The Raiders were 10 point underdogs at home Sunday, but pulled off an upset defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 20-17.

Bruce Gradkowski started at quarterback in place of JaMarcus Russell.  Gradkowski went 17 for 34 with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.  Gradkowski connected with Zach Miller on a 10-yard touchdown pass, as well as a 29-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy to tie the game at 17-17 with 33 seconds left.

On the ensuing kickoff with the score tied 17-17, Bengals return man Andre Caldwell fumbled the ball and Oakland recovered in Cincinnati territory.  Sebastian Janikowski then kicked the winning 33-yard field goal.

The Raiders’ defense recorded 3 sacks and Nnamdi Asomugha had an interception that ended the game.

The Raiders are now 3-7 and travel to Dallas on Thursday for a Thanksgiving game.

It is becoming clear that the Raiders’ offensive woes are not all the fault of JaMarcus Russell.  The Raiders seriously need to do something to improve at the wide receiver position.

The Raiders had a chance to win the game by 1 point with a last second drive, but the drive was unsuccessful after important passes were dropped just as most passes were all game.

The defense looked impressive as usual, recording 3 turnovers and 2 sacks.

JaMarcus Russell was benched during a game for the second time this season and finished the game with 9 completions, 24 attempts, and 67 yards.  Bruce Gradkowski, who came in for the benched Russell, finished 4 for 7, 46 yards, and 1 interception.  It should be noted that Gradkowski’s interception wasn’t exactly his fault, he threw a perfect pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey who bobbled the pass up into the air for the defender to grab.

The Raiders and Chiefs are now 2-7.  Next week the Raiders host the Bengals at home in Oakland.

Although they only lost by 8 points, the Oakland Raiders suffered yet another ugly loss to a division rival.  The 24-16 loss to the Chargers makes it 13 consecutive losses to the Chargers.

The Raiders were up to their usual antics of ridiculous penalties and wide receivers running into each other.  The offensive line is having a terrible time with pass protection.

Justin Fargas got going on the ground finishing the game with 18 carries for 59 yards and 1 touchdown.

As always, Raiders wide receivers seemed non-existent, but tight end Zach Miller had 5 catches for 52 yards.

The Raiders are now 2-6 and will be off with a bye next week.

The Raiders fell to the New York Jets at home on Sunday 38-0.  They are now 2-5 and Richard Seymour’s guarantee of the Raiders making the playoffs this year now seems even more ridiculous.

JaMarcus Russell was benched in the 2nd quarter and finished 6 for 11, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.  He was replaced by backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski who finished the game 10 for 19, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

The Raiders’ defense gave up over 300 yards rushing.

Next on the schedule for the Raiders is a trip down to San Diego to face the 3-3 Chargers.

The Raiders ended a 3-game losing streak Sunday when they held on to win against Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles. 

The offense was sparked by a 86 yard touchdown by tight end Zach Miller in the first quarter.  JaMarcus Russell went 17/28 for 224 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions for a QB rating of 68.2.  Justin Fargas rushed for 87 yards and Michael Bush rushed for 22 yards.

The Raiders’ defense looked good with 6 sacks, including 2 by Richard Seymour and 2 by Trevor Scott.  Michael Westbrook was held to only 50 yards rushing.

The Raiders now hold a record of 2-4 and will host the New York Jets next Sunday.

Tony Dungy, the creepy NBC analyst and mentor of Michael Vick admitted Sunday that he advised Vick not to play for the Raiders.

“I advised Michael Vick not to go there. I said, ‘Mike, you might be able to start there but that is not a good place for you.’”

With the 7th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Raiders passed on the following receivers who were picked in the first round:

(last updated 1/23/2010)

Michael Crabtree:              Rec-48          Yards- 625        TD-1            Fum-2

Jeremy Maclin:                  Rec-55          Yards-762         TD-4            Fum-0

Percy Harvin:                    Rec-60          Yards-790         TD-6            Fum-1

Hakeem Nicks:                  Rec-47          Yards-790         TD-6            Fum-2

Kenny Britt:                     Rec-42           Yards-701         TD-3            Fum-1

At 1-4, it isn’t looking good for the Raiders’ season at all.

The Raiders were downright dominated by the 5-0 Giants.  There’s really not much else to say other than the Raiders are playing horrible football.  Fingers will be pointed, but it has been a poor effort all around with this Raiders team.

Next week the Raiders come home to host the 3-1 Philadelphia Eagles.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get much worse for the Raiders, it now looks like Darren McFadden will be out for a few weeks with a knee injury.

McFadden is expected to have surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage in his knee.  McFadden had -3 rushing yards against the Texans and is averaging 3.1 yards per carry.

The AP is reporting that tight end Zach Miller suffered a concussion during Sunday’s game against the Texans.  The severity of concussions can vary and the extent of Miller’s concussion is not yet known.  The struggling offense needs Miller right now, so let’s hope he gets well soon.

It wasn’t pretty for the Oakland Raiders today as they were blown out by the Houston Texans 29-6.  The Raiders’ offense failed to score a touchdown for the second straight week. 

JaMarcus Russell was 12/33 for 128 yards with no touchdown passes but also no interceptions.  Raiders receivers had a tough day as many balls were dropped.

The Texans are looking like a solid football team and now have a record of 2-2. 

Up next for the Raiders is a trip to New York to play the very talented 4-0 Giants.

The Raiders have dropped to 1-2 after a 23-3 loss at home against the Denver Broncos in what can really only be described as a terrible effort.  JaMarcus Russell completed 12 out of 21 passes for 61 yards and 2 interceptions. 

Darren McFadden carried the ball 12 times for 45 yards and Michael Bush rushed for 20 yards on 6 carries in a running game that never really got going. 

Despite giving up 23 points, the defense was one of the Raiders’ bright spots of the game.  The Broncos drove down the field on their opening drive but were stopped by an impressive Raiders defensive goal line stand and the Raiders took over deep in their own territory.

The Broncos are now 3-0 after barely beating the Bengals in week one, and then getting wins against the Browns and Raiders.

Up next for the Raiders is a tough game in Houston against the 1-2 Texans.

For the first time since the Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995 they have failed to sellout a home game against a divisional rival.

NFL teams have until three days before kickoff to fill all of their seats.  Blackouts cover a 75-mile radius.

The Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs 13-10, their third win in the last three games against their AFC West rival. 

JaMarcus Russell had a shaky first half, but got it together late in the second half when he led the Raiders down the field for a touchdown by Darren McFadden.  McFadden carried the ball 12 times for 35 yards, while Michael Bush rushed 9 times for 35 yards. 

For most of the second half it looked like the Raiders’ defense was going to hold the Chiefs to only 3 points for the whole game, but when Nnamdi Asomugha unexpectedly left the game due to “dehydration,” backup defensive back Stanford Routt got beat by Dwayne Bowe for a touchdown.

Safety Michael Huff recorded 2 interceptions.  Huff now has 3 interceptions in 2 games.

Oakland now has a record of 1-1 and Kansas City is 0-2.  Next Sunday The Raiders will host the Denver Broncos at home at 1pm pst.

In what was expected to be a blowout, the Raiders showed that they are a much improved football team in a close loss to the Chargers at home.  The Raiders were essentially robbed of a touchdown when a 19-yard  pass to Louis Murphy was overturned because the ball supposedly came loose and hit the ground of the endzone.

The defense looked solid, and Richard Seymour added much needed help recording 2 sacks.  Michael Huff had an interception and LaDainian Tomlinson was held to only 55 yards rushing.

The Raiders are now 0-1 and play at Kansas City next Sunday.