The Titans are now in the thick of the playoff race, following their 23-19 victory over the Raiders in Oakland. Tennessee was led by backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns. The passing game was also helped out by a solid performance from Chris Johnson on the ground. The Raiders received an up-and-down performance from quarterback Matt McGloin and their defense.
Titans vs. Raiders 2013: Tennessee starts playoff push during win in Oakland
Our SB Nation writers are talking about the Titans victory over the Raiders.
The Raiders are now on the outside of the playoff hunt and have major question marks at quarterback. The Titans will roll with Fitzpatrick moving forward, so his performance was a positive sign for Tennessee. The Titans will now need to continue to push for wins to get into the postseason.
Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride believes this was a “must-win” for the Raiders:
The six seed now belongs to the Titans and the likelihood of playing out a lost season belongs to the Raiders. The Raiders would have to win out the season now just to have a winning record. As unlikely as that is, even a 9-7 non-division winner is far from a playoff lock. Most times they miss out on the playoffs.
The term ‘must-win’ gets tossed around way too often, but that’s just what this game was for the Raiders. And they lost it on defense which was an area that is supposed to be their strength.
JLomas of Music City Miracles has praise for the Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter and his role in the win:
The Titans went into this game saying they considered it to be a "playoff" game for them, meaning that they could not afford to lose any more games if they had any aspirations of reaching the post season. Well after a handful of losses around the league and a 23-19 win in Oakland they have just worked their way back into playoff contention.
The Titans started off slow, exchanging field goals for field goals with the Raiders despite having better field position and winning the turnover battle. After the first half it looked like this would be a kicker's duel between two of the best over the last decade (Rob Bironas and Sebastian Janikowski) until a spark arrived in the number 15 jersey.
Rookie Justin Hunter took a standard mid range pass, and after shaking and baking two Raider defensive backs he was off to the races. Hunter's speed and explosion has never been more evident in his NFL career and it looked like he finally put it all together on that drive.
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