Lions at Raiders score: Josh Jacobs builds Rookie of the Year case, helps prove Oakland is for real

The Raiders' goal-line stand sent the Lions home with a loss

The Detroit Lions had a chance to be the only NFC North team to register a victory this week, but instead fell to the Oakland Raiders, 31-24. Oakland has proved a difficult matchup for most teams this season and has propelled themselves into playoff contention in the AFC.

In a matchup dominated by offense, who would have guessed that this game would come down to a goal-line stand? Matthew Stafford took the Lions 76 yard down the field on nine plays with just two minutes remaining, but he failed to connect with Logan Thomas in the end zone on fourth-and-goal. While he made some questionable decisions in the second half, Stafford still finished with 406 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. His top two wideouts were huge for him, as Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. both had over 100 yards and a touchdown each.

Derek Carr's 289 yards and two touchdowns aren't going to stand out in the box score, but he was simply fantastic. He was effective as a game manager and kept the chains moving. A.J. Cole only punted twice in this matchup.

Rookie running back Josh Jacobs had another great outing, and rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. According to the Raiders' official website, Jacobs passed Marcus Allen's rookie record for rushing yards this Sunday. Through Week 9, Jacobs is arguably the leading candidate to win the NFL's Rookie of the Year honor.

The Raiders have been away from home since Sept. 15, and they delivered their fans a big victory in their homecoming. 

Why the Raiders won

While Jacobs was incredible and the defense stood tall in the fourth quarter, we have to give credit to Carr. He threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, both of those scores coming in the fourth quarter. After the Lions tied the game at 17 apiece, Carr orchestrated a nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a Foster Moreau touchdown. After the Lions tied the game 24-all, Carr again stepped up, and led the offense on a seven-play, 75-yard drive which ended with a nine-yard touchdown pass to rookie Hunter Renfrow. Carr was poised and came up big when it mattered. His defense held Stafford in check for most of the second half, and Carr was able to take advantage. In all, a great team win. 

Why the Lions lost

The Lions simply just didn't come through when it mattered most. The defense allowed the Raiders to score both of their fourth-quarter touchdowns on third-and-goal and then Stafford couldn't tie the game on fourth-and-goal, even after being gifted a timeout that allowed the offense an extra minute to reassess the situation. Detroit battled throughout the entire matchup, but oftentimes these games can come down to the final drive or the final play. The Lions understand this by now, as they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers just because of how the final drive went. 

Turning Point

It was hard to distinguish a turning point in this one. The game came down to the very last play, when Stafford failed to hook up with tight end Logan Thomas in the end zone. Even before that play, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden inexplicably called a timeout while the Lions were hurrying to the line of scrimmage for fourth-and-goal with a running clock below 10 seconds. He gave the Lions a chance to regroup and run a final play. If Stafford had scored on that fourth-and-goal, Gruden would have received a good amount of flak for his decision. Another thing worth mentioning -- it's unclear if Thomas was the primary option on that final play. Sure, he has great size and length, but with options like Golladay and Jones, Thomas shouldn't be in the discussion. Then again, Stafford was under pressure and had to make a split-second decision. 

Play of the Game

Everyone loves a good fake punt, and this one was especially pretty because of the design. Gruden made a gutsy decision to call this fake on his own 38-yard line, and it ended up working out.

Quotable

The Raiders haven't played on their home field since September, and the players knew it. They wanted to gift a big victory to their fans during their last season in Oakland. 

What's next

The Raiders get to stay home and host the Los Angeles Chargers on "Thursday Night Football" next week, who just pulled off a big upset victory over the Green Bay Packers. The Lions travel to Chicago to take on the struggling Bears, who just lost their fourth straight game to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Relive the action in our live blog below! 

[Nov 3, 2019 at 7:15 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Both quarterbacks dominated in this matchup, Stafford threw for 406 yards, three touchdowns and an interception while Carr threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns. When it was all said and done, the Raiders' defense sealed the victory. Thanks for joining us!

[Nov 3, 2019 at 7:11 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

What an incredible back-and-forth matchup. The Raiders move to 4-4 while the Lions fall to 3-4-1. This was the game Detroit had to capitalize on -- the Packers are losing, the Vikings lost and the Bears lost. 

[Nov 3, 2019 at 7:09 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Logan Thomas could not have been Stafford's first option there. The pressure forced him to look elsewhere.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 7:08 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

What a stand by the Raiders. That's the ballgame! The defense came up huge!

[Nov 3, 2019 at 7:07 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

No idea why Jon Gruden would call a timeout there? Detroit was discombobulated and had just a few seconds to snap the ball.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 7:04 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

I fully disagree with the roughing the passer penalty. That should be a fair play in my opinion.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 7:03 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Incredible that Golladay was being held and had to turn into a defender to ruin an interception. Just an incredible heads-up play.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 7:00 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Raiders were playing a deep zone there. Nice of Stafford to check down to his running back.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 6:58 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Ideally you'd like to see Stafford get Golladay or Jones involved on this drive. They have been very quiet in the second half.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 6:55 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

We have been talking a lot about Renfrow today, Gruden wants him more involved in the game plan and he just came up huge for the Raiders. He now has six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks in a row he has scored a TD.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 6:50 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

This is the Jalen Richard drive. He has 65 yards just on four plays.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 6:49 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Derek Carr takes a page out of the Lions playbook and hits his running back for 31 yards. What a bad decision though, double coverage and he just lofted it. Would have been an easy pick if the Lions' DB's were aware. Can't knock the play if it works out I guess.

[Nov 3, 2019 at 6:46 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

J.D. McKissic ran straight to the end zone out of the backfield and Stafford was looking at him the whole time. Great call. He knew a linebacker would be on the speedy running back and took advantage.