Raiders at Buccaneers
The Oakland Raiders hope to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers their next victim as they attempt to remain unbeaten on the road when the clubs collide on Sunday. Oakland has earned a share of first place in the AFC West on the strength of its play away from home, where it improved to a league-best 4-0 with last week's 33-16 triumph at Jacksonville.
Latavius Murray returned to the lineup after missing two games with a toe injury and gained only 59 yards but rushed for a pair of touchdowns as the Raiders raised their conference record to 4-1 for the first time since 2001. Tampa Bay looks to hand Oakland its first road loss and extend its winning streak to three games after posting victories in Carolina and San Francisco. The Buccaneers have yet to emerge victorious at Raymond James Stadium, dropping a five-point decision to Los Angeles while losing by 20 to Denver. Sunday's contest likely will have its fair share of passing touchdowns as Tampa Bay's Mike Evans and Oakland's Michael Crabtree enter Week 8 tied for the league lead in receiving scores with six apiece.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Even. O/U: 49
ABOUT THE RAIDERS (5-2): Oakland still ranks last in the NFL in both total and passing defense, allowing averages of 430.4 and 302.1 yards per game, respectively. There is a possibility the club could receive help down the stretch in the form of linebacker Aldon Smith, who has applied for reinstatement with the league once his one-year suspension for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse expires on Nov. 17. Oakland possesses one of the league's best receiving duos in Crabtree and Amari Cooper, who are first in receptions (79), third-down yards (375) and third-down conversions (22).
ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS (3-3): Tampa Bay will be counting on Jacquizz Rodgers to shred Oakland's rushing defense, which ranks 28th (128.3 yards), as the 26-year-old has gained 101 and a career-high 154 yards in the last two games while filling in for the injured Doug Martin. The Buccaneers hope to have Gerald McCoy in the lineup against the Raiders as the defensive tackle was limited in practice Thursday due to a calf injury that caused him to miss a game earlier this season. Evans is on pace for 1,459 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, both of which would be franchise single-season records.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Despite their problems defensively, the Raiders are plus-8 in turnover margin as they have recorded 13 takeaways through seven contests.
2. Tampa Bay has lost 15 of its last 18 home games.
3. Oakland P Marquette King was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week thanks to a performance against Jacksonville in which he ranked first in the NFL in gross (54.6) and net (50.6) average, placed four punts inside the 20-yard line and ran for 27 yards on fourth-and-24 to extend a drive that resulted in a touchdown.