The Oakland Raiders scored 24 first half points, and survived a late fourth quarter rally by the Minnesota Vikings to hold on and win 27-21 in Minnesota on Sunday. Led by QB Carson Palmer who threw for 164 yards and 1 TD, and RB Michael Bush who rushed for 109 yards and another TD, the Raiders continue to do what is needed to win. They currently stand atop the AFC West division with a 6-4 record. It looks as if Palmer, who was traded to Oakland from Cincinnati in mid October, is finally getting the hang of the Raiders offensive scheme. This is welcome news for the Raiders fan, who have purchased Raiders tickets to see Palmer lead their team to victory.
After the two teams traded punts early in the first quarter, Minnesota got on the scoreboard first with a 12 play drive from their own 23 yard line. The Vikings drive was kept alive by two 15 yard penalties against the Raiders. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson carried the final 12 yards to score the TD and give the Vikings an early 7-0 lead. Less than five minutes later, the Raiders scored their first points on a 29 yard field goal by kicker Sebastian Janikowski to make the score 7-3 Vikings at the end of the quarter.
In the game, the Raiders were penalized 12 times for 117 yards, four of those being illegal hits. The Raiders are annually one of the most penalized teams in the NFL, and this year is no different. No doubt, cutting down on costly penalties will help the Raiders win future games by a wider margins. Not to mention, give fans that spend money on Raiders tickets a little breathing room.
In the second quarter Oakland scored on three touchdown drives to blow the game open. The Raiders first touchdown of the second quarter was setup when DB Matt Giordano intercepted a pass from Minnesota QB Christian Ponder at the Oakland 5 yard line. He ran it back 42 yards to the Oakland 47 yard line to give the Raiders offense great field position. Seven plays later Palmer found WR Chaz Schilens in the Vikings end zone for an 11 yard TD reception.
That gave Oakland a 10-7 lead and they never relinquished it. The Raiders scored two more times before halftime on drives of 57 yards, and 16 yards to make the score 24-7. The Raiders defense really did a phenomenal job in this game by getting the ball to their offense with good field positon three times. The Oakland offense never had to mount a scoring drive of more than 57 yards all day.
In the third quarter the Raiders defense intercepted the Vikings QB Ponder for the second time of the day, resulting in a short field goal for Oakland and a 27-7 lead. A total of three Minnesota turnovers resulted in 17 points for the Oakland Raiders in this game.
In the final quarter Minnesota staged a comeback by scoring two touchdowns while Oakland remained scoreless. Just barely into the fourth quarter, Ponder threw a 26 yard scoring strike to Vikings WR Percy Harvin to make the score 27-14. And then with just under six minutes to play, Ponder again passed for a 1 yard TD making the score 27-21. The Vikings got the ball back one final time with about 3 minutes to play, but were unable move against a stiff Oakland defense.The Vikings turned the ball over in four downs, and Oakland ran the remaining time off the clock for a 27-21 victory. This last minute drive sure worried the fans that bought Raider tickets for this game. Lets hope they try to keep the 4th quarter comebacks to a minimum.
