In the days leading up to Sunday’s Raiders game at Baltimore, Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio said he knew his team faced a big challenge.
After beating the Titans in Tennessee last week, the Raiders flew home, then were scheduled to fly back across country to play the Ravens on their home field. Baltimore was off to a 3-0 start and had a 49-16 record at home under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“How well you recover this week, going back and forth from West to East, the demands that are there,” Del Rio told reporters this past week, when asked about the task ahead. “We’ll see. We addressed it. We worked hard. … We understand it’s a challenge, but I feel like our guys have worked hard at it.”
His feeling proved correct.
The Raiders showed they indeed were up to the challenge, rallying in the fourth quarter to take a 28-27 victory over the Ravens to improve to 3-1. It’s the first time Oakland has started the season with three wins in its first four games since 2002, when the franchise last reached the playoffs. All three wins have come on the road.
After the Ravens capitalized on a fumble by DeAndre Washington to score a go-ahead touchdown with 3:36 remaining. Baltimore had a 27-21 lead. But the Raiders responded immediately.
Jalen Richard took the ensuing kickoff 26 yards to the Oakland 34 to start the drive. Quarterback Derek Carr then hit consecutive passes to Michael Crabtree for 15 and 11 yards. After an incomplete, Carr connected with tight end Clive Walford to the Baltimore 23. Two plays later, Carr hit Crabtree on a 23-yard touchdown play to tie the game 27-27. Sebastian Janikowski hit the extra point for a 28-27 Oakland lead.
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With 2:12 remaining, Baltimore got the ball back, starting at its 21. The Ravens moved to the 50 with 1:02 left, but four straight Joe Flacco passes fell incomplete, the last one broken up by safety Reggie Nelson to seal the victory.
Oakland now has three victories, all helped by big plays in the fourth quarter. There was the two-point conversion that boosted the Raiders to a win over the Saints in Game 1, last week’s late defensive stand in Tennessee and Sunday’s fourth-quarter, game-winning drive and defensive stand.
Crabtree had a huge game for the Raiders, with three TD catches among his seven receptions for 88 yards. Carr threw for 199 yards and four TDs with no interceptions and no sacks on 25-of-35 passing.
On defense, Khalil Mack recorded his first sack of the season.
The Raiders get to stay home this week, with a game against the Chargers this coming Sunday at O.co Stadium.
