It was not pretty, but the Oakland Raiders beat the winless Cincinnati Bengals 17-10. The Bengals were able to stay in the game because of two Raiders turnovers and costly penalties. The Raiders defense stepped and sacked rookie Ryan Finley five times and pressured him a lot more. Cincinnati only had 73 passing yards on the day. Oakland had a nice balanced attack going, Raiders rushed passed for 273 yards and rushed for 113 yards. If it were not for the two turnovers, it would have been an almost perfect day for the Raiders offense.
Derek Carr
Derek Carr had an excellent game; he passed for 292 yards on 24 of 29 passing. Carr also threw one touchdown pass and ran for a touchdown as well. Carr did have one interception that led to points for the Bengals. It was an excellent performance from Carr; he looked good in the pocket and made plays with his feet to keep plays alive.
Josh Jacobs
The rookie running back went over 100 rushing yards for the fourth time this season. Jacobs rushed for 112 rushing yards on 23 carries. He did have a costly red zone fumble that led to a touchdown for the Bengals. But Jacobs ran hard, and the Bengals made him earn every yard he got in the game.
Maxx Crosby
Maxx Crosby had a monster game for the Raiders, Crosby had five tackles, three for a loss. He also had four quarterback sacks. The rookie played great today. Crosby plays hard every play, and it is paying off for him. With his four sack day, Crosby now has 6.5 sacks on the season. Hopefully, he can keep playing like this for the Raiders.
Trayvon Mullen
Rookie Trayvon Mullen probably had his best game a pro against the Bengals. Mullen had a total of five tackles, two passes defended. Also, Mullen had the game-ending interception and came close to another one earlier in the game that could have been a pick-six. It is nice to see Mullen improving every week.
A win is a win, but the Raiders have to start playing better, they should not have struggled with a team like this. But they are a young team so it will be a learning experience and hopefully have a better showing in New York against the Jets next week another game the Raiders should win. I hope it’s not trap game because the following week is a showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.
