2-0! The Colts leave Houston with another win and a firm lead in the AFC South after a shootout with the Texans. In a game with not many punts or turnovers, it came down to the last couple drives. With about 15 seconds to go, Matt Gay nailed a 57 yard field goal to ice the game. Jehlani Woods had a monster game with 146 yards on 8 catches and 3 TDs to go with it. The final of the game was 41-38.

There was not much defense to be seen in this game as Anthony Richardson and CJ Stroud were lighting up both defenses all day. Richardson threw for over 300 yards and 4 TDs and Stroud threw for over 300 and 4 TDs. It was a back and forth affair as the rookie QBs showed they have what it takes to be in these types of games.

Coach Zook is loving what he is seeing from the offense. The same cannot be said for the defense. The team needs to improve on that side of the ball if they want to make some noise in the league this season. The Colts will be able to hold their own in shootouts, but that is not something they want to be forced to do week in and week out. The Colts go on the road next week to play the Ravens, who are coached by one of the longer tenured coaches in the SFL with many superbowl rings to show for it, LB. It’s going to be a real test for this Colts team and Coach Zook.

Key Stats:

Anthony Richardson - 20/32 355 Yards 4TD 0 Int; 6 Car 53 Yards

Jonathan Taylor - 26 Car 92 Yards 1TD

Michael Pittman Jr - 5 Rec 125 Yards 1 TD

Jehlani Woods - 8 Rec 146 Yards 3 TD

The Cowboys went into week 5 with a must-win mentality. The NFC East looks more competitive this year with the Washington Football Team throwing their hat into the mix. Week 5 was a bleak looking game for the Cowboys, whether it was the rain or the 4 turnovers that the team had, but they were able to overcome those odds and win the game. Dak Prescott struggled in the rain against the Philly defense and gave them the ball 4 times throughout the game while only throwing for 2 tds. He made up for it at the end of the game by leading the team on a long game-winning drive capped by him running it in on his own. He did have major help from his recievers late in the game though. Michael Gallup had a game-saving catch on 2 defenders late in the game to keep a drive alive that resulted in points. If he hadn't caught it, the Cowboys may very well have lost the game. The rushing offense was little different this week as we saw Tony Pollard take the reigns and make the start at rb. He finished the game with 15 carries for 75 yards. The Cowboys had a rough game, but they were able to pull through.

Notable Stats:

Dak Prescott- 21/37 for 294 yards passing, 2tds, 4 ints, 3 carries for 28 yards and 2 rushing tds

Tony Pollard- 15 carries, 75 yards rushing

Michael Gallup- 6 rec, 104 yards receiving

        The Cowboys lost their week 4 matchup to the Minnesota Vikings 42-24 to come to a 2-2 record after the first four games. After starting 2-0, the Cowboys lost to the Falcons and then the Vikings this week. Heads were hanging after the second consecutive week of losing by by multiple scores. Through 4 weeks, the Cowboys defense is one of the worst in the league giving up the third most yards in the league and the 8th most points allowed. If this team wants to make it anywhere this season, their defense is gonna have to get its act together and get some stops to help the offense.

        Dak was off his game against the Vikings in week 4 throwing 3 interceptions to the Vikings defense. The Vikings defense was also able to score on a pick 6 and a pick 2 on a 2-pt conversion attempt. The offense has to play near perfect with the way that the defense is playing so far and that is a recipe for disaster in a very offensive friendly league. The Cowboys have a chance to bounce back next week against the Eagles who are 2-1 at the time of this article. The Washington Football Team is having a better season this year as well and are currently sitting at 3-1. They're looking to make the NFC East much more interesting this season. After this 2-game slide, some changes are going to have to be made on both sides of the ball if the Cowboys want to be playing football in January.

