The Las Vegas Raiders are coming off a huge Thanksgiving Day victory over the Dallas Cowboys and hope to turn around their recent history against the Washington Football Team, formerly known as the Redskins, on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The Raiders (6-5) still lead the all-time series, 8-6, but have lost three in a row to Washington (5-6), including 27-10 in 2017, 24-14 in 2013, and 34-13 in 2009.
In that most recent game, quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 25-of-35 passes for 356 yards and touchdowns of 22 yards to running back Chris Thompson, 18 yards to tight end Vernon Davis and 52 yards to wide receiver Josh Doctson to take Washington to a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 19-of-31 passes for only 118 yards with two interceptions and a 21-yard scoring pass to tight end Jared Cook.
The Raiders blew a 14-0 first-quarter lead in the 2013 game, as Washington scored the last 24 points of the game at the Oakland Coliseum, as the Silver and Black managed only 298 yards of total offense with quarterback Matt Flynn at the helm.
And in 2009, quarterback Jason Campbell passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Quinton Ganther ran for two scores in that 34-13 rout as the Raiders managed only 227 yards at the Oakland Coliseum.
However, the Raiders ruled the series before those three games with an 8-3 margin since the first meeting with Washington in 1970.
And of course, in the biggest and most memorable game in the series, the Raiders overwhelming favored Washington, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII to cap the 1983 season at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Washington had beaten the Raiders, 37-35, earlier that season when quarterback Joe Theismann passed for 417 yards and three touchdowns, including a six-yarder to running back Joe Washington for the winning score in the final minutes at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
In a sign of things to come, Jim Plunkett of the Raiders passed for 372 yards and four touchdowns including two to wide receiver Calvin Muhammad but also threw four interceptions.
In the Super Bowl, Plunkett and the Raiders were in control from the start.
The Raiders scored first when Derrick Jensen blocked a punt and recovered the ball for a touchdown in the first quarter, Plunkett threw a 12-yard TD pass to Cliff Branch and linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted Theismann’s pass in the final minute of the first half and ran five yards for a score to make it 21-3.
Marcus Allen added touchdown runs of five and 74 yards, the latter one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history, and rushed for 191 yards on 20 carries as the Raiders turned the game into an incredible rout.
Theismann passed for 243 yards, but had two interceptions, while running back John Riggins rushed for only 64 yards, and on one memorable series, he gained eight yards on first down but was stuffed by the Raiders on the next three plays in short-yardage situations.
That was simply a continuation of the first 11 games of the series, as the Raiders won eight of those meetings, including seven of the first nine.
The first time the Raiders met Washington, quarterback Daryle Lamonica outdueled the great Sonny Jurgensen, completing 19-of-27 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns, including two to wide receiver Warren Wells in a 34-20 victory at the Oakland Coliseum in 1970.
Jurgensen passed for 232 yards and had two scoring passes.
The Raiders controlled the ball and the clock for much of the game, as fullback Hewritt Dixon rushed for 164 yards on 18 carries, including a 39-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the first quarter.
Oakland also defeated Washington, 26-23, on George Blanda’s 27-yard field goal on overtime after Pete Banaszak ran for three touchdowns at RFK Stadium in 1975, and won, 24-21, at the Oakland Coliseum in 1980 when Dan Pastorini passed for two touchdowns and running back Kenny King rushed for 136 yards.
Carr and the Raiders hope to turn back the clock to those early years against Washington.
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