Raiders struggles against Miami continue

Originally published on SBReport.net on Sept. 16, 2012

The Oakland Raiders struggles against the Dolphins continued as they fell to Miami 35-13 in South Beach on Sunday. 

Oakland hadn't defeated Miami since 2007 and will have to wait until next time to get revenge. 

The Dolphins picked on cornerback Pat Lee throughout the game who was in the game in place of Ron Bartell, who is out for at least six weeks with a broken shoulder blade. 

Rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill continuously connected with wide receiver Brian Hartline, who was covered by Bartell's replacement.  Hartline finished with nine receptions for 111 yards. 

The Raiders defensive line was unable to apply pressure to Tannehill, giving him time to orchestrate five touchdown runs. The rookie quarterback finishedc 18/30 for 200 yards, one touchdown and no interception. Defensive end Matt Shaughnessy recorded the lone sack on Tannehill.  

Oakland was unable to stop the combination of Hartline and running back Reggie Bush. Bush, who had 100 yards against the Raiders last season, carved his way through a Raiders defense that allowed Bush to rush 176 rushing yards to go along with 25 receiving yards.

Bush continued to find running room on a Raiders defense that struggled to wrap him up and left gaping holes for the former USC Trojan to rush through. 

Overall, the Raiders returned to old defensive form, allowing 254 total rushing yards. 

Oakland was once again unable to get the rushing game going as star running back Darren McFadden was held to just 22 rushing yards on 11 carries. 

Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp's offense is known to run off of the rushing attack, leaving no doubt that the Raiders will need to get McFadden going to have success moving forward in the season. 

Starting quarterback Carson Palmer was able to spread the ball around, completing passes to nine different receivers. Palmer's struggles occurred on third down, where the Raiders were just one for 12 on third-down conversions. Palmer finished 24/48 for 373 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Palmer's lone interception occurred late in the game when the Raiders were already down 22 points. 

Palmer had little time as the offensive line struggled to open up any holes, nor provide adequate time for Palmer to find the open receiver. 

While there was little for Raider fans to be excited about, two-time Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo returned to the field and was able to complete all snaps with no troubles on Shane Lechler's nine punts. 

The Raiders struggled in the first half with penalties but were able to correct the mistakes in the second half. Oakland finished with 5 penalties for 42 yards. 

Wide receiver Denarius Moore returned to the field after missing much of training camp and hauled in three catches for 67 yards. 

Oakland's next couple of weeks will be even more difficult as they host the Pittsburgh Steelers next week before heading to Denver to take on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.