Week 4: Raiders vs Falcons

Usually I could care less about playing against the Atlanta Falcons. But LA's week 4 meeting with the Birds has some signifigance. The Falcons' 3rd-ranked rushing defense has led them to 3-0 and 1st place in the NFC West, something I haven't seen since that one time I played Tecmo drunk (we only made it through 3 weeks). Also of note is the appearance of the Raiders' "alternate" uniforms. Of course, none of this will have any bearing on the game, but it sure makes for a good intro. Oh, and Marcus Allen came back, in case anyone cares.

1st Quarter

Things don't start out well as Tim Brown fumbles the opening kickoff and gives the Falcons pristine field position. Chris Miller is quick to throw a 20 yard touchdown to Michael Haynes (not to be confused with Mike Haynes, who played on the Raiders in the 80's; he was way better). Brown holds on to the next kickoff, and I run Bo Jackson a few times, the last one being a 32 yard TD. On the ensuing drive, Atlanta puts together a -5 yard drive and punts.
Raiders 7, Falcons 7
Yeah, you could say I'm a little worried...

Okay, enough already...

2nd Quarter

After getting sacked by host of Comedy Central's "BattleBots" Tim Green, I go back to Bo, who runs for 37 yards inside the 10. Allen ends the drive with a 1 yard TD run. The Falcons next drive is all Miller, including a 6 yard run and a 25 yard completion to a leaping Andre Rison inside the 20. After shutting down Mike Rozier (I've been doing it the whole half), Haynes catches another TD. Jay Schroeder gets in yet another incompletion before the half.

Halftime; Raiders 14, Falcons 14

This is the first time I haven't led in the first half, and it's almost making me worried. I haven't completed any passes yet, but Bo (and even Marcus) has been cutting through this 3rd-ranked rushing defense. Hopefully I can start getting some turnovers and keep the heat on Rozier in the second half to hold on for a win.


3rd Quarter

On 2nd and 8, Miller launches a 45 yard pass to Rison for a TD. This gets me little more worried. Two bad runs and a souvenier in the stands later, Atlanta gets the ball back at their 12 yard line. Fortunately Rozier gets stuffed twice and Howie Long unloads on Miller to force a punt. I run it three times for a first down, and then Schroeder hits Mervyn Fernandez, who streaks down the field 48 yards for his first TD of the season. Alright, I'm not worried anymore.
Raiders 21, Falcons 21
I haven't seen Schroeder this excited since he found out he saved money on his car insurance.

Behold the power that is Montoya.

4th Quarter

On 2nd down Miller throws a gift to Scott Davis at the Atlanta 29 at the start of the 4th. I take full advantage with a 16 yard TD pass to Fernandez to take the lead. Riki Ellison gets in 2 sacks on the next drive before Scott Fulhage punts in his own endzone. John Rade sacks Schroeder, making it a horrible 3 and 16. Schroeder decides to get cute and scrambles but doesn't even get close. Rison screws up the Falcons golden opportunity by fumbling the punt return. Max Montoya is there to pick it up and stumbles his way to the endzone for a TD. Atlanta wastes their last chance on a dump-off to Rozier to run out the clock.
Final

My defense stepped up a little, and so did my passing game...well sorta. It was mostly due to Atlanta's timely mistakes. And...seven yards? How can your whole offense generate only a meager 7 yards on the ground? And it's all from a QB with 13 MS! And against the Raiders horrible run D! Do I need to go on?

Player of the game: Bo Jackson
14 carries for 150 yards and 1 TD

His 150 yards and 1 touchdown was enough to keep this offense going. Not even Atlanta's "3rd

ranked" defense could stop this high speed machine. Hell, no one can stop this machine!

Rest of the Week

NE 31, HOU 42
NE: Grogan 57% for 312 yds 1 INT
HOU: Moon 100% for 325 yds 0 INT

 IND 38, DET 13
IND: Bentley 15 car 130 yds
DET: Sanders 6 car 107 yds
MIA 34, GB 24
MIA: Marino 76% for 345 yds 1 INT
GB: West 5 rec 139 yds

 PIT 24, PHI 23
PIT: Hoge 8 car 97 yds, 3 rec 83 yds
PHI: QB Eagles 50% for 165 yds 1 INT, 1 car 11 yds
JETS 17, CHI 30
JETS: 188 total yds, 7 first downs
CHI: Harbaugh 71% for 293 yds 1 INT

 CIN 24, WAS 23
CIN: 137 rush yds
WAS: Sanders 7 rec 164 yds
CLE 10, GIA 28
CLE: QB Browns 42% 201 yds 0 INT
GIA: 146 rush yds

 DEN 35, SD 10
DEN: Humphrey 11 car 130 yds
SD: Butts 10 car 84 yds
BUF 28, TB 7
BUF: Thomas 11 car 129 yds
TB: 155 total yds, 8 first downs

 KC 20, SEA 27
KC: Thomas 3 rec 107 yds
SEA: Williams 6 car 52 yds, 5 rec 132 yds
PHX 21, DAL 10
PHX: Johnson 9 car 47 yds, 3 rec 102 yds
DAL: Smith 9 car 82 yds, 2 rec 87 yds

 MIN 27, NO 17
MIN: Wilson 58% 210 yds 3 INT
NO: Walsh 53% 220 yds 2 INT
SF 31, RAMS 28
SF: Montana 91% for 214 yds 0 INTs
RAMS: Everett 64% for 278 yds 3 INTs

Raiders' Stats (4-0)

Offense: 1147 total yds (10th), 387 pass yds (28th), 760 rush yds (1st)
Defense: 741 total yds (1st). 370 pass yds (1st), 371 rush yds (16th)
Individual:
Passing: Schroeder 13/24 (54.1%) 387 yds (16.1 avg) 3 TDs 2 INTs 121.3 rating (NR)
Rushing: Jackson 60 car 712 yds (11.8 avg) 10 TDs (1st)
Receiving: Fernandez 5 rec 229 yds (45.8 avg) 2 TDs (NR)
Defense: Ellison 5 sacks (T-8), Harden/Washington 2 INTs (3rd)
Returning: Brown 13.5 KR avg (T-22), Brown 6.2 PR avg (19th)
Kicking: Jaeger 1/4 FGA (don't ask), Gossett 53.3 punt avg (3rd)

Week 4 Standings

Buffalo Bills: 4-0
Los Angeles Raiders: 4-0
Miami Dolphins: 3-1
Pittsburgh Steelers: 3-1
Houston Oilers: 2-2
New England Patriots: 2-2
Cincinnati Bengals: 2-2
Cleveland Browns: 2-2
Kansas City Chiefs: 2-2
Seattle Seahawks: 2-2
Denver Broncos: 1-3
New York Jets: 1-3
Indianapolis: 1-3
San Diego Chargers: 0-4

Chicago Bears: 4-0
New York Giants: 3-1
Atlanta Falcons: 3-1
San Fransisco 49ers: 2-2
Philedelphia Eagles: 2-2
Los Angeles Rams: 2-2
Minnesota Vikings: 2-2
Green Bay Packers: 2-2
Washington Redskins: 2-2
Dallas Cowboys: 1-3
New Orleans Saints: 1-3
Phoenix Cardinals: 1-3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1-3
Detroit Lions: 1-3
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