Die Saalfelds » The Oakland Raiders spent the first quarter of the season

ALAMEDA http://www.ravensfootballauthentics.com/justice-hill-jersey-authentic , Calif. (AP) — getting close before finally breaking through for their first win against the Cleveland Browns.A lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Chargers looked like a step back, even if coach Jon Gruden tried to put a positive spin on the game Monday.“I think there’s a lot of good things, honestly, that happened yesterday,” Gruden said about the 26-10 loss before ticking off a list of problems. “The scoreboard was lousy, the field positon was bad, we gave up some big plays that was not good. Terrible interception in the red zone. There’s some negative things that are still resonating with me and Raider Nation.”Gruden then went on to praise the play of eight rookies, including tackle Brandon Parker and defensive tackle P.J. Hall, fill-in left guard Jon Feliciano, and some good plays made by Derek Carr outside of a costly interception on first-and-goal from the 1.“I’m going to continue to emphasize the good and do everything I can to fix the things that are bad, because most of the things that are bad, my fingerprints are all over,” Gruden said.It was not easy to sugarcoat this game, which marked the first time all season the Raiders (1-4) never held a lead. The pass rush generated little pressure, the defense created no turnovers, special teams provided no short fields Ben Powers Jersey , and Carr threw an interception at the worst time possible.With the Raiders trailing 20-3 and looking to mount a comeback late in the third quarter, Oakland had the ball first-and-goal from the Los Angeles 1. Despite the presence of powerful back Marshawn Lynch, Gruden opted to call for a play-action pass on first down.When no one broke open immediately, Carr held onto the ball before trying to force it to Derek Carrier in the end zone instead of throwing the ball away. Melvin Ingram was right there for an interception, marking the second time this season the decision to use Lynch as a decoy at the goal line backfired.Fullback Keith Smith was stopped on a fourth-down run from the 1 in a 20-19 loss at Denver last month. And of course, Lynch is still smarting from another goal-line interception that cost him a Super Bowl title in Seattle back in the 2014 season.Lynch tossed his helmet up in frustration as he left the field and didn’t play the rest of the day as the Raiders were in their hurry-up offense for their only remaining drive.Gruden said he threw his visor and helmet in anger as well, and that frustration was something he had in common with Lynch. He still stood by the play call even if the execution didn’t work.“We were down 20-3. It wasn’t the last play of the Super Bowl. We were down 20-3,” he said. “It was first-and-goal, trying to save as much time as we can with a play-action pass.”The Raiders have little time to dwell on this loss with a trip to London coming up this week to face the Seahawks. Rather than request an East Coast game before the long trip and either practice there or in London for the week, the Raiders opted to stay at home for most of this week.They will practice Tuesday through Thursday at their facility in the Bay Area before taking the long trip to London on Thursday night. They will arrive Friday afternoon and then get ready for the game Sunday night.“I hope I can make it, honestly,” Gruden said. “I’m not great. I get claustrophobic. My son was a weightlifter and he won a powerlifting competition in Belarus. I had to fly 14 hours. I had to fly home 14 hours. I had vertigo for a month. I couldn’t even lay down, the house was spinning. I am hoping I don’t get vertigo. I’m not a great traveler. I’ll be honest with you, I hate it. I’m not good. I’m concerned. I’m more worried about that than our goal-line offense right now.” OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP)Joe Flacco is already in playoff mode for the Baltimore Ravens, who hope to ride his hot streak well into January. After missing the entire preseason with a back injury http://www.ravensfootballauthentics.com/iman-marshall-jersey-authentic , Flacco threw 10 interceptions and only eight touchdown passes over the first nine games. At that point, Baltimore stood at 4-5 and seemed destined to miss the playoffs for a third straight year. Since then, Flacco has tossed eight TD passes and been intercepted only twice. Baltimore is 5-1 over that span, and needs only to beat Cincinnati (6-9) on Sunday to earn an AFC wild-card berth. ”We’ve been working hard all year to get to the point where we are,” Flacco said Wednesday. ”We feel we’re playing good football.” Now in his 10th season, Flacco reached the playoffs in each of his first five years in the league. In the 2012 postseason, he threw for 1,140 yards and 11 touchdowns without being intercepted, capping the run with a 34-31 victory over San Francisco as Super Bowl MVP. Flash forward to last Saturday, when Flacco ran onto the field against Indianapolis with the Ravens nursing a 16-13 lead. It wasn’t exactly a Super Bowl, but it was a game Baltimore had to win to maintain control of its playoff destiny. Flacco deftly directed a 14-play, 75-yard drive, going 7 for 8 for with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Maxx Williams to cement a 23-16 victory . ”That was a sweet drive,” Flacco said. ”We knew we had to put six points on the board right there in order to win.” The Ravens have come to expect that from Flacco, especially at this time of year. He’s got a career record of 22-13 over the season’s final four games and is 15-5 at home in December. His performance this season is particularly impressive, not just because he missed all that time with a back injury but because he’s been operating behind a tattered offensive line that lost Marshal Yanda Trace McSorley Jersey , Alex Lewis and John Urschel in the early going. Fortunately for Flacco, the offensive front has become a cohesive unit that is providing him excellent protection. Over the last five games, the Ravens have allowed only four sacks and Flacco has been intercepted only once. ”These guys are playing real good football at this point,” the quarterback said. ”They’ve been working really hard at it all year long. It’s definitely exciting for me as a quarterback to see how well they’re playing.” Whether the Ravens are fighting for a playoff spot or playing out the string in a disappointing season, you couldn’t tell by Flacco’s demeanor. He’s been through too many good games and poor outings to let emotion get the best of him. ”When I first came here last year, I said Joe is Joe Cool,” tight end Benjamin Watson said. ”He doesn’t really go up, he doesn’t go down. He kind of stays very steady. That’s an attribute that allows him to survive the ups and downs.” Flacco and the Ravens are looking for the 2017 regular season to end how it started – with a win over the Bengals. Content to let the Baltimore defense do the heavy lifting, Flacco returned from a quiet summer in September to complete only nine passes in a 20-0 rout. ”They beat us by 20, so obviously he did a decent job,” Cincinnati safety George Iloka said. ”By the end of the year you should be better, your timing should be better. He looks sharper.” Flacco trails only Tom Brady as the league’s winningest quarterback since 2008 (including postseason). Seeking his seventh career playoff appearance, Flacco – and the Ravens, for that matter – won’t think about January until the workload in December is done. ”I don’t think anybody in our locker room is looking ahead to January,” Watson said. ”I haven’t been around here long enough to see January Joe other than from afar. I know January Joe is going to be awesome.” —