NFL Overreactions Week 3: Raiders show real identity, Giants look like an NFL team
Raiders show improvements in quest for winless season; build pointless hope for Raider Nation
They came within 10 yards of scoring a touchdown that would’ve tied the game in New England then realized that their destiny this year is to not win a game this year as Derek Carr’s pass to Denarius Moore tipped off of his hands and into the mitts of defensive tackle Vince Wilfork in the Raiders 16-9 loss at Foxboro Sunday.
“I was ready to make the catch, but I didn’t want to get crushed afterward,” Moore admitted after the game. “I ain’t trying to get hit for nothing.”
The Raiders loss drops them to 0-3 on the season, 13 games shy of going the infamous 0-16 record, something that will put Oakland back on the map and give Raider Nation something else to brag about.
They are also trying to steal the title as the biggest choke in the city over the Oakland A’s.
“We can choke bigger than a baseball team,” defensive end Justin Tuck mentioned. “Oakland isn’t big enough for two losers. We have to prove that we can piss off more people than the A’s. Bet on it.”
The Raiders had a chance to take the Patriots into overtime on Sunday, if it wasn’t for Gabe Jackson holding his defender and Denarius Moore’s inability to catch a ball in the clutch. Instead of getting one last shot at avoiding 0-3, the Raiders remain winless in their 16-9 loss to New England.
The defense put up a valiant effort against Tom Brady and the Patriots, holding Brady to just 234 yards in the air with one touchdown and holding both Steven Ridley and Shane Vereen to just 74 yards on the ground.
But it was the Raiders offense that couldn’t finish through. Carr went 21-34 for just 174 yards on the day, and was able to drive the Raiders downfield on the final drive of the game again, except this time, with the game on the line, he couldn’t lead them to the score.
Darren McFadden’s touchdown run with just under a minute left was called back after Gabe Jackson was flagged for holding. On the following play, Carr threw to Moore over the middle, who let the ball go through his hands, which was then tipped by Logan Ryan into the hands of Wilfork to seal the win for the Pats.
Sunday’s win marks the 12th time the Patriots won their home opener in the last 13 years while the Raiders dropped their 15th straight game in the Eastern time zone.
Oakland now travels across the pond to take on the Miami Dolphins in London next Sunday.