Saints at Raiders – Third Quarter
After one half of play, the Saints have racked up 344 yards to the Raiders’ 60.
Saints kickoff – Miller receives the kick from the Raiders’ six and returns it to the 27-yard line for a 21-yard return.
Raiders’ eighth possession – The possession starts with a false start on Luke Lawton. On first and 15, Russell is forced out of the pocket and gains a yard. Two more passes for three yards later, Russell throws a perfect strike to a deep-slanting Johnnie Lee Higgins, who drops the pass and brings out the punting crew. Schmitt hits a 38-yard punt that’s returned to the Saints’ 24-yard line.
Saints’ ninth possession – The Saints go three and out–a rarity in this game for them. After a 41-yard punt to Higgins, who is immediately tackled, the Raiders will start their next possession at their own 34.
Raiders’ ninth possession – After beginning the possession with a reverse to Murphy for no gain, Russell passed to him. Like he had done previously, Murphy caught the ball and then fumbled it after about a 25-yard gain. The Saints recovered the ball at their own 36-yard line.
Saints’ tenth possession – After nine runs, and two pass plays, the Saints hit paydirt again. Only three runs went for less than four yards. The Saints had a 14-yard run to start the drive and was helped by a defensive holding call on Ricky Brown on first down at the Raiders’18. After getting to the Raiders’ 10 on a eight-yard run, the Saints ran for another 10 yards around the left end. Hiram Eugene could’ve stopped the runner at the two, but a poor shove didn’t come close to stopping the back.
Saints 38 – Raiders 0
Saints kickoff – Kicked in the end zone where Nick Miller downs the ball.
Raiders’ tenth possession – Jeff Garcia comes in to cheers from the crowd. Garcia starts the drive with a perfect pass to Tony Stewart who drops an easy 25-yard reception. That doesn’t deter Garcia, who throws to Brandon Myers for seven yards and then to Louis Murphy on the sidelines for 16. After that, the offensive line began to fold. Garcia faced incredible pressure, being hit on throws and needing to run from the pocket a few times. He was able to find Murphy for a 30-yard play and get them into the redzone. After gaining four yards on first down, Garcia was forced to throw the ball away, but a holding penalty on Paul McQuistan put them at the 26-yard line. Garcia again was forced out of the pocket and took a heavy blow on a four-yard gain.
The third quarter ends with the Raiders on the 22 and 3rd and 12.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
