WR Denarius Moore hauls in a 49-yard strike from QB Carson Palmer. Photo by Tony Gonzales.
The Falcons won the toss and elected to receive. K Sebastian Janikowski's opening kickoff sailed out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. The Falcons started at their own 20 with Matt Ryan at quarterback. CB Joselio Hanson grabbed the Raiders first interception of the year and returned it to the Atlanta 41, where the Raiders started with Carson Palmer at quarterback.
RB Darren McFadden fumbled a hand off and the Falcons recovered and returned it to the Oakland 32. The Raiders held the Falcons to a three-and-out and K Matt Bryant came on for a 43-yard field goal attempt. The kick was wide left and the Raiders took over at their own 33.
The Raiders drive stalled at the Atlanta 40 and P Shane Lechler came on. The Raiders were unable to down the kick inside the 5 and the ball bounced into the end zone for a touchback. The Falcons offense started at their own 20.
A few plays later, FS Michael Huff got the ball back for Oakland when he intercepted a deep pass from Ryan deep in Raiders territory. The Raiders took over at their own 2. A 49-yard bomb from Palmer to WR Denarius Moore put the Raiders at the Atlanta 49. The Raiders drive stalled at the Atlanta 33 and Janikowski came on for a 52-yard field goal. The kick was good and the Raiders took a 3-0 lead with 24 seconds left in the 1st quarter.
Ryan capped an 80-yard, 10-play drive with a 4-yard TD pass to WR Roddy White. The extra point was good and the Falcons took a 7-3 lead with 9:51 left in the 2nd quarter.
RB Mike Goodson fielded P/K Matt Bosher's ensuing kickoff 8 yards deep in the end zone, took and knee for a touchback and the Raiders started at their own 20. The Raiders answered with their own long drive, which was capped by a 22-yard Janikowski field goal. The kick cut the Falcons lead to 7-6 with 4:11 left in the 2nd quarter.
After a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders got the ball back with a SS Tyvon Branch interception and the Raiders took over at the Atlanta 28. Two plays later Palmer hit Moore for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good and the Raiders took a 13-7 lead with 1:50 left in the 2nd quarter.
RB Jacquizz Rodgers returned the ensuing kickoff to the Atlanta 22. The Raiders forced a three-and-put and Bosher came on to punt. The punt was downed at the Raiders 15. The Raiders were content to take the 13-7 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Raiders went three and out and Atlanta took over at their own 21 after a Lechler punt. The Raiders forced a three and out as well and took over after a punt, a return and a penalty at their own 10.
The Raiders drive stalled at their own 43 and the Falcons took over at their own 30 after a punt, a touchback and a penalty on the Raiders. The Falcons drive stalled at the Oakland 23 and Bryant came on and made a 41-yard field goal to cut the Raiders lead to 13-10 with 5:06 left in the 3rd quarter.
RB Mike Goodson returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the Raiders 20. A couple of plays later, Palmer was sacked and stripped, and Atlanta recovered and returned it to the Oakland 2. The Raiders defense came up huge and forced a 20-yard field goal, which tied the game at 13-13 with 2:31 left in the 3rd quarter.
Goodson fielded the kickoff and took a knee for a touchback and the Raiders started at the 20. The Raiders drive stalled and Atlanta took over at their own 10 after a punt and a fair catch.
The Raiders forced a punt and after the return and a penalty on the Raiders, the Silver and Black started at their own 17. The Raiders drive stalled at midfield and Lechler came on to punt. The 51-yard punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback.
The Raiders forced a punt when Huff broke up a 3rd down pass for TE Tony Gonzalez. CB Phillip Adams called for and made a fair catch at the 10. CB Asante Samuel picked off a Palmer pass and raced 79 yards for the touchdown. The extra point was good and the Falcons took a 20-13 lead with 2:40 to go.
After a touchback, the Raiders started on their own 20. The Raiders tied the game with a McFadden 2-yard TD run and the extra point. Atlanta mounted a drive and Bryant's 55-yard field goal with one second left gave the Falcons a 23-20 victory.
The Raiders fall to 1-4 on the season and return home to face the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday.
