Raiders fight ‘till the end despite not making the playoffs

If there was a team that deserved to make the playoffs, it is definitely the Oakland Raiders. They have played great, and at times, explosive football, beating the most solid of opponents. This year, it simply was not to be.

The news was announced at the same time as the kick-off but that didn’t stop Jacoby Ford giving the Raider ‘die-hards’ something to take into the off-season with yet another kick-return for a touchdown. The Raiders need to keep hold of this dynamo at all costs because he still has a lot more to give to this ball club.

Who knew that going 5-0 in your division could result in a long off-season wondering what could have been? Oakland picked up unnecessary losses, but I’m not going to dwell on those as I’m sure all you Raider fans out there have already played out the scenarios in your heads 100 times.

The performance was inspired. A last ditch attempt to prove that this team is on the rise. Indianapolis needed the win so they were throwing everything at Oakland, but the down and out Raiders never looked down or out until the final whistle.

Oakland’s early offence against the Colts was non-existent. They had just 8 yards in their first 4 possessions, while the Colts found their running game that has been less than impressive this season. When the Colts become threatening in areas that don’t directly involve Manning, they can be a very difficult team to beat. Joseph Addai ran for 45 yards and a touchdown and Dominic Rhodes got close to 100 yards rushing against an Oakland defence that simply could not stop the Indy running game.

> Find Oakland Raiders hats & Merchandise online through Pro Football Fans for all your team gear!

Jacob Tamme was all over the field and helped set up Addai’s early touchdown.

Despite having to kick 59-yard field goals when they would have rather been getting a fresh set of downs, the Raiders were only just behind in the scoring by the end of the game and they took the Colts very close. If they had recovered the late onside kick, we could be talking about how the Raiders took Indianapolis into the offseason with them, but sadly not.

Missed third down opportunities against an offence that is prone to punish is going to hurt. Oakland needed to keep their offence on the field for as long as possible in order to shorten Peyton Manning’s time on the field. Rocket Science – it is not! Nonetheless, Oakland will be looking to their divisional game against Kansas City next week to end the season on a high.

This team have played hard all year and although they have been inconsistent at times, they have always put on a show, so it would be a shame for them to lose their last ones against a divisional rival that they beat at home earlier in the season. If this game is anything that the one in Week 9, then we are in for some overtime action!

Final Score 31-26

All the best from the UK!

By: Tom Greenhalgh
ProFootball-fans.com Oakland Raiders Correspondent