Panthers run all over the Raiders
Carolina has been a major disappointment in 1997. In just their second year in existence in 1996, they won the NFC West Division and played in the NFC Championship Game. This year, however, they have fallen back to Earth. With their 28-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, the Panthers notched just their second win of the season.
The Panthers looked a lot like last year’s team on Sunday at Ericsson Stadium. They got running back Fred Lane back from injury and they rolled up 211 yards on the ground against the Raiders’ pathetic run defense. Lane rushed for 136 yards on 17 carries and scored what came to be the game-clinching TD run. They also got 37 yards from Anthony Johnson and 30 from Tim Biakabutuka.
Panther QB Kerry Collins had a big day too. He used a ton of play-action to roll up 271 yards passing. He had 21 completions on 27 attempts and threw for 2 TDs. Rae Carruth had his best day of the season. He caught nine passes for 131 yards and a TD.
As for the Raiders, QB Jeff George continued to connect with his receivers on big plays. George hit Tim Brown on a 50-yard TD, TE Rickey Dudley on a 41-yard TD and Napolean Kaufman on a 63-yard bomb for a TD. George now has 19 TD passes on the season, and he finally threw his first interception on the season in this game.
So what’s wrong with the Raiders if they are getting this aerial production on the season? They are 1-8 simply because their defense is horrible. Their defense gives up 410 total yards per game and surrenders 168 of it on the ground. They also give up the most points in the NFL at 29 per game.
The Panthers (2-7) have tough next couple of weeks. Next Sunday they travel to Denver and then the week after they travel to Candlestick to take on the 49ers. As for the Raiders, they host the New Orleans Saints.