The Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers both lost this weekend, the second week in the 17-week football season. The Raiders played the upstart Buffalo Bills led by Harvard graduate Ryan Fitzpatrick. While the 49ers played their long time foe, the Dallas Cowboys.
Offensively the Raiders were exciting, quarterback Jason Campbell threw for 323 yards including a 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Denarious Moore to give the Raiders the lead in the fourth quarter.
The running game for the Raiders was dominated by Darren McFadden, who rushed for 72 yards. He was also a key factor in the passing game, having seven receptions for 71 yards. He had 143 all purpose yards with a touchdown both as receiver and a runner.
Frank Gore of the 49ers was less then spectacular again this week, but did manage a touchdown and 47 yards on 20 carries, and three receptions for 17 yards.
The defenses of both teams played very well in the first half. The Raiders defense only allowed three points going into the third quarter. While the 49ers defense only allowed a single touchdown.
The 49ers didn’t allow as many points as the Raiders and forced over time against America’s team (The Cowboys). During overtime the 49ers were forced to punt and the Cowboys took the ball into the redzone and kicked a game winning field goal to win 27-24.
Considering both teams lost their matchups, the Raiders loss to the Bills in Buffalo, New York was less detrimental to the team for the rest of the season. “Its tough but I like the Raiders chances more,” said Tim Hughes, a Raiders fan.
The 49ers loss to the Cowboys at home was backbreaking. To lose in overtime is tough. To lose in overtime after leading almost the whole game at home is even worse.
“They both don’t know how to finish, it’s like a baseball team with no closer,” said Ryan Hilton, a 49ers fan.
The biggest factor between the losses this weekend is that now the 49ers have only six home games remaining this year, while the Raiders have all eight home games remaining.
“The Raiders looked much better than the 49ers this weekend,” said James Odell, a neutral fan of both teams. On the upside, both the 49ers and Raiders are 1-0 in division.