Countdown to Paydirt: Tennessee Titans at Oakland Raiders

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Nov. 21, 2013

The Oakland Raiders (4-6) return home after their two-game road trip to take on the Tennessee Titans (4-6) on Sunday.

Fans in attendance will be seeing a starting roster much different than the Raiders' previous home game, three weeks ago against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor will remain on the sideline with a sprained MCL while Matt McGloin gets the start under center after earning it with his strong performance last week, throwing for 197 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers.

The undrafted rookie McGloin faces a Titans defense that ranks seventh in the NFL, allowing just 213.1 passing yards per game. Titans cornerbacks Alterraun Verner and Jason McCourty have turned into a solid cornerback duo with safeties Michael Griffin and Bernard Pollard playing behind them.

McGloin will have Rashad Jennings behind him starting at running back for the injured Darren McFadden, who hurt his hamstring during the Raiders last home game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jennings has taken advantage of his opportunity in the backfield with solid production. Since coming in to replace McFadden against the Eagles, Jennings has been the NFL's most productive players with 431 total yards. Eagles running back LeSean McCoy is second behind him with 391 total yards.

Jennings will have a favorable matchup in the Titans this week as they are giving up 117.1 rushing yards per game, ranking 20th in the league.

The Raiders will also be playing without their 12th-overall selection of this year's draft, corner back D.J. Hayden. Hayden was put on injured reserve on Wednesday, cutting his rookie season short. Phillip Adams is replacing Hayden in the secondary rotation.

Like the Raiders, the Titans have been forced to turn to a backup quarterback in veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick fills in for the injured Jake Locker and into an aerial attack that is averaging just 212.3 yards per game.

Fitzpatrick last played the Raiders in week 2 of 2011, torching the Raiders secondary for 264 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.

Oakland's defense will be put to another test in stopping the run as they face Chris Johnson, who is always capable of a home run. The Raiders defense needs to maintain gap discipline in order to limit Johnson's yardage. The Raiders defense is ranked sixth in the league, allowing just 97.6 rushing yards.

The Raiders return to the road for the next two weeks, heading to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving and then heading back to New York to take on the Jets.

Milestones to watch for: 

DE Lamarr Houston

• Needs three sacks to enter the top 20 in Raiders team history.

K Sebastian Janikowski

• Has now converted on 151-consecutive PAT attempts.
• Needs just 55 points to reach 1,500 for his career.

RB Rashad Jennings

• Has already surpassed his career-high with 480 rushing yards on the year.
• Needs just 15 yards to eclipse his career-high of 682 total yards in a season.

RB Darren McFadden

• Needs 315 rushing yards to eclipse 4,000 yards for his career.
• Needs 470 receiving yards to eclipse 1,500 yards for his career.
• Needs one rushing TD to move into sole posession of ninth place on the franchise’s
career list, and two to tie No. 8 Charlie Smith (24, 1968-74). McFadden enters the
game with 22.

WR Denarius Moore

• Needs 72 receiving yards to reach 2,000 for his career.

QB Terrelle Pryor

• Is currently first amongst all quarterbacks with 504 rushing yards. Pryor could
eclipse the Raiders’ single-season mark of rushing yards by a quarterback with just
26 more yards. Rich Gannon set the mark in 2000 with 529.

WR Rod Streater

• Needs 409 receiving yards to reach 1,500 for his career.

S Charles Woodson

• Needs five interceptions to tie Ed Reed for first on the interceptions list among all
active players with 61.
• Needs one INT-TD to pass Rod Woodson for first on the all-time list with 12.
• Needs one defensive touchdown to pass Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper for the
most defensive touchdowns in NFL history with 13.