      2-0. There isn't a better start to an SFL season. Ezekiel Elliot was traded away in the offseason to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2nd round pick and Tyrann Mathieu in return. The honey badger has made his impact already through two games with an interception and a team leading 14 tackles. The run game is not producing at the same level as last season as the team has shifted more towards a pass dominant offense lead by Dak Prescott. Dak is playing at an mvp-caliber level through the first two games and looks to keep that up through the rest of the season. His 7-1 Td-Int ratio best in the league and he is sitting at 2nd in passing yards.

      Week 1 was against the Washington Football Team and the Cowboys came out with a 43-32 victory. Week 2 was in Denver against the Broncos and that game ended in favor of the Cowboys at a score of 43-39. Dak shined in both games leading the lethal passing offense of the Cowboys. Jourdan Lewis ended the game against the Broncos with a total of 3 interceptions. The schedule is pretty tough for this Cowboys team through the rest of the season, but they remain hopeful to make the playoffs especially after a 2-0 start.

Notable Stats through Week 2

Dak Prescott- 842 Passing Yards, 7 Tds, 1 Int, 67% Completion

Amari Cooper- 12 Rec, 297 Yards, 2 Tds

Blake Jarwin- 12 Rec, 218 yards, 1 Td

Travis Etienne- 41 Car, 177 Rushing Yards, 3 Rushing Tds, 9 Rec, 129 Receiving Yards, 2 Rec Tds

Tyrann Mathieu- 14 Tackles, 1 Int, 2 Pass Def

Jourdan Lewis- 3 Int

     Here we are again in the offseason. Once again, the Raiders have lost in the first round of the playoffs after an 11-5 season. This seems to be a recurring theme this cycle for the Oakland Raiders aside from the first season when they went 4-12. There were many similarities for this Oakland team compared to last season. The offense was once again stagnant in the passing game and they were carried by their defense. The defense adopted a bend, but don’t break mentality this season. They were 7th in points allowed and allowed more yards this season than they were used to. They were 13th in yards allowed.

       Amari Cooper had himself a decent, yet quiet year with 62 receptions for 1622 yards and 8 touchdowns. He missed the pro bowl for the first time this cycle but was able to play in the playoffs unlike last season when he got injured in week 17. Marshawn Lynch once again had a dominant year as he finished with exactly 1000 yards 16 touchdowns. The rookies on offense also preformed pretty well. Hingle McCringleberry had 43 receptions for 749 yards and 4 touchdowns. Keiwone Wilkinson ran for 332 yards but scored 7 touchdowns as a change of pace back in this offense. In terms of passing, Derek Carr threw for 2700 yards, but went down with an injury for 5 weeks during the season. Connor Cook was his relief and he threw for 1223 yards, throwing 8 touchdowns and 7 picks. Carr threw for 16 touchdowns and 10 picks. The passing offense is something that the Raiders will need to be working on in the offseason.

       The Raiders were once again phenomenal on defense. They were 13th in yards allowed and 7th in points allowed. Star MLB, David Walker, led the team in tackles with 93 and also lead the team in forced fumbles with 4. Aldon Smith also had 4 forced fumbles on the year. Speaking of Aldon Smith, he made his second pro bowl this season along with his counterpart on the other side of defensive line, Khalil Mack. This pass rush tandem was a force to be reckoned with this season, as they totaled 36 sacks combined. Gareon Conley also emerged as the number one corner on the Raiders roster this season. 

     The Raiders will be looking ahead to the free agency and the draft as they will have some spots to fill on their roster. Bruce Irvin will be testing out free agency along with Rodney Hudson. Janikowski announced his retirement, so the Raiders will be in the market for kicker this offseason. The Raiders are going to need to find themselves another stud offensive lineman and a playmaker at the linebacker position. The Raiders have some prospects that they are eyeing in the draft, and who's to say that they aren't open to trading in order to fill those positions.

     The Raiders will be looking to have another great year this upcoming season. This time, they want to win some playoff games though. The expectations for this team will be to win a super bowl this upcoming season.

