After a short break after playing last Thursday night, the Oakland Raiders will head to the East Coast for a two-game road trip this week as they play the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 10:00 a.m. PT. This will be the Raiders' first trip to Buffalo since 2011, as the last two meetings (both Raiders wins in 2014 and 2016) between the clubs have come in Oakland. This marks the third time in four seasons the teams have met.
Here is the Game Preview, presented by 95.7 The GAME.
THE SETTING
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2017Kickoff: 10:05 a.m. PTSite: New Era Field (1973)Capacity/Surface: 71,608/A-Turf TitanRegular Season: Raiders lead, 21-17
Postseason: Bills lead, 2-0
Last Thursday night, the Raiders won in dramatic, comeback fashion over the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-30. Down by six late in the fourth quarter, QB Derek Carr led the team on an 11-play, 85- yard drive in 2:25 that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown pass to WR Derek Carr as time expired. K Giorgio Tavecchio's PAT on the next play gave Oakland the victory, and also gave Carr his NFL-leading 12th comeback victory since 2015. On the evening, Carr finished with 417 yards on 29-of-52 passing with three touchdowns and a 101.2 quarterback rating. WR Amari Cooper turned in a career performance, hauling in 11 receptions for 210 yards and two touchdowns (38 and 45 yards). Cooper's 210 yards rank second in single-game franchise history, trailing only Art Powell's 247 in 1963. TE Jared Cook made several big plays in the win, totaling 107 receiving yards on six receptions, including a huge 28-yard catch on the final drive to get the Raiders down to the Chiefs' 1-yard line. RB DeAndre Washington led the team in rushing and added a hard-nosed 4-yard touchdown in the second half. LB NaVorro Bowman, after signing with the team just three days earlier, led the team with 11 tackles on defense. DE Khalil Mack was dominant throughout and teamed with DL Denico Autry for a sack of QB Alex Smith on the game's penultimate possession to get the ball back in the hands of the Raiders offense.
Following Sunday's game, the Raiders will travel to Sarasota, Fla., where they will spend the week in preparation for their game on Nov. 5 against the Dolphins in Miami. The Bills will turn around on a short week to play the Jets in New York on Thursday night.
BIG PLAY TOUCHDOWNS
Since the start of last season, the Raiders have been at the top of the league when it comes to scoring on big plays. Since 2016, the Silver and Black's offense has posted 24 touchdowns of at least 20 yards, two ahead of the Atlanta Falcons' 22.
Additionally, with WR Amari Cooper's two touchdown receptions of over 30 yards against Kansas City last week, he now leads the NFL over the last two years with seven receiving touchdowns of at least 30 yards.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION
CBS
Play-by-play: Andrew Catalon
Color Analyst: James Lofton
RADIO
Flagship: 95.7 The GAME
Play-by-play: Greg Papa
Color Analyst: Tom Flores
Sideline: Lincoln Kennedy
Spanish Radio
Spanish Flagship: KIQI 1010
Play-by-play: Fernando Arias
Color Analyst: Ambrosio Rico
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BILLS SNAPSHOT
Overview: Head Coach Sean McDermott is in his first season at the helm in Buffalo after spending the past six seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. Buffalo currently holds a 4-2 record and is second place in the AFC East behind the New England Patriots. The Bills enter Week 8 coming off a close win against Tampa Bay. Last week's win keeps the Bills undefeated at home, their first 3-0 start at home since 2011.
Offense: In his third year as the Bills starting quarterback, QB Tyrod Taylor continues to be a versatile threat to opposing defenses. Taylor, who made it to back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2015 and 2016, has thrown for 1,178 yards with seven touchdowns and recorded 174 rushing yards, which ranks third amongst quarterbacks in the league. After a slow start to the season, RB LeSean McCoy had a breakout game in Week 7, as he went for 122 yards from scrimmage. McCoy still has been the Bills' top rusher this season, recording a team-high 370 yards on 110 carries with two touchdowns. McCoy has also been Taylor's top weapon in the passing game, leading the team with 32 receptions for 220 yards. TE Charles Clay leads the team with 258 receiving yards on 20 catches with two touchdowns.
Defense: The Bills' defense has a new leader in 2017, with defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier taking over during the offseason after spending the 2016 season as the Baltimore Ravens secondary coach. The Bills boast a stingy defense, ranking fourth in the league in points allowed per game with 16.8. Additionally, Buffalo has been stout against the run, ranking in the top 10 in rushing yards per game (84.5). The Bills enter Week 8 with a plus- 10 turnover margin, their best mark through six games since 1993. Leading the way for the secondary is newcomer S Micah Hyde, who is tied for the league lead with four interceptions.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Pro Connections
• Prior to joining Oakland, Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing spent the 2014 season with the Buffalo Bills, where he worked with current Raiders QB EJ Manuel.
• Raiders tight ends coach Bobby Johnson was the assistant offensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills from 2010-11, when the Bills' offensive line ranked tied for seventh in the NFL with just 57 sacks allowed over those two seasons.
• Raiders wide receivers coach Rob Moore held the same position for Buffalo in 2014, where he helped former WR Sammy Watkins set franchise-rookie records with 65 receptions and 982 yards.
• Raiders TE Lee Smith spent his first four seasons with the Bills from 2011-14, appearing in 56 games with 34 starts and totaling 20 catches for 144 yards with three touchdowns.
• Bills LB Lorenzo Alexander played for the Raiders in 2015, recording seven special teams tackles. Alexander is also a native of Berkeley, Calif., where he attended St. Mary's High School before playing collegiately at Cal.
• Bills WR Andre Holmes signed with the Bills this past offseason as a free agent after spending four seasons (2013-16) with the team. Holmes led the Raiders in receiving in 2014, posting career highs with 47 receptions for 693 yards (14.7 avg.) with four touchdowns.
• Bills RB Taiwan Jones was a fourth-round draft pick by the Raiders in 2011 and spent his first six seasons (2011-16) with the Silver and Black, rotating in at running back and serving as a special teams standout.
• Bills defensive line coach Mike Waufle spent the 2010 season with the Raiders in the same capacity. In 2010, the Raiders led the NFL in sacks per pass play and finished second in the league with 47 total sacks.
• Bills running backs coach Kelly Skipper spent eight seasons (2007-2014) with the Raiders, the first two as a tight ends coach and the last six as running backs coach.
College Connections
• Raiders DE Khalil Mack played collegiately at Buffalo from 2010-13, starting all 48 games in which he appeared and setting an NCAA record with 16 forced fumbles. Mack totaled 327 tackles (186 solo), 28.5 sacks, 75 tackles for loss, 16 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four interceptions and 21 passes defensed.
• Raiders T Marshall Newhouse played with Bills DE Jerry Hughes for four seasons (2006-09) fat TCU. Both went on to be drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft with Hughes going 31st overall to the Colts and Newhouse to the Packers in the fifth round.
• Raiders QB EJ Manuel spent two seasons (2011-12) with Bills TE Nick O'Leary at Florida State, where Leary caught 33 passes from Manuel en route to Manuel becoming the school's all-time leader in completion percentage (66.9 percent).
Hometown Connections
• Bills RB Taiwan Jones is from Antioch, Calif., where he earned Player of the Year honors as a senior at Deer Valley High School.
• Bills P Colton Schmidt is a native of Bakersfield, Calif., where he attended Liberty High School before playing collegiately at UC Davis.
