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Oakland Raiders force 3 turnovers to shut down Tennessee Titans

By Bucky Dent, The Sports Xchange
Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4). Photo by AJ Sisco/UPI
Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4). Photo by AJ Sisco/UPI | License Photo

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Like the scene of an auto accident, it all depends on one's perspective.

The Tennessee Titans felt wide receiver Harry Douglas was grabbed or interfered with on their fourth-down pass into the end zone with 12 seconds left in the game.

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Oakland Raiders cornerback TJ Carrie felt otherwise, and the officials agreed with him, capping a wild final minute that saw Oakland's much-maligned defense hold off Tennessee's final drive to preserve a 17-10 win Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

In upping their record to 2-1, the Raiders made real improvements on defense, where they had allowed 69 points and an NFL-worst 1,035 yards in their first two games. Oakland gave up 393 yards but controlled the Titans for most of the first half and most of the fourth quarter. The Raiders forced three turnovers.

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"We saw glimpses of what we want to be on defense today," Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said, "but we still have things to clean up."

However, Oakland was able to keep Tennessee (1-2) out of the end zone when it mattered most, thanks to Carrie and a pair of costly penalties on the Titans.

Tennessee reached the Raiders' 3-yard line on Marcus Mariota's 19-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Tajae Sharpe with 1:02 remaining. But left tackle Taylor Lewan gave 15 yards back with an unnecessary roughness penalty as he blasted into the pile after the whistle.

Lewan said after the game that he would do it again if given the chance.

"I had no idea why they called it," Lewan said. "I've done it before. I thought he was still up. A bunch of Raiders were jumping on him and I was helping my teammate. I'm disappointed that I hurt my team."

Three plays later, the Titans appeared to tie the game when veteran Andre Johnson caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Mariota. But Johnson was flagged for offensive pass interference as he pushed Carrie to the turf at the goal line.

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"If he doesn't fall down, they don't call it," Johnson said of the play.

After Mariota's 11-yard pass to DeMarco Murray pushed the ball back to the 12, Tennessee used its last timeout to set up its final play. Mariota rolled left and opted for Douglas on a corner route about four yards deep in the end zone.

Carrie appeared to make contact with Douglas before the ball sailed over his head, but the officials decided not to flag the play. The crowd of 62,370 -- minus a few thousand Oakland fans -- howled in disbelief at the ending.

"I think I was able to defend the play with excellent coverage," Carrie said. "I was able to slip inside him with an inside technique. I wasn't surprised that there wasn't a flag."

The result was the Titans' 16th loss in their last 18 home games, dating back to the 2014 season's beginning. The two wins in that span are against Jacksonville.

Tennessee kept the Raiders' high-powered offense in check, holding it to 372 total yards and blanking it in the second half. But Oakland quarterback Derek Carr still completed 21 of 35 passes for 249 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Seth Roberts with 33 seconds left in the first half that gave the Raiders a 17-3 halftime lead.

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The Raiders also got a 22-yard scoring run from Latavius Murray with 8:19 remaining in the first quarter and a 52-yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski at the 8:13 mark of the second quarter. The boot enabled Janikowski to set an NFL record with 53 field goals of 50 yards or longer.

Ryan Succop booted a 34-yard field goal just over five minutes into the game to start the scoring for the Titans. Murray's 5-yard run with 5:51 left in the third quarter pulled Tennessee within a touchdown.

Murray finished with 114 yards on 16 carries, the first 100-yard game for a Titans running back since Chris Johnson pulled it off in the 2013 season finale.

NOTES: Tennessee started New England castoff Josh Kline at RG in place of Chance Warmack (finger), who hit IR this week after undergoing surgery. ... Oakland inactives were QB Connor Cook, CB Dexter McDonald, CB Antonio Hamilton, T Matt McCants, T Austin Howard and TE Mychal Rivera. ... Titans inactives were headlined by TE Delanie Walker (hamstring) and WR Kendall Wright (hamstring). They also deactivated DB Curtis Riley, CB LeShaun Sims, OLB Aaron Wallace, G Sebastian Tretola and DL Austin Johnson.

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