The Oakland Raiders head into halftime against the Buffalo Bills with a commanding 21-3 lead thanks to a dynamic mix of power rushing and deep passes. Earlier we said that at heart the Raiders really were a power rushing team. However, their scoring drives today have shown us a more dynamic offense than that.
Shortly after taking a 7-0 lead on the Bills, Stanford Routt picked off a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass to set the Raiders up in Bills territory. Five plays later the Raiders were in the end zone with relative ease. QB Jason Campbell opened the drive with passes to Derek Hagan and Marcel Reece. Darren McFadden then followed that with three rushes for 12 yards and a touchdown.
The Bills managed to get on the board after that but had to settle for a field goal as the Raiders defense stiffened up inside the ten yard line. The defensive stop was highlighted by fantastic coverage from middle linebacker Rolando McClain. Fitzpatrick fired a pass to David Nelson in the deep center of the end zone and McClain leaped to tip the ball out of reach.
The Raiders took over leading 14-2 with 2:25 to go and rather than run out the clock, the Raiders took advantage to take a commanding lead in the game. After a one yard rush up the middle, Jason Campbell completed a screen pass to Darren McFadden, which Run DMC turned into a 16-yard gain. Campbell then followed that with a beautiful 42-yard bomb to Denarius Moore. It was Moore's second deep reception of the game and set the Raiders up at the Bills 23. Michael Bush quickly moved them down to the 1-yard line with a 22-yard rush and Jason Campbell capped the drive with a QB sneak for the score.
How good are things going for the Raiders right now? The Bills drove down the field into position for a 39-yard field goal to end the half and the Raiders defense got a piece of it to prevent the score. While the Raiders would have still been dominating 21-6, the block further established that dominance. The Raiders will look to ride their dominant rushing game through the second half to secure victory.
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