Week 1 Game Recap: Oakland Raiders 20, New England Patriots 30

What you need to know

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders were sharp on their opening drive. Kerry Collins completed four out of four passes for 63 yards, finishing with a two yard touchdown strike to Courtney Anderson. And Collins capped the game with another touchdown pass to Anderson. Collins scored plenty of fantasy points with 18 completions out of 40 attempts for 265 yards and three touchdowns. However, one could not come away from the game without thinking that it could have been better. Throughout the second and third quarters, Collins was pressured and found little time in the pocket to complete passes, which accounts for his low completion percentage.

Randy Moss showed why they traded for him. He was targeted 17 times and was Collins’ favorite target by far with nearly half of Collins’ passes headed his way. He bobbled a pass but was able to pull it in and juke Rodney Harrison for a 73 yard touchdown reception. Moss was targeted numerous times in the end zone, but he was in double and triple coverage, forcing Collins to overthrow him.

Lamont Jordan, the Raiders’ other major offensive acquisition in the off season, showed power and strength in his rushing. He found room to run to the outside as well as to power forward and break tackles through the middle. He finished with 70 yards rushing on 18 carries and also contributed to the receiving game with five receptions for 40 yards. It was reported that Jordan suffered from cramps in the third quarter of play and was spelled for a short period by Zack Crocket who added 20 yards to the Raiders’ rushing game. Of huge importance is that Jordan was not lifted for Crockett at the goal line.

Penalties were huge against the Raiders. They were penalized 16 times for 149 yards. Randy Moss was called for offensive interference on a two point conversion attempt.

The Raiders blocked a punt with four minutes left in the game, giving them the ball at the 21 yard line. They capitalized on this with the second touchdown pass to Courtney Anderson. But then with three minutes left in the game, it was Sebastian Janikowski’s penalization for kicking an onside kick attempt out of bounds that gave the ball back to the Patriots, effectively bringing the game to a close.

New England Patriots

Strong offensive and defensive play are what gave the reigning Super Bowl champions their first win of the 2005 NFL season.

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes in the first half of play. He finished the game with 24 completions out of 38 attempts for 306 yards. His first touchdown was a great 18 yard pass to Deion Branch. In the second quarter, he connected with Tim Dwight for a five yard touchdown pass. It was a typical game for Brady who showed poise and the ability to find and utilize many receivers on the field.

Corey Dillon looked sluggish and could not find any running room in the first half of play. He finished the first half with only three yards on six carries. At one point, he was visibly upset on the sideline as he and Brady had words early in the game. But things took a more positive turn in the second half of play, and Dillon was able to capitalize on penalties against the Raiders and Collins’ interception to score two touchdowns. Dillon finished the game with 63 rushing yards. Kevin Faulk rushed an additional 11 yards.

In the second half of the game, the Patriots’ defense was the key. Richard Seymour forced a fumble from Kerry Collins that Vince Wilfork turned into an interception. They consistently pressured Collins, forcing him to overthrow his intended receivers. And Lamont Jordan was held to 12 rushing yards in the second half.

What you ought to know

QB Kerry Collins, Pass: 18 - 40 - 265 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0

Collins completed four out of four passing attempts during the opening drive for the Raiders, finishing with a two yard touchdown pass to Courtney Anderson. But on the Raiders’ next drive, Collins did not complete one of his three passing attempts. It was like that for the rest of the game for Collins, who at times looked sharp and at other times was pressured and was unable to get anything going for the Raiders’ offense. Collins connected with Randy Moss for a 73 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of the game. Backed up in the end zone, Collins threw an incomplete pass intended for Randy Moss that was nearly intercepted in the third quarter. Collins threw what was called an interception, but looked more like a fumble. Throughout the second half of the game the Patriots brought pressure on Collins and he did not have the time to complete passes and threw the ball away numerous times. He was called for intentional grounding in the fourth quarter. As expected, Moss is clearly the go to guy and Collins looked to him often.

