Raiders remain confident despite back-to-back losses

Instead, the Raiders were gashed for 263 yards rushing by Minnesota, with Adrian Peterson getting 203 yards on 26 carries.

-PASS DEFENSE: C. The Vikings did most of their serious damage through the air on the first drive and Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was 14 of 22 for 140 yards and a touchdown. “I thought he made great calls”. He’s No. 20 (all time in rushing), and that’s how you get to No. 1. “But I’m not mad that you didn’t”.

The Vikings easily covered as 3-point road dogs, beating up on the Oakland Raiders 30-14 Sunday to cover the spread for the eighth consecutive game, making them 8-1 ATS this season.

The Minnesota Vikings are a team on the rise and it is because they are going back to old fashion football. “But yeah, inside this locker room, we’re a pretty confident group”. As 54,700 fans at the Coliseum and millions of television viewers were reminded on Sunday, any chatter about Peterson having been surpassed by Marshawn Lynch, Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell, Jamaal Charles or anyone else is entirely premature. Spielman picked up Mike Wallace in a trade to be a deep threat. “That’s just one person”. Despite a mid-foot sprain, Roethlisberger bailed out an injured Landry Jones by throwing for 379 yards, the most ever by a quarterback coming off the bench during a game. During an interview past year with Sports Illustrated, Simpson said he admired Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch; Peterson was not mentioned in the article. Look for them to catch everyone’s best game from week 11 on as no one will be taking this team lightly after proving they are a force to be reckoned with after last weeks dominant display against an outmanned Raiders team. His future with the Vikings – and in football, period – was very much in doubt. Mike McCarthy will have to find a way to dial up a few different schemes in order to find a way to move the ball against Mike Zimmer and the Vikings defense. The Packers visit Minnesota on November 22.

He does now, and a whole lot of others are starting to figure it out. The Vikings haven’t allowed more than 23 points in a game this season. “The only thing that matters is where we finish the season at”. “It doesn’t matter where we are right now”, Bridgewater said. “Sorry I can’t get all those points for fantasy owners, but that’s not what’s important”. “How can I say this in a nice way?…”

We are, of course, teasing toward the obvious and scintillating question of whether Peterson can approach his 2,097-yard total in 2012. I don’t care what his stats are.

HEALTHY HEAD: Bridgewater showed no ill effects from the concussion that knocked him out of last week’s win over St. Louis.

Carr said the Vikings (7-2) were “trying to take away the big-play opportunities, trying to play it safe”.

“That’s something I take personal”, Peterson said, via ESPN.com. “It’s never as bad, it’s never as good as you think”. But the Raiders didn’t trust that phase of their game enough and either felt incapable or weren’t capable of moving consistently enough to stick with it.

“It [first place] doesn’t matter”, Zimmer said. “I think we’re developing a tough-minded attitude”.