WR Louis Murphy makes a catch during the Raiders last trip to Houston. Photo by Tony Gonzales.
PROTECTION: Through four games of the 2011 NFL regular season, the Raider blockers have allowed the fewest number of sacks in the NFL - two. The Raiders did not allow a single sack during the October 2 game versus the New England Patriots at O.co Coliseum and during the September 18 contest versus the Bills at Buffalo. Opponents were credited with a single sack during the 2011 regular season opener against the Broncos in Denver on September 12 and on September 25 against the New York Jets at O.co Coliseum when QB Jason Campbell tripped over a teammate's foot while back up from center on a pass play.
BUSH FOR SIX, AGAIN: RB Michael Bush scored the Raiders' first touchdown on a one-yard run against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum, marking the third straight game in which he has scored a rushing touchdown. Bush, who led the team with eight rushing touchdowns last season, scored on one-yard runs against both the Bills in Buffalo on September 18 and the New York Jets on September 25 at O.co Coliseum. Bush increased his career rushing touchdowns total to 17 with the score against New England.
MORE OF MOORE: WR Denarius Moore scored a touchdown on a six-yard reception against the New England Patriots on October 2, giving the rookie touchdowns in three straight games. Moore scored his first professional touchdown on a 50-yard completion from QB Jason Campbell versus the Bills at Buffalo on September 18 and added a score on a 23-yard rush against the New York Jets on September 25 at O.co Coliseum.
500-PLUS: The Raider offense recorded 504 yards of total offense against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum, marking a season high. The Raiders totaled 344 yards through the air and 160 yards on the ground, producing nearly 100 more total yards than the Silver and Black's opponent. The Raiders recorded three games with 500 or more yards of total offense during the 2010 season. The Silver and Black posted 508 yards of total offense at Denver on October 24 and posted 545 yards of total offense against Seattle on October 31. The Raiders recorded the team's third 500-yard game with 502 total yards in a victory over Denver on December 19.
CAMPBELL OVER 300: QB Jason Campbell completed 25 passes for 344 yards against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum, marking his highest passing yardage total as a Raider and the second time in 2011 that he has surpassed the 300-yard mark in passing yards. Campbell eclipsed his previous high of 324 passing yards as a Raider. Campbell finished the September 19 game versus the Bills at Buffalo with 323 yards passing on 23 completions. Campbell posted two 300-yard games as a Raider in 2010, his first season with the Silver and Black. He threw for 324 yards during the December 12, 2010 contest versus the Jaguars in Jacksonville and threw for 310 yards on October 31, 2010 against Seattle. His career high is 367 yards, set as a member of the Washington Redskins in 2009.
CAREER-HIGH FOR DHB: WR Darrius Heyward-Bey hauled in four passes against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum for a career-high 115 yards. It was the second career 100-yard game for Heyward-Bey, who passed his previous career high of 105 receiving yards.
99 YARDS TO PAYDIRT: The Raiders tied a team/NFL record for a drive during the October 2 contest versus the New England Patriots traveling the longest distance possible—99—yards, and culminating with a WR Denarius Moore touchdown reception from QB Jason Campbell.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: QB Jason Campbell connected with eight different receivers against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum, totaling 25 completions on the afternoon. Five different receivers (Darrius Heyward-Bey, Kevin Boss, Michael Bush, Darren McFadden and Derek Hagan) recorded four receptions, while Denarius Moore hauled in three passes. TE Richard Gordon made his first career catch and RB Rock Cartwright rounded out the eight unique receivers with at least one reception.
34 ON THE SACK: SS Mike Mitchell saw his first action of the 2011 season against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum and responded by recording his first sack of the year. It marked Mitchell's first sack since the 2009 season.
FORD TOUGH: WR Jacoby Ford returned to action after missing two games with an injury and immediately made his presence felt, taking a reverse 30 yards during the Raiders contest against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum. Ford also returned two kickoffs for 45 yards.
ONE AND ONLY:RB Darren McFadden, who averaged 5.4 yards per rush while totaling 75 yards during the Raiders contest against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum, not only leads the entire NFL in rushing with 468 yards, but is also the only rusher in the league to average over 100 yards per game, averaging 117 yards per contest so far in 2011. His 6.3-yard average per rushing attempt also leads the NFL for runners with at least 50 attempts.
THE BOSS II: TE Kevin Boss tied for the team lead in receptions against the New England Patriots on October 2 at O.co Coliseum with four, totaling 78 yards and including a 23 yarder.
GROUND WORK: The Raiders have totaled 13 touchdowns this season with nine of those scores coming on the ground. The team total for rushing touchdowns is twice as many as any other NFL team. RB Darren McFadden and RB Michael Bush are tied for the team lead with three rushing touchdowns, while and QB Jason Campbell have scored twice on the ground. WR Denarius Moore added a rushing touchdown against the New York Jets on September 25 at O.co Coliseum.
TO THE HOUSE!: RB Darren McFadden scored on an NFL-career long 70-yard run in the second quarter of the September 25 contest versus the New York Jets at O.co Coliseum. He also scored on a 2-yard run for the first points on the day. McFadden's previous long was a 57-yarder on October 24, 2010 against the Broncos in Denver and he posted his most rushing yards in a single game (165) to date during that contest as well.
IN A RUSH: The Oakland Raiders rushed for a season-high 234 yards during the September 25 contest versus the New York Jets at O.co Coliseum, paced by RB Darren McFadden's career-high 171 yards and career-long 70-yard run. The yardage versus the Jets marked the third straight game that the Raiders have rushed for at least 130 yards so far this year and also marked the sixth time in the past two years that the Silver and Black have rushed for more than 200 yards in a game. The Raiders, who finished the 2010 season ranked second in the NFL in rushing, had 100 yard rushing performances 13 times last year, including a season-high 328 yards on October 24, 2010 versus the Broncos in Denver. McFadden produced 1,157 rushing yards in 2010, becoming the first Raider running back since 2007 to rush for more than 1,000 yards. His rushing total in 2010 was the fifth highest in Raiders history, just seven yards short of fourth place on the franchise single season rushing list.
TWO BEST RUSHING DAYS: RB Darren McFadden has posted the top two single-game rushing performances in the NFL so far this season. McFadden recorded 150 yards on the ground in the season opener at Denver on September 12 and topped his own NFL-high with 171 yards against the New York Jets in the Raiders home opener on September 25. McFadden, who recorded six 100-yard rushing performances last season, has now recorded nine career games with at least 100 yards rushing.
RARE COMPANY AT 150/160: With Darren McFadden's 171-yard rushing performance against the New York Jets on September 25, the fourth-year player became just the third running back in Raiders history to rush for more than 150 yards in a game on four different occasions. Former Raiders Clem Daniels and Marcus Allen also rushed for 150 or more yards four times during their respective careers with the Silver and Black. McFadden also joined Daniels as the only Raiders to have posted three single-game rushing performances of 160 or more yards.
