PHILADELPHIA — Amari Cooper made Jalen Mills look silly.
The Raiders’ wide receiver executed a slant-and-go route to perfection, blazing by the Eagles’ cornerback down the right sideline. Derek Carr found No. 89 with open space for miles, and Cooper coasted to the end zone for his sixth touchdown of the season while holding the ball with one hand. That 63-yard score, along with tying the game in the second quarter, also tied Cooper’s career high for touchdown catches in a single season.
That mark, set in his rookie season of 2015, held until 2017 after he caught only five touchdowns in his Pro Bowl campaign a year ago.
Cooper didn’t play last Sunday against the Cowboys after re-injuring his left ankle against the Chiefs the week before. Cooper didn’t catch a pass and was only targeted once in Kansas City. Until Monday, Cooper had only topped 62 receiving yards in a game once this season – his 210-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Chiefs in Week 7 – but bested that total with one catch in the first half alone.
Cooper only caught three passes on Monday night in a 19-10 loss to the Eagles after being listed as questionable for the game, but one was a big grab nonetheless.
Raiders’ offensive line keeps taking hits
In Oakland’s first game since left tackle Donald Penn’s season-ending foot surgery, the Raiders got even thinner on the offensive line.
Second-year tackle Vadal Alexander suffered a concussion in the first quarter, though rookie David Sharpe served as the primary left tackle in Penn’s absence before Alexander’s injury. The Raiders used Alexander as a sixth offensive lineman in certain sets before he left the game.
Add Alexander’s injury to the list of hits recently taken by the offensive line. Oakland placed both guard/center Jon Feliciano and Penn on injured reserve earlier this week. Though there’s only one game left in the Raiders season, their deepest position group is now without much depth at all.
Without Alexander – who knows if the Raiders would mixed him in if he was healthy – Oakland rode Marshall Newhouse, Gabe Jackson, Rodney Hudson, Kelechi Osemele and Sharpe for the rest of the game.
Marshawn Lynch has mixed day against NFL’s top run defense
The Eagles entered Monday night with easily the best run defense in the NFL when it came to yards per game allowed. Philadelphia only surrendered an average of 71.5 per contest through 14 games, a total the Raiders’s 137 yards surpassed with ease.
Lynch ran for 95 alone on 25 carries, good for 3.8 yards per rush. Philadelphia had allowed 3.7 yards per carry through 14 games, the fifth-best mark in the league.
Yet Lynch’s 16th carry turned an impressive day into a slightly disappointing one when he lost a fumble for the first time in 179 carries this season. It was also Lynch’s first fumble since his last game of 2014. Lynch’s cough-up came the play after TJ Carrie recovered a Jay Ajayi fumble, and turned into a Jake Elliott field goal that tied the game at 10 late in the third.
All in all, Lynch turned in one of his better performances of the season despite not finding the end zone.
Raiders no longer tied for worst INT total in 16-game season
With Reggie Nelson’s first interception of the season in the fourth quarter, the Raiders grabbed their fifth pick of the season.
The previous record for fewest interceptions in a 16-game season was four, by the 0-16 Detroit Lions from 2008. Oakland now has three interceptions in the past two games after Sean Smith intercepted Dak Prescott twice last Sunday.
Earlier in Monday’s game, Nelson dropped a would-be pick-six. Though Jalen Richard fumbled the ball away shortly after Nelson’s pick, the veteran’s grab helps the Raiders avoid a league record they want no part of.
