Countdown to Paydirt: Washington Redskins at Oakland Raiders

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Sept. 27, 2013

The Raiders (1-2) return to Oakland to host the Washington Redskins (0-3) with hopes of adding another win to their record and pull to a .500 column.

Oakland is coming off a 37-21 loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football in which Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense tore apart the Raiders defense.

The defense will need to play improved football this week and work on shutting down Redskins running back Alfred Morris and quarterback Robert Griffin III. Morris is currently 8th in the NFL in rushing with 225 yards and Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan knows that getting Morris going is key to the redskins success. The Raiders are currently allowing 108.3 yards per game on the ground.

Though Griffin III has not been running the ball much after suffering a torn ACL in the playoffs last season, he has been airing the ball out and has thrown for over 300 yards in each of the Redskins' first three games. Griffin III has only rushed for 62 yards on the season but the Raiders know he is always a threat to run. In order to keep Griffin from beating them on the ground, the Raiders linebackers and defensive linemen will need to maintain their gaps and stay active in pursuing the young Redskins quarterback until the whistle blows.

It appears the offense would be poised for a big day going up against a Redskins defense that 488.0 yards per game, worst in the league after three games.

Looking like they may be without starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the Raiders hope to get running back Darren McFadden back on track after rushing for just nine yards on 12 carries.

McFadden is facing a Redskins defense that is allowing 155.0 rushing yards a game, third worst in the NFL. Though McFadden was able to get going in the home-opener, rushing for 129 yards, he is averaging just 62 yards per game during his contract season.

Getting McFadden going will help relieve some pressure on Matt Flynn, who appears to be starting in place of Pryor after the young quarterback sustained a concussion late in last week's game. Flynn was named the starting quarterback heading into the offseason but a strong offseason stringed together with an added spark by Pryor gave the athletic quarterback the nod come opening week.

The Raiders make-shift offensive line will need to find a way to get their less mobile quarterback Flynn some time. A key match-up is veteran offensive right tackle Tony Pashos up against Ryan Kerrigan, who leads the Redskins with three sacks.

The job doesn't get any easier on the other side of the offensive line for Khalif Barnes, who will be playing left tackle. Barnes will be lining up against Brian Orakpo, who had four sacks the last time the Redskins played the Raiders, his rookie season. Orakpo only has one sack on the season thus far.

The matchup will mark the 12th time the two teams have met in the regular season, with the Raiders holding a 7-4 advantage. The Redskins won the last meeting 34-13 in 2009.

Milestones to watch for: 

LS Jon Condo
• With one more consecutive games played, Condo will reach 100-consecutive
games played. Condo has not missed a game since the streak began, in Week 1
of the 2007 season.

WR Jacoby Ford
• Needs 112 kickoff return yards to pass Doug Gabriel for 8th place and 155 yards to
pass George Atkinson for seventh on the Raiders’ all-time KOR yards list.

K Sebastian Janikowski
• Has now converted on 134-consecutive PAT attempts.
• Needs just 90 points to reach 1,500 for his career.

RB Rashad Jennings
• Needs 22 rushing yards to reach 1,000 for his career. He currently stands at 978.

RB Darren McFadden
• Needs 120 rushing yards to move into eighth place on the Raiders’ all-tme rushing
list.
• Needs one rushing TD to tie No. 10 Michael Bush (21, 2008-11) on the franchise’s
career list, three to tie No. 9 Marv Hubbard (22, 1969-75) and five to tie No. 8 Charlie Smith (24, 1968-74). McFadden enters the game with 20.
• Needs 5 receiving yards to eclipse 1,500 yards for his career.

WR Denarius Moore
• Needs 474 receiving yards to reach 2,000 for his career.

QB Terrelle Pryor
• Currently leads all quarterbacks with 198 rushing yards. Pryor could eclipse the
Raiders’ single-season mark of rushing yards by a quarterback with just 332 more
yards. Rich Gannon set the mark in 2000 with 529.

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