Raiders To Play Texans In Mexico
The Raiders will host the Houston Texans in a Monday night game on Nov. 21 at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, the NFL announced Feb. 5. It's the first game there since 2005, when Arizona beat San Francisco 31-14 before 103,467 fans.
It's the first Monday night game to be played abroad. It will be televised live on ESPN in the United States, and on Televisa and ESPN in Mexico. Televisa owns Azteca Stadium, which has a capacity of about 95,000.
Mack Makes NFL History
The Raiders' Khalil Mack has been named to the 2015 Associated Press All-Pro Team at defensive end and outside linebacker, the AP announced Jan. 8. It is the first time a player has been on the first team at two positions.
Raiders safety Charles Woodson was named to the AP All-Pro second team at age 39. It is the eighth All-Pro honor for Woodson, who announced Dec. 21 that he is retiring after 18 seasons.
Mack had an outstanding second season with the Raiders, reportedly contributing 77 tackles, 15 sacks, 66 other quarterback pressures, 23 tackles for losses, two forced fumbles and five batted passes, The former University of Buffalo star has 19.0 sacks through his first 32 games in the NFL.
Mack is the first Raider to make first-team All-Pro since cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and punter Shane Lechler in 2010. He reportedly received 24 votes at defensive end and 17 at linebacker from the 50-member media panel.
Carr Falls Short of Milestones
In Oakland's season-ending 23-17 loss at Kansas City on Jan. 3, Derek Carr comes up short in his quest to tie or break Daryle Lamonica's single-season Raiders record of 34 TD passes, set in 1969. Carr threw a 31-yard TD pass to Michael Crabtree, late in the fourth quarter, giving the second-year starter 32 on the season.
Carr and Lamonica are the only quarterbacks in Raiders history to throw for 30 or more touchdowns in a season. Lamonica, a.k.a. The Mad Bomber, had 30 TD passes in 1967 and 34 in '69. Jeff George passed for 29 TDs in 1997.
Carr also falls 13 passing yards short of reaching 4,000 on the season, finishing with 3,897.
The Raiders have never had a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same season. Running back Latavius Murray (1066 rushing yards) and wide receiver Amari Cooper (1070 receiving yards) each reached the 1,000-yard plateau in 2015.
Their performances match the 2005 Raiders season, when Kerry Collins , Randy Moss and LaMont Jordan reached the 3,000-1,000-1,000 club. The 1996 New England Patriots (Drew Bledsoe , Terry Glenn, Curtis Martin) are the only team to have a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard receiver and a 1,000-yard rusher.
Mack Stuck On 15
Oakland's Khalil Mack finishes the season with 15 sacks, after being shut out in games against San Diego and Kansas City. He falls a sack short of equaling Derrick Burgess' club record of 16 sacks, set in 2005.
The Houston Texans' J.J. Watt took over the NFL lead in sacks with three in Houston's finale against Jacksonville on Jan. 3. He finished with 17.5 sacks on the season, 2.5 more than Mack. The Raiders have never had a player lead the league in sacks in a season.
Mack's five sacks against Denver in Week 14 are the most in the NFL since 2012, when Aldon Smith had 5.5 sacks for the 49ers. Mack's five sacks equal Howie Long's franchise record against the Redskins on Oct. 2, 1983 — the regular-season game that preceded their Super Bowl matchup.
Murray On The Run
With 31 rushing yards on 19 carries against Kansas City on Jan. 3, Oakland's Latavius Murray reaches 1,066 yards for the season. He becomes the Raiders' first 1,000-yard rusher since 2011 when Darren McFadden had 1,157 yards on the ground.
2016 Opponents Announced
The Raiders reportedly will play the following opponents during the 2016 season:
Home — Denver, Kansas City, San Diego, Houston, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Carolina, Buffalo.
Away — Denver, Kansas City, San Diego, Jacksonville, Tennessee, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Baltimore.
Raiders Pick 14th in 2016 NFL Draft
The Raiders have the 14th overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft, April 28-30 in Chicago, the NFL announced. Th team has never selected at No. 14 in the first round.
Road Warriors
The Raiders finish with a 4-4 road record this season, their most away victories since 2011 when they were 5-3.
They entered this season having dropped 19 of their previous 20 away games.
The Raiders finish with a 6-1 record this season when they have 10 or more penalties. Oakland prevailed 23-20 over San Diego on Dec. 24 despite having 16 penalties for 121 yards.
Carr Milestone
With 330 passing yards against Tennessee on Nov. 29, Derek Carr throws for 300 or more yards for the sixth time this season — joining Rich Gannon (10 in 2002) and Carson Palmer (6 in 2012) as the only Raiders with six or more in a season.
Select Company
Oakland's Derek Carr is the sixth quarterback to throw at least 20 TD passes in each of his first two NFL seasons. Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and Andy Dalton previously accomplished the feat.
Charles In Charge
Raiders safety Charles Woodson intercepted his fifth pass of the season during the second quarter of Oakland's 34-20 win over the New York Jets on Nov. 1. The AFC’s top defensive player in October has 65 career interceptions, tied with Ken Riley for fifth most all-time. The only player with more since the 1970 merger is Raiders assistant Rod Woodson with 71.
With 65 career interceptions, Charles Woodson only trails Dick "Night Train" Lane (68), Rod Woodson (71), Emlen Tunnell (79) and Paul Krause (81) on the NFL's all-time list.
The Raiders surrendered a franchise-worst 597 yards during their 38-35 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 8, 2015. The previous Raiders record was 593 yards allowed against San Diego on Nov. 10, 1985.
AFL Lives On
The Raiders are among eight NFL franchises that began play in 1960 as original members of the American Football League.
Along with the Raiders, the other seven AFL originals are:
Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Boston Patriots (now New England Patriots), Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans), Dallas Texans (now Kansas City Chiefs) Chiefs, New York Titans (now New York Jets) and Los Angeles Chargers (now San Diego Chargers).
To read about the history of the AFL, please click here
Canton Hopefuls
Check out Crazy Canton Cuts, a blog promoting former AFL and NFL players who have merits to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