RB Lamont Jordan, Rush: 18 - 70 - 0, Rec: 5 - 40 - 0 (7 targets)

Jordan looked powerful gaining yards both to the outside and the up the middle. Jordan gained seven yards on his first carry as an Oakland Raider. Jordan gained 28 yards on a screen catch during the opening drive. He had a seven yard gain brought back with a holding penalty on Ronald Curry. Jordan limped off the field near the end of the first half, but returned to the game on the very next drive and was fine, rushing for 16 yards on three carries. It was mentioned in the second half of the game that Jordan was suffering with cramps and was spelled for a short time by Zack Crockett. He showed the outstanding hands he’s known for and clearly looked to be the strongest running back on the field as Corey Dillon looked sluggish. Most importantly for Jordan owners who’d been worried about him losing goal line carries to Crockett, that was not the case Thursday.

RB Zack Crockett, Rush: 3 - 20 - 0 (2 targets)

Crockett came in late during the third quarter in relief of Lamont Jordan who was suffering from cramps. He had a seven yard rush brought back with a holding penalty on center Jake Grove. Many folks were worried Crockett would steal goal line carries from Jordan but this was not the case Thursday night.

WR Randy Moss, Rec: 5 - 130 - 1 (17 targets)

Moss’ first reception as an Oakland Raider was a 29 yard deep reception in double coverage. The Patriots jumped offsides on the play and Collins knew they had a “free play”. Rodney Harrison knocked down a pass intended for Moss who was triple covered during the Raiders’ second drive of the game. Moss made a 73 yard touchdown reception; he bobbled the reception, pulled it in and made a great move on Rodney Harrison to score. Moss did have mistakes as he dropped a pass during the first drive of the second half. He was targeted numerous times in the end zone but was in double coverage and could not make the receptions. Moss was called for offensive pass interference on the two point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter.

WR Jerry Porter, Rec: 3 - 48 - 0 (5 targets)

Porter made the first reception of the game, a four yard catch near the sidelines. Porter made a 27 yard reception during the second quarter. Late in the game, Porter made a great catch in coverage to gain 17 yards. There were lots of questions as to how healthy Porter’s hamstring was. He’d missed quite a bit of the preseason and he did look slightly less than 100% and a little rusty. If Moss is to shake some of the double and triple teams, Porter must start earning some respect from the defense.

WR Alvis Whitted, Rec: 2 - 29 - 0 (6 targets)

It looks like Alvis Whitted will see some deep passes along with Moss. In the second quarter, Whitted was called for a false start penalty. All of Alvis Whitted’s receptions came in the fourth quarter of play. Whitted was targeted deep, but Collins overthrew him. On the very next play, Whitted gained 22 yards and a first down. Whitted was targeted deep again, but was covered and Collins overthrew him.

WR Ronald Curry (1 targets)

Curry was charged with a holding penalty during the first quarter. Outside of that, he was not a factor.

TE Courtney Anderson, Rec: 3 - 18 - 2 (5 targets)

Anderson scored the first touchdown of the game with a two yard reception. He was not a factor again until the fourth quarter when he made an 11 yard reception. Anderson scored his second touchdown, wide open in the end zone with a little over three minutes left in the game.

PK Sebastian Janikowski 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points

Janikowski contributed two extra points to the final score for the Raiders. But he missed a 43 field attempt wide right on an ugly kick. He kicked the onside kick attempt out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Patriots who were able to run the clock out to win the game.

OAK Rush Defense

The Raiders held Corey Dillon to three rushing yards in the first half of play. But in a tale of two halves against the run, they gave up two rushing touchdowns and 60 yards to him in the second half.

OAK Pass Defense

In the fourth quarter, Stanford Rhoutt was called for unnecessary roughness, giving the Patriots an extra 15 yards, and then he was called for defensive pass interference. That second penalty set up Corey Dillon’s two yard touchdown run. Brady had time to pick apart the secondary.

