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Oakland Raiders Team Grades: Unexpected Dominance Continues To Show In Win Over Jaguars

By Danny Cox

The Oakland Raiders are looking like true contenders in the AFC and they are continuing to show their dominance on the road as they improved to 4-0 this season when visiting opponents. A 33-16 victory over the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars may not seem overly impressive, but in past years, Raiders' teams have found ways to lose games they should have won.

Not in 2016.

Saturday's performance was a balanced attack of offense and defense that led to the Raiders staying on top of the AFC West and making a true case for the playoffs.

Offense: B+

The offense of the Oakland Raiders didn't have to do very much because the defense made it possible for them to have good field position and do just enough to keep getting on the board. Derek Carr played well in completing 23-of-37 passes for 200 yards and one touchdown. More importantly, he didn't take a sack and didn't turn the ball over. Actually, the Raiders' entire team avoided costly turnovers.

Latavius Murray racked up 59 yards on the ground and two touchdowns while Michael Crabtree led all receivers with 96 yards on eight receptions and one touchdown. In all, nine different players caught passes from Carr, which shows just how much he spread the football around. This made it all the more difficult for Jacksonville to defend.

Defense: A

Defensively, the Raiders were able to contain Blake Bortles and an explosive Jacksonville offense. Bortles ended the day with 246 yards and one touchdown, but he was also sacked once and threw two costly interceptions. One pick came on the Jags' final drive, which officially put the game out of reach and ended the comeback attempt.

Due to playing from behind the majority of the day, the Jaguars didn't even attempt to rush the ball often and it left Chris Ivory with a mere 48 yards on the ground. Wide receiver Marquise Lee was the lone highlight for the Jaguars as he hauled in seven receptions for 107 yards, but he's about the only one who impressed.

Special Teams: A

There were no kickoff returns and the punt returns brought very little to the table, but the kicking game of the Raiders' special teams is what really stood out. Sebastian Janikowski hit all three extra points and was absolutely perfect on his four field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards.

Punter Marquette King pinned the Jaguars inside their own 20-yard-line on four of his five punts on the day, but there was much more to it. He essentially sealed the game late in the fourth quarter when he bobbled the snap while attempting to punt on fourth and 24. He adjusted the football and sprinted for 27 yards and a first down which eventually led to the last score of the day for the Raiders.

Coaching: A

Jack Del Rio really had no reason to change up anything that the Raiders had been doing so far this season as it's been working perfectly fine. The offense was well-balanced with a mix of pass and run. Oakland's defense contained the Jaguars and caused turnovers that kept the Jags from ever really being in it. Everything worked as planned.

Next up for the Raiders is a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that still hasn't quite found its identity, but can still be dangerous. After that, Oakland will take on the Denver Broncos at home in a key AFC match-up before a bye week leading into the second half of the season. This Oakland Raiders team is for real and has a legit shot at a divisional title and much more this year.

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