eight solo tackles and five assists and LB Thomas Howard added five solos and six assists of his own to lead the Oakland defense.
| OAK Pass Defense |
Oakland's defense played well against the pass, considering they were without arguably the best cover corner in the league in Nnamdi Asomugha. They allowed 255 net pass yards, but held Tampa Bay to six of 15 on third downs and while they did allow a score, they came up with big plays down the stretch to force Buccaneer punts and came up with a timely sack on the last play for their only sack of the game. However, with a few better Garcia throws, the 58 yard touchdown they allowed wouldn't have been the only big play given up by the Oakland secondary.
DB Gibril Wilson finished with five solo tackles and one assist to lead the Raiders secondary.
| QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 17 - 33 - 257 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 10 - 0 |
Jeff Garcia struggled against an Oakland defense that was hurting in the secondary, but was playing not only for pride, but playing to be the spoiler and knock Tampa Bay out of the playoffs. Garcia finished 17 of 33 for 257 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and added three rushes for 10 yards on the ground. Garcia's score came on a 58 yard connection with WR Michael Clayton, but could not take advantage facing a Raider secondary that was missing their best corner in Nnamdi Asomugha. Garcia was only sacked once, but faced pressure throughout the game and was forced to make plays on the move, something he normally does well. However, the Raiders played well in coverage and were helped out on a few plays that simply did not work because of poorly thrown balls. Garcia missed wide open receivers on a number of big play attempts, and that came back to haunt Tampa Bay in the end.
| RB Cadillac Williams, Rush: 12 - 78 - 2, Rec: 5 - 37 - 0 (5 targets) |
Cadillac Williams was on his way to having his best game since returning from the knee injury that sidelined him two seasons ago with 12 rushes for 78 yards and two touchdown rushing, and five receptions for 37 yards receiving, before leaving the game with another apparent knee injury. Before the injury, Williams scored on runs from nine and eight yards out, and was showing signs of his brilliant rookie year before he hurt the knee on a long 28 yard run in the fourth quarter. Williams looked to be in a tremendous amount of pain, and football fans can only hope his injury isn't career threatening.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 10 - 37 - 0, Rec: 2 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Dunn ran the ball ten times for 37 yards on the ground and added two receptions for four yards in the passing game. For most of the game, he gave way to Cadillac Williams, but when he was given touches, he was unable to do much with them.
| WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 3 - 77 - 0 (10 targets) |
Bryant was targeted the most of any Tampa Bay receiver with ten, but was able to come down with just three receptions for 77 yards. He was able to gain separation on a number of plays, and was open on a few others where passes were not thrown his way, so Bryant could have had a much, much bigger game.
| WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (2 targets) |
Hilliard caught both passes thrown his way for 20 yards, both of which converted third down plays for the Buccaneers.
| WR Michael Clayton, Rec: 2 - 87 - 1 (5 targets) |
Michael Clayton was targeted five times, and finished with two receptions for 87 yards and a 58 yard touchdown reception. Three of his targets came on third downs, and one came on a crucial fourth down play that landed incomplete and ended Tampa Bay's season.
| TE Jerramy Stevens, Rec: 2 - 28 - 0 (4 targets) |
Stevens was targeted for times and finished with two receptions for 28 yards. He was targeted downfield a few times, and with better throws could have finished with a bigger day.
| PK Matt Bryant 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points |
Bryant made good from 29 yards out on his only field goal attempt and added three extra points to finish with six points. His recent struggles on field goal attempts from 50 yards or more made the Buccaneers reluctant to send him out on a few occasions.
| TB Rush Defense |
Tampa Bay's struggles stopping the run continued against the Raiders, who ran through them for a total of 192 yards on 35 attempts, most of which came on the legs of RB Michael Bush. Oakland ran the ball at a 5.5 ypc clip and simply wore down the beat up Tampa Bay front seven throughout the game. The Buccaneers allowed two rushing scores, from four and 67 yards out, and the Bush 67 yard run in the fourth quarter ended up being the difference in the game, ending the season for Tampa Bay.
LB Barrett Ruud was his consistent self as he finished with six solo tackles and three assists and LB Cato June chipped in with five solos and four assists of his own. LB Derrick Brooks had four solo tackles and three assists before leaving the game in the fourth quarter after limping noticeably on the Bush 67 yard score.
| TB Pass Defense |
The Buccaneers allowed just 145 net passing yards, but gave up two passing scores, one of which came right before the half. They failed to get pressure on QB JaMarcus Russell, who was only sacked one time in the game, and allowed the Raiders to control the tempo behind a potent rushing attack that wore them down throughout the game.
DB Ronde Barber had five solo tackles and one assist and DB Sabby Piscitelli came up with a big 84 yard interception return that led to a Tampa Bay touchdown.
