Week 8: Indianapolis Colts vs. Oakland Raiders Recap

by
Former Writers
October 29, 2018

Jeffrey Beall via Flickr

Oakland Raiders Fall To 1-6 After Loss To Indianapolis Colts

A game that was a back and forth offensive fight came to a screeching halt after a late fourth-quarter fumble by the Oakland Raiders. This high scoring game in Week 8 only recorded three punts in 60 minutes.

Adam Vinatieri

Colts’ kicker, Adam Vinatieri, became the NFL all-time leading scorer on Sunday. Vinatieri passed Morten Andersen after kicking a 25-yard field goal right before halftime. He has now scored 2,544 points and still has the opportunity to score plenty more with the season only halfway over.

The 45-year-old moved ahead of Andersen for most field goals made in a career on Sept. 30 against the Texans. Vinatieri joined the New England Patriots in 1996 after playing in a Division II school in South Dakota.

He spent the first ten years of his career in New England, racking up 1,158 points before signing with the Colts in 2006 as a free agent. The possible first-ballot Hall of Fame kicker has 27 game-winning field goals, two in Super Bowls.

Touchdowns Galore

With a final score of 42-28, a total of nine touchdowns were put on the board. Six of those touchdowns came in the second half. Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck came out of the gate hot throwing a touchdown pass on their opening drive. Luck threw 22/31 for 239 yards and three touchdowns.

Although the Raiders’ QB Derek Carr, was unable to score on his opening drive, he began a rally in the second quarter. Carr scored two touchdowns in a row to take a 14-13 lead going into the half. He ultimately threw 21/28 for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

Competition Of Running Backs

Neither QB threw an interception, and the only turnover of the game came with 5:28 left in the fourth by Oakland running back Doug Martin. Down by a touchdown, the Raiders looked to go down the field and tie up the game. Unable to recover a fumble, the Colts scored another touchdown and sealed the game with two minutes left.

Martin carried the ball 13 times for 72 yards. He has gotten more touches and carries since starting RB Marshawn Lynch was put on IR in Week 7.

Marlon Mack has been the star of the Colts the past few weeks. He has 25 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Mack is the first Colts’ player with 100 or more rushing yards in two straight games since Joseph Addai in 2007.

Future Of 1-6 Oakland Raiders

A 1-6 start is the worst record that head coach Jon Gruden has ever had. With multiple trades recently, no doubt Oakland is in full rebuild mode. As for this season, the Raiders head to San Francisco to face the 1-7 49ers on Thursday night.

After that, they will continue to play four more division games. For the other four remaining games, three opponents are .500 or better. The Raiders seem to be going backward. The last few seasons with Carr, he led the team to six or more wins.

With half the season over, this could be a repeat of the 2014 season. Before the season started, the Raiders sat tied for 29th in strength of schedule. With the trade deadline approaching, more deals could be made to secure a top rebuild in 2019 and 2020. In 2018 it seems that the fans will have to push through and stay hopeful for the years to come.