The Silver and Black go back-to-back

The Raiders won their second consecutive game on Sunday, beating the Broncos to notch consecutive wins against divisional foes after their much-publicized 17-game division losing streak. The running game has come back to Oakland, with “Son of Huggy Bear” Justin Fargas racking up 134 rushing yards in the 34-20 victory. What was most noteworthy about this game, though, was the appearance of No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell. The rookie was inexplicably inserted at quarterback in the middle of the second quarter and showed solid mobility for a guy his size (6’6″ 255lbs) while throwing a few nice passes. Raider Nation clearly liked what it saw, because the fans in Oakland gave Russell a standing ovation and booed when Josh McCown was reinserted at quarterback after a couple of drives. It will be interesting to see how much playing time Russell sees the rest of the way, but if Sunday was any indication – the Raiders can expect great things from their strong-armed first-round pick in the future.

And then there’s that other Bay Area team?

The 49ers struggled to put points on the board and lost on the road 31-14; Sound familiar? San Francisco’s season is like one long, annoying broken record. Quarterback Trent Dilfer had another spectacular performance, completing less than 50 percent of his passes while throwing four interceptions. The Niners will finish with a losing season for the fifth straight year and will have to answer some serious questions in the offseason. The defense, which was supposed to be much-improved, ranks 23rd in the league, and the struggles of the offense have been well-documented in this column. San Francisco will need to get a player who can help clog the running lanes on the defensive line and then figure out what they are going to do about the quarterback situation, because neither Alex Smith nor Trent Dilfer is the answer.

The agony of defeat was shared by us all

The Baltimore Ravens nearly pulled off the impossible dream on Monday night, giving the Patriots all they could handle in a 27-24 loss. Stupid penalties doomed the Ravens from the get-go (they finished with 13 that cost them 100 total yards) and the holding penalty on a fourth-and-6 with under a minute to go was unforgivable. Still, the defense truly did play its heart out and I can’t remember the last time I saw a team play with such fire and passion. If the rest of America was anything like my living room that night, there were a lot of people rooting for the Ravens to pull off what would have easily been the upset of the year. I was frustrated, but not surprised, that Baltimore gave the game away. But after it was over I felt like a ten-year-old who had his lunch money stolen.

Operation: End the Streak

Although it’s been said quite a bit, opposing teams do have a blueprint on how to beat the Patriots: blitz Tom Brady and make sure he gets a lot of grass stains on his jersey. But after two very close games, I doubt anyone will be close to beating the Pats again in the regular season. Pittsburgh is the only team left on New England’s schedule that has a chance of ending its undefeated season, but Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 1-2 against New England in his career. I want to see Pittsburgh make it happen, but I bet the Patriots beat the Steelers by a significant margin. Especially now that Pittsburgh defensive back Anthony Smith has guaranteed a victory over the Pats (nice move, hot shot). I doubt the game will even be competitive by the fourth quarter.

It’s now time to introduce a new feature in the column, just in time for the playoff push. I present the inaugural:

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Stat of the Week: In Sunday’s thrashing of the Lions, Minnesota scored six touchdowns in its first six possessions.

NFL Picks – Week 14

Week 13 Picks: 2-2; Season Overall: 33-17

Here are some notable games coming up in week 14 (Odds as posted on Yahoo! Sports Dec. 06):

New York Giants at Philadelphia (-3) – The Giants had a gutsy win over the Bears on Sunday, but you can never really tell which Eli Manning is going to show up on a given Sunday. It could be the Manning that threw four picks against Minnesota, or the Manning that made excellent throws on the game-winning drive in Chicago. Philadelphia has a solid defense, but I think the Eagles will actually be hurt by Donovan McNabb’s return in this game. He’s just not the same quarterback he used to be. Giants win it late.

My Pick: New York 23-20

San Diego at Tennessee (NL) – San Diego has been very inconsistent this season but is certainly capable of beating the Titans on the road. Tennessee lost three-in-a-row before the return of defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth last week, and looked like a playoff team in a 28-20 win over Houston. The Chargers will run the ball well, but this will be a close, physical game. San Diego pulls it out in the fourth.

My Pick: San Diego 17-13

Chicago at Washington (-3) – The Redskins had the definition of a tough loss on Sunday when Joe Gibbs’ attempt to call two consecutive timeouts resulted in a 36-yard game-winning field goal for Buffalo. Chicago should have beat the Giants last week but choked down the stretch. Even though both teams are a mediocre 5-7, they are also only one game out of the last Wild Card Spot in the NFC. Someone has to take charge this week, and I’ll take Washington playing with a little less of a burden on its shoulders now that Sean Taylor’s murderer may have been caught.

My Pick: Washington 20-16

Dallas at Detroit (-10.5) – The Lions look like they are about to complete one of the greatest collapses in NFL history. After starting 6-2, they have lost four consecutive games and will face Dallas, San Diego, Kansas City and Green Bay to finish out the year. Detroit could very easily end up 6-10, ending the season on an eight-game losing streak. Dallas will help push the Lions in that direction by pummeling them on Sunday. The Cowboys are just too good on both sides of the ball for Detroit to have any chance.

My Pick: Dallas 31-13

Fantasy Game-Breaker: Minnesota Running Back Adrian Peterson vs. San Francisco – Despite being out for two weeks, Peterson is still having one of the best rookie seasons the league has ever seen. He’s averaging 6.5 yards per carry and piled up 116 yards and two touchdowns last week in just three quarters. This week he’ll get to face the Niners’ 26th-ranked rushing defense. Although I don’t think the Vikings will blow out San Francisco like they did Detroit last week, Peterson will still run wild in this one. Expect 150+ total yards and two touchdowns.

Look for “No Huddle” every Thursday on www.statehornet.com

Fernando Gallo can be reached at [email protected]