The Oakland Raiders had a massive turnaround season after their lackluster 4-12 season prior. They finished at 11-5 and claimed first place in the AFC West. They were the 3 seed heading into to the playoffs, but fell short to the Patriots in the wild card round of the playoffs. There were quite a few major injuries through the season as well. Derek Carr had a back injury that put him on the sideline for 5-6 weeks right at the end of the season and the Raiders playoff hopes seemed slim after he was gone when Connor Cook went 0-2 as the starter. The Raiders then proceeded to pick up Matt Barkley who went 4-0 as the starter and helped the Raiders lock up the number one spot in the AFC West. Another injury that seemed to loom large over the Raiders was the injury that kept Amari Cooper from playing in the playoffs for the team. Sure, the Raiders would have loved to have him on the field, but they arent going to say that they lost because he wasn’t able to play. The Raiders put up 36 points without one of their biggest playmakers on offense. Even though they lost the first game in the playoffs, the Raiders will say that this season was a massive success compared to their first season.

The return of Aldon Smith and Obi Melifonwu, plus the addition of David Walker and Devondre Campbell, made the Raiders defense one of the best in the league. The Raiders defense was fourth in total yards allowed and 5th total points allowed in the league. This was a monumental upgrade from the first season where the Raiders defense was one of the worst in the league. The dominance of the defense was one of the main reasons that the Raiders were able to do so well. The offense was actually able to go off the field and not have to worry about their defense giving up a lot of points. The Raiders will hope to carry this defensive play into next season and if they can get their offense to play better and be more consistent, this team will most definitely be back in the playoffs and they will make a much better run in the playoffs than a loss in the first round.

     In an extremely unfortunate turn of events, Derek Carr, QB for the Oakland Raiders, was injured in their game against the Kansas City Chiefs. It looked bad as soon as he went down as he was holding his back in agony while he was on his knees. It was initially feared that he was going to miss the rest of the season, but it was later revealed that he would be able to return for the wild card round of the playoffs should the Raiders make the playoffs. This is a huge loss for the Raiders as Derek Carr is a superstar caliber quarterback and the face of the Raiders franchise. All the Raiders can hope for now is making the playoffs with their backup QB so Derek Carr can come back and lead the team forward.

    Connor Cook will be the starting quarterback in the absence of Derek Carr. He played pretty well against the Chiefs in the second half of the game that Carr went down in. He went 6-8 for 122 yards and a touchdown. Connor Cook looks like he wants to prove that he's a starting caliber QB in the league. He has been the backup for a few years now and he has had a lot of time to develop behind Carr. The Raiders are going to lean on Connor Cook to win enough games to get them into the playoffs.

Micah Goins Sr. and his Oakland Raiders are having just the start to the season that they were looking for. The Raiders are playing up to their expectations and then some. The defense looks revitalized this season and are one of the top defenses in the league against the run and they will look to continue that throughout the season and hopefully into the playoffs. The D-line is looking much better this season and they are getting to the QB much more than they were able to last season. Their starting FS, Obi Melifonwu, who was injured all last season, has come out this year and made great plays for this defense. Its a shame he wasn’t able to play his rookie season. It looks like he would have definitely been in the running for AFC DROY.

On the offensive side, the Raiders are looking like a more consistent group aside from a week 3 blowout loss to the Broncos. Lynch has 6 rushing tds and looks to be on pace for great year. You can expect a steady 300 yds passing from week to week from superstar QB, Derek Carr. Amari Cooper looks even better than he did last year and is averaging over 100 yards receiving per game and 1 td a game. Rookie Couri Tucker is the large redzone target that the Raiders have been able to rely on and he has not let them down yet.

All in all, The Raiders are having themselves a great year and are back where they belong after a lackluster 4-12 year. Look for them to make the playoffs and possibly make it far. Hopes have never been higher for this team and the sky is the limit with the amount of talent that is on this roster.

