STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES
--LT Khalif Barnes had three holding penalties to go along with a costly false start against New York.
--WR Denarius Moore caught a 23-yard pass on a third-and-9, the only third-down conversion by pass in the game for the Raiders.
--P Marquette King had his first punt blocked and run back for a touchdown, but had a gross average of 50.8 yards and placed three balls inside the 20-yard line.
--CB Taiwan Jones stripped and recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and had kickoff returns of 41 and 30 yards.
--LB
Sio Moore, a rookie third-round draft pick, led the Raiders with nine tackles and had a sack and a forced fumble.
INJURY IMPACT
--LT Jared Veldheer, On injured return designated for return, is rehabbing more aggressively but isn't expected to be available to play this week.
--SS Tyvon Branch, out since the second week of the season with an ankle injury, is not expected to be able to practice this week.
--RB Darren McFadden missed the Giants game with a hamstring strain and his availability will be determined this week.
--T Tony Pashos missed his fourth game with a hip injury and there is hope he might get on the practice field this week.
--CB D.J. Hayden did not play against the Giants with a groin strain and his availability for Wednesday's practice is not known.
REPORT CARD VS. GIANTS
PASSING OFFENSE: F - Terrelle Pryor was off-target and imprecise, and his receivers did him no favors with dropped passes, including two by Denarius Moore. Pryor was 11 of 26 for 122 yards and no touchdowns, was baited into an interception by Terrell Thomas that was returned 65 yards for a touchdown that gave the Giants the lead for good. Other than a third-down hookup with Moore for 23 yards during an 11-play, 74-yard drive, there were no other third-down conversions by passing.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B - Fairly stout for the second week, and both times essentially without Darren McFadden, who stayed home with a hamstring strain. Rashad Jennings backed up his 102-yard effort the previous week with 88 yards on 20 carries against a Giants defense that had been very good against the run. With Pryor lacking his usual burst with an MCL sprain, he gained a season-low 19 yards on five carries.
PASS DEFENSE: B - Eli Manning was 11 for 22 for 140 yards as the Raiders made him uncomfortable in the pocket with ever-changing blitz packages and coverages. Safety Usama Young had a sack and a pass breakup and cornerback Tracy Porter stole a Manning pass and ran 43 yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 17-14 halftime lead. Manning's lone scoring pass, a 5-yard toss to Reuben Randle, was actually defended fairly well by Mike Jenkins.
RUSH DEFENSE: B-minus - The Giants stayed persistent enough with the run to gain 133 yards on the ground, but the going was tough, with 38 carries. Andre Brown, who played in his first game after coming off injured reserve (designated for return) because of a broken leg, rushed 30 times for 115 yards. The Giants had eight rushing first downs.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C -- One big mistake marred what could have been a top-shelf effort. With the Raiders leading 7-0,
Damontre Moore charged through an unblocked middle, blocked a punt, and Cooper Taylor ran it back 21 yards for a touchdown. Taiwan Jones had a strip-fumble on the opening kickoff of Jerrell Jernigan that set up a quick touchdown for the Raiders and returned two kickoffs for a 38.5-yard average. Marquette King, other than the blocked punt, averaged 51.7 yards per punt.
COACHING: C-minus -- The Raiders ran the ball well against New York but didn't stick with it enough considering Pryor's relative limited mobility. A 74-yard drive ended up with just a 24-yard field goal in part because instead of running the ball on second-and-goal at the 1, the Raiders called a pass, with Pryor throwing incomplete on play-action when the Giants didn't bite. Even with McFadden out, the Raiders continue to ignore fullback Marcel Reece in the running game. The defensive game plan and execution was good enough to win.
