Bengals’ rally falls short in 17-10 loss to Raiders

The Raiders were on the heels of a two-game winning streak and in the thick of a division race. The Bengals came into Oakland still looking for their first win of 2019, and first in the Zac Taylor/Ryan Finley era.

The Bengals kept it close, but the Raiders won the game 17-10.

The Bengals kept their momentum going in the running game, continuing on a strong performance from last week. In his homecoming game, Joe Mixon carried the ball 15 times and gained 83 yards and a touchdown. The rest of the team ran for 87 yards on five carries.

Ryan Finley did not do as well. He only completed 13 out of 31 passes for 115 yards, an interception and a rating of 39.0.

Derek Carr only threw two passes that hit the turf. Out of his four incompletions, one was an interception and one was thrown away. He was 25 for 29 with 292 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

The Bengals and the Raiders exchanged fumbles early in the first quarter, which set the Bengals up with an explosive 30-run from Joe Mixon. Ryan Finley drove the ball down the field and extended the drive with an 18-yard pass to Tyler Eifert on fourth-and-three. The Bengals got all the way down to the goal line where Mixon made his magic.

Going to the right on a pitch, he got stuffed and reversed to the left where there was a hole leading him to the end zone. His first rushing touchdown of the year in front of his friends and family, and the Bengals were now up 7-0 after 3:03 in the first following Randy Bullock’s extra point.

The Raiders got the ball back early in the second quarter, pinned deep after a block in the back penalty. Despite giving up negative rushing yards, the Raiders still moved the ball thanks to the Derek Carr/Tyrell Williams connection. The duo cashed in on two receptions for 44 yards. The Raiders got to the two-yard line, where Carr hit his wide open tight end Foster Moreau for a short touchdown. With 6:50 to go until halftime, Daniel Carlson’s extra point tied the game at 7-7.

Amazingly, because the Bengals clamped down on the running game and some self-inflicted wounds via penalty, Carr passed for 101 yards on the drive.

The Bengals punted and Carr kept doing what he was doing. He finally threw his first incompletion with 1:44 until the half, missing a wide-open Darren Waller from the two-yard line. But me made up for it by scrambling for a two-yard touchdown on the next play. The extra point was good, and the Raiders took a 10-7 lead with 1:37 left in the second quarter.

With the clock ticking, Finley tucked and ran for a 24-yard scramble to get the ball to the 41-yard line. Penalties kept the Bengals from getting the ball much further, so Bullock came on to kick a 53-field goal with only eight seconds remaining. He pulled it left, so the score remained 14-7 at halftime.

The Bengals finally found a way to stop the run when they needed to, but only forced one incompletion all half. Carr was 14 for his first 14 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown. On his 15 pass, he and his receiver weren’t on the same page, and the Bengals still somehow left him wide open.

The Bengals actually out rushed the Raiders in the first half by nearly 20 yards. But Finley on had 57 yards through the air with a 50 percent completion percentage.

The Bengals forced a second incompletion in the second half with a Jessie Bates interception. The Bengals’ got the ball back at their own 44-yard line and capitalized on the turnover. Mixon broke out for 15 yards, and Finley rushed for another five. Bullock attempted a 40-yard field goal, and was good from a closer distance. With 7:25 left in the third quarter, the Bengals were now trailing 14-10 with all of their points coming off of turnovers.

On the Raiders’ first drive of the fourth quarter, Carr found Waller for a 32-yard gain, which was followed up by a 15-yard run from Josh Jacobs. The Raiders were quickly in the red zone, but couldn’t get the ball into the end zone over the next six plays. Carlson came in and kicked a 20-yard field. The Bengals still trailed by a single score, down 17-10 with 9:12 left in the game.

The Bengals’ last opportunity to win came with 1:54 in the fourth quarter, but Finley threw an interception to seal the game.

The Bengals dropped to 0-10 after losing the close game in Oakland. The Bengals will host the Steelers in Week 12 for their next game.