Round 1, Pick 8: David Walker, MLB, USC

22 Tackles, 1 Tackle For Loss, 2 Ints

David Walker was drafted by the Raiders to be an instant starter in their defense. Their MLB position was a position of weakness for them last season. Walker has come in and been exactly what the Raiders had wanted him to be. He is performing great and this kid has the potential to be a superstar in this league.

Round 1, Pick 29: A.J Zahursky, T, Pitt

4 Sacks allowed through 3 ganes

Zahursky has been thrown right into the starting right tackle position for the Raiders and he is taking a little while to adjust to it. He was a LT in college so the position change has slightly affected his play. He has been progressively been getting better each week and looks like he may be a premier lineman in this league in the years to come.

Round 3, Pick 8: Couri Tucker, WR, Hawaii

9 Rec, 147 Rec Yards, 1 TD

Couri Tucker did not have the support of many NFL scouts as most of them predicted that he would be a bust in the league, but the Raiders saw something in him that nobody else saw. He's come into the league and produced just the way the Raiders thought he would. Tucker has large 6'6 frame that allows him to be a huge target for Derek Carr in the passing game. It looks as if the Raiders will be giving him a chance to start alongside Cooper as the start of the regular season. The Raiders hope this will be a dynamic duo that helps this offense even more.

Round 6, Pick 8: Dakieston McCree, CB, LSU

4 KR for 93 yards, 9 PR for 65 yards

The Raiders drafted McCree to be mainly a return man. He's come in and done decently well in the return game so far this preseason. It looks like he will be assuming all return duties when the season starts.

Round 6, Pick 25: Simon Ernster, FB, Tenn

1 Rush Att for 4 yards

What Ernster does so well does not appear in the stat sheets. This kid is already one of the best blocking fullbacks in the league already. Ersnster has almost unparralled blocking skillls as a fullback in this league and will be a big boost to the Raiders running game in the 2018 season. The Raiders believe this kid can be one of the best fullbacks in the league in just one or two years.

Round 7, Pick 8: Eldrin Waddy, WR, Michigan

2 Rec, 24 Rec Yards

Waddy has not had much of a chance to make a big impact in this offense as Couri Tucker has been drawing more attention, but this kid has shown some great flashes of potential. Waddy will get his shot at being a much bigger piece in the offense in the near future.

All in all, the Raiders 2018 draft class has performed pretty well so far in the preaseason and that is a good sign for the Raiders if they want to improve from their 4-12 record last season. It looks as if this draft class will make a big impact on this team.

       Micah Goins Sr. had a very disapointing first season with the Oakland Raiders. They finished with a record of 4-12 and finshed third in the AFC West. The goal for the Raiders at the beginning of the season was to be a playoff team and they had hopes of winning the division. The Raiders still have high hopes for Mr. Goins Sr., but he'll have to produce more than 4 wins next season if he wants his job to be secure. There is too much talent on the Raiders roster for them to have a record of 4-12. 

       The season was not a complete disaster for the Raiders though, as they come into the 2018 NFL Draft with the number 9 pick and they have a few needs that need to be addressed during the offseason. The Raiders are looking forward to this talent loaded draft to improve their team even more. There are a few older guys on this team that dont have much more time to win a Super Bowl. The Raiders are in a win-now situation.

      The 2018-2019 season should be an extremely diferent season from the first season for the Raiders. The Raiders will have their superstar FS in the making, Obi Melifonwu, returning to make his SFL Debut next season and he has some of the highest praises that a player can have at that age. The Raiders expect him to come in and be another playmaker for their defense. Aldon Smith will also be making his long awaited return next year as he will be eligible to play football once again. Smith is a veteran that brings a lot to this defense as a player and as a leader. His return will make a big impact on the Raiders Defense.

      If the Raiders can get their offense together next season and get the few needs in their roster filled during the offseason, they can be the dominant team that they should be. Look for the Raiders to be a competive team next season as they have high hopes of making the playoffs.