On to Week 8 of the 2008 NFL season and we bring the Raiders into our house! The Raiders are winless and we are undefeated, this should be easy! Right?
Game starts out with a Serna FG from 40yds out. Andrew Walter of the Raiders for some reason has great success passing the ball and he nails Harry Douglas for a 6yd TD to take the lead. 7-3 at the end of the first, and we take the lead in the 2nd with a TD pass from Troy Smith to DeSean Jackson. Sea-bass and Serna exchange FGs, and the halftime score is 13-10 Ravens on top. Serna nails a 53 yarder to open the 2nd half, and we extend our lead even further after a 2 yard rushing TD by Troy Smith. On to the 4th, and McGahee pounds it in from 19yds out around the right tackle. He showed a niiiice stiff arm to free himself and was really impressive this game. Walter has some success passing the ball and hits TE Zach Miller for a 18yd catch in the endzone. Serna closes the game with a 26yd FG and the Ravens are still undefeated!!
Player of the Game: Dawan Landry 7tck 1 for loss 1int 1FR
Other stats: Troy Smith 14/24 208yds 1td 0int; 8rush 26yds 1td 1 fumble
Willis McGahee 19rush 85yds 1td 1 fumble
Darren McFadden 8rush 12yds, 2rec 28yds
Demetrius Williams 3rec 47yds
DeSean Jackson 3rec 42yds 1td
Mark Clayton 2rec 45yds
Chris McAlister 9tck 1 pass def. 1FF
Terrell Suggs 5tck 3 for loss 2 sacks 1FF
Antawn Barnes 4tck 3 for loss 2 sacks
Haloti Ngata 4tck 1 sack
Dwan Edwards 1 sack
Defensive stats: 293 pass yds allowed, 2td 2int
-1 rush yards allowed, 0.0ypc allowed
3FF, 2FR
6 sacks
Offensive line: 0 sacks given
Special teams: 4/4 FG
2 punts 35.5 avg
Notes: Started out kind of slow this game (against the leagues worst team nonetheless) but really got it going, scoring 10 points in the last 3 quarters of the game and only allowing 7 points in the 2nd half. Everything was pretty solid this game. The only things i would nitpick at would be our pass coverage (too many yards) and our fumbles (2 lost, McGahee and Smith). But other than that, we were fairly consistent the entire game and Serna finally had a game where he didnt miss a FG.
To be fair, I attempt like 3 or 4 FG a game at least and he's taken at least ten 50+ yard FGs already this season. McFadden could never get it going this game, as he kept trying to jump to the outside when he had lanes inbetween the tackles. McGahee, on the other hand, was doing a great job of running downhill and through the holes the line opened for him. We also put great pressure on Walter, causing him to throw 2 picks and sacking him 6 times! Some notable injures: Backup center and rookie Cris Haynes tore his triceps and was lost for the year. I recently re-signed him to be my backup center for next year since I won't be re-signing Matt Flynn; Demetrius Williams left the game in the 3rd with an arm injury and did not return, but he should be fine for next game (replaced by Mark Clayton); Bart Scott healed up from his wrist nicely but was injured during the week and missed the game with a strained shoulder (replaced by Jarret Johnson). As long as he doesn't get re-injured, he should be good for next weeks game. Now looking forward to the Browns game next week and hopefully we'll be able to slow down their offense a little better this time around!
Final Score: Baltimore 33 - Oakland 17