QB Tom Brady, Pass: 24 - 38 - 306 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -1 - 0

Brady started the game slowly; he overthrew three of his receivers during the opening drive of the game. During that same drive though, he connected twice with Ben Watson for 55 yards. But when the second series started, Brady displayed the poise and confidence that he is known for. During the Patriots’ second drive, he completed four passes for 77 yards, finishing with a touchdown strike to Deion Branch. Brady led the Patriots down the field again, and threw a touchdown pass to Tim Dwight. He spread the ball throughout the offense, targeting eight different receivers. Brady went over 300 passing yards with 306 yards, making this game the ninth in his NFL career to surpass 300 yards. Basically, he was as great as we’ve come to expect spreading the ball around and making the right decisions. QB coach Josh McDaniel looked to be calling the plays and while they may be missing departed OC Charlie Weis, it wasn’t apparent on the field.

RB Corey Dillon, Rush: 23 - 63 - 2, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (3 targets)

Dillon started the game poorly; the Raiders were able to hold him to one yard on three rushing attempts during the opening drive. A visibly upset Dillon and Brady were seen exchanging words on the sideline after the second drive of the game. Dillon was back in on the next drive and rushed for eight yards on his first carry of that drive. On a fourth and one conversion attempt, Dillon came up just short of the first down. His best play of the game was an eight yard touchdown run after Collins’ interception. Dillon benefited from two defensive penalties to power in for a two yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter. His stats looked great with the two TDs but he did not look good for much of the game.

RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 5 - 11 - 0, Rec: 3 - 18 - 0 (4 targets)

Faulk was used in the second quarter, after Dillon’s inadequate start to the game. Faulk made an eight yard reception on third down, but was three yards short gaining the first down.

WR Deion Branch, Rec: 7 - 99 - 1 (12 targets)

Branch showed his speed on his first reception of the game for 29 yards. He made three receptions for 57 yards, culminating with an 18 yard touchdown reception where he was wide open. Branch was targeted in the end zone in the fourth quarter. Branch was Brady’s favorite target with 12 coming to him and he ended the game with seven receptions for 99 yards.

WR Troy Brown, Rec: 6 - 51 - 0 (8 targets)

It was not David Givens who was the second best receiver for the Patriots during their opening game. It was veteran Troy Brown who made a 20 yard reception during the first quarter. Brady checked down to find Brown often and he finished with six receptions for 51 yards on his eight targets.

WR David Givens, Rec: 2 - 31 - 0 (5 targets)

Givens was targeted in the end zone, but the pass was overthrown. He made a five yard reception to gain a first down and then a 17 yard reception during the Patriots’ second touchdown scoring drive.

WR Tim Dwight, Rec: 1 - 5 - 1 (1 targets)

Dwight was the recipient of Tom Brady’s second touchdown.

TE Ben Watson, Rec: 2 - 55 - 0 (5 targets)

Watson’s 20 yard reception was the first of the game for the Patriots. On the same drive, Watson made a 35 yard reception, breaking tackles to gain yardage. Watson had what looked to be a reception ruled an incomplete pass. It was during the last two minutes of the first half, and was not reviewed.

TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (3 targets)

Graham’s first target of the game was an overthrown pass which he was unable to catch though he was wide open. His first reception of 17 yards took the Patriots into the red zone. Graham had a target broken up in the fourth quarter.

PK Adam Vinatieri 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 4 XP, 6 points

Vinatieri made a 26 yard field goal and three extra point attempts. His extra point attempt in the third quarter was blocked by Langston Walker.

NE Rush Defense

The Patriots were called for a hands to the face penalty, giving the Raiders a first down. Mike Vrabel sacked Kerry Collins. Lamont Jordan rushed for 70 yards against the Patriots, and was at times able to find holes and break through for gains. Seven of his 18 rushing attempts were for gains of seven yards or more.

NE Pass Defense

After a weak start to the game, the Patriots’ defense stiffened up and was able to provide pressure on Collins. Vince Wilfork came up with an interception Kerry Collins, pulling in what would have otherwise been a fumble. Richard Seymour was a key player in the play that forced the turnover. They brought pressure on Collins, forcing him to throw the football away or overthrow his receivers.