Raiders wide receiver Seth Roberts enjoyed a career game, hauling in six passes for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Oakland Raiders (5-6) to a 24-21 victory over the Tennessee Titans (2-9) on Sunday. Here's what you need to know:
- Marcus Mariota led a nine-play touchdown drive to stake the Titans to a 21-17 lead with four minutes remaining. Derek Carr answered with a nine-play drive of his own, aided by B.W. Webb's defensive holding penalty on fourth down that gave the Raiders a new set of downs deep in Tennessee territory. Two plays later, Carr stood strong in the face of pressure and lofted a 12-yard touchdown to Roberts. Carr finished the afternoon with 330 yards, three touchdowns and a 120.3 passer rating despite going nearly 20 minutes in the second half without a completion. He's now on pace for 4,211 yards, 35 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in one of the most impressive second-year breakout seasons this century.
- Mariota had a chance for a game-tying one-minute drill, but was intercepted after a 27-yard pass to Delanie Walker brought the Titans to midfield. Although the errant pass landed amongst a trio of Raiders defenders, Kendall Wright stopped his route and Dorial Green-Beckham turned toward the sideline rather than the middle of the field. After the game, Wright said the last interception "is on me." Wright said he was knocked off his route.
- The difference in weapons for the two promising young quarterbacks was stark. Whereas Carr's underwhelming rookie season was the direct result of the league's slowest wide receiver corps, he now has a trio of productive receivers in Roberts, Michael Crabtree and rookie sensation Amari Cooper. On pace for 89 catches, 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns, Crabtree will cash in next offseason if the Raiders allow him to reach the open market. With 115 yards on seven receptions, Cooper has already broken James Jett's franchise rookie record with 851 receiving yards.
Although the unsung Walker leads all NFL tight ends with 59 receptions, the rest of Mariota's surrounding talent resembles Carr's 2014 cast. Green-Beckham makes at least one mental error per game, Harry Douglas is one of the least productive starters in the league and Wright failed to come through on third down versus the Raiders. Mariota desperately needs a Cooper of his own.
- Antonio Andrews and David Cobb combined for a measly 40 yards on 14 carries against an Oakland defense that had been gashed for 189 rushing yards per game over the past three weeks. Since they have apparently thrown in the towel on 2014 second-round pick Bishop Sankey, running back will also be high on the Titans' list of offseason needs.
- Roberts wasn't the only Raiders player to turn in a career game. Cornerback David Amerson, claimed off waivers from the Redskins two months ago, came through with a huge red-zone interception in addition to six passes defensed.
