OAKLAND – Another Sunday at the Coliseum in Oakland, another fourth-quarter comeback for the Raiders who won their sixth straight game for the first time since their Super Bowl run in 2002, topping the visiting Bills 38-24.
Oakland scored 21 points in six minutes, beginning with Derek Carr’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree at the 5:17 mark in the third quarter. After Buffalo was forced to punt, returner Jalen Richard managed to give Carr and the offense the ball on Buffalo’s 38-yard line following a 17-yard return.
Four minutes later Latavius Murray dove into the end zone for a 1-yard score.
Buffalo’s offense stalled out one more time for its third consecutive three-and-out and just 40 seconds later Carr found Amare Cooper for a 37-yard score, putting Oakland up 30-24.
It was a lead the Raiders wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the game, adding one more Murray score just four minutes later to put the game out of reach.
Khalil Mack continued his dominant run of late, stealing the late-game spotlight by sacking Tyrod Taylor, forcing the fumble and recovering it on the Bills’ final true shot at coming back. It was Mack’s seventh straight game with a sack and the official nail in the Bills’ Sunday coffin.
He also furthered his franchise record with his fourth forced fumble this season.
The Bills came into the game with the NFL’s best rushing attack, averaging more than 157 yards per game. Conversely, the Raiders 26th-ranked defense was clearly discussed heavily during Bills’ prep meetings as Buffalo rushed 30 times for 212 yards, including LeSean McCoy’s 130 yards on the ground.
Another huge part of Buffalo’s game plan was to target the Raiders’ linebackers with pass plays. Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor only completed 17 of 32 passes for 177 yards and one huge interception. It seemed to work in the first half until the Raiders defense managed to figure it out, keeping Taylor to 9/22 passing and 81 yards in the second half.
Derek Carr, on the other hand, couldn’t be contained in the second half, completing 10 of 18 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, with long completions of 37, 26 and 19 yards.
