TAMPA, Fla. – Seth Roberts sees a lot less action than Raiders receivers on the outside. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree are preferred targets, though Derek Carr frequently looks to Roberts when it matters most.
That happened in a big moment on Sunday against Tampa Bay. The Raiders went for it on 4th-down-and-3 with the overtime period winding down, and Carr hit Roberts across the middle for a first down and more.
Roberts caught the ball, broke a tackle and sprinted 41 yards for a game-winning touchdown in a 30-24 victory over the Buccaneers.
“Seth is super clutch,” Carr said. “We always talk about this, but that guy catches game winners all the time and it’s crazy. I told him he went into NFL Street game-breaker mode on that last touchdown, he just didn’t want to get tackled. Seth is a tireless worker.
“When you [have] a guy that works hard like that, I am happy when they make plays.”
The catch was his third game winner in the last two years, joining catches to beat Baltimore and Tennessee last season. He also cut New Orleans’ lead to one point late in the season-opening win against the Saints.
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“I think Seth has done a lot of things like that last year and this year as well,” running back Latavius Murray said. “He comes up big for us, all these guys, all these receivers. When you’re on the sideline watching. You can’t be nothing but excited for him. Nothing but excited that we found a way to win.”
Mack gets more sacks: Raiders edge rusher Khalil Mack had his best game of the season against Tampa Bay, with seven tackles, two sacks, four quarterback hits and a forced fumble.
Mack has come on strong in recent weeks, with four sacks in his last three games.
Raiders bond during week in Florida: The Raiders were in Florida 10 full days and bookended their time in Florida with wins of Jacksonville and Tampa Bay. They enjoyed their stay, particularly the week between games at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton hotel.
They bonded during that time away, and believe they benefitted from the seclusion on the road that helped push them to 5-0 away from the East Bay.
“I think it was a perfect time to have everyone together,” Carr said. “We haven’t done that since camp. It was good to have everyone around, everyone was eating together, going out, hanging out together. I think that was a good thing.”
This ‘n that:
Head coach Jack Del Rio did not update Sean Smith’s injury status after Sunday’s win. He suffered a shoulder injury early in the game and did not return. …Tight end Mychal Rivera has been a healthy scratch several times this season, but has been relatively productive when active the last few weeks. He had three catches for 36 yards an a touchdown against Tampa Bay, while No. 1 tight end Clive Walford had three catches for 31 yards. …Receivers Amari Cooper (12 catches, 173 yards) and Michael Crabtree (eight catches, 108 yards) are the first Raiders receiving tandem to exceed 100 yards in the same game since last season. Cooper’s total is the best of his young career. …The Raiders are 5-0 on the road this season en route to a 6-2 overall record. It is the first 6-2 start of Jack Del Rio’s coaching career. According to ESPN, Derek Carr was 41 yards shy of the all-time single-game passing record, and had 71 passing yards negated by penalty.
