Bills 24 - 26 Raiders
Final
  for this game

Raiders take down playoff-hopeful Bills

Dec 22, 2014 - 2:17 AM Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Derek Carr passed for 214 yards and two touchdowns, while Sebastian Janikowski kicked four field goals as the Oakland Raiders topped the Buffalo Bills, 26-24, on Sunday.

Carr completed 17-of-34 attempts and tossed scores to James Jones and Jamize Olawale for the Raiders (3-12), who have a chance to match their win total of the past two seasons if they top the Broncos in Denver next week.

"We wanted to give our fans something special this week. [The fans] have been tremendous," said Raiders head coach Frank Sparano. "That's a great job of fighting when nobody thought you'd come out and fight.

Latavius Murray and Darren McFadden combined for 140 yards on 32 attempts, while Kenbrell Thompkins posted 90 yards on five receptions.

Kyle Orton finished 32-of-49 for 329 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions for the Bills (8-7), who conclude the regular season at New England seven days from now having been eliminated from postseason contention.

"It breaks your heart. When you've gone this long and you don't come through, it hurts," said Orton. "It was all there, we just didn't have execution. And in the end it cost us. I'm disappointed in myself."

With the running game largely shackled to the tune of 13 yards on 13 attempts, Fred Jackson totaled 93 yards on nine catches, while Sammy Watkins, Scott Chandler and Robert Woods posted a TD catch apiece.

Chandler and Orton combined for a 29-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth and Buffalo closed the gap to 19-17.

The Raiders went ahead by a 26-17 count with 2:51 to go after Carr found Olawale from one yard out. That score was set up by a pair of big plays: Carr's 51-yard completion to Andre Holmes on 3rd-and-22 along with McFadden's 25-yard run to the one on a 2nd-and-6.

On 3rd-and-21 from the 9-yard line, Brandian Ross stepped in front of an Orton pass at the Bills' 33 and returned it seven yards. However, Janikowski failed to convert from 48 yards out and Buffalo had the ball back with 1:55 to play.

Woods was in the end zone to accept a 30-yard pass from Orton, and the extra point pulled the visitors to 26-24 with 1:09 showing.

Charles Woodson recovered the onside kick and Carr knelt twice to run off the remaining time.

Orton found Watkins for a 42-yard catch-and-run score to cap Buffalo's initial drive of the contest.

Carr's three-yard strike to Jones evened the score early in the second and Janikowski's 45-yard field goal just before the midway point gave Oakland a 10-7 edge.

His 36-yard boot provided a 13-7 margin with 1:11 left before halftime, but Dan Carpenter nailed a 54-yard try on the final play for a three-point game.

A 38-yard try from Janikowski ended the Raiders' first series of the third pushed the hosts' lead to 16-10, and he was good from 49 yards out later in the period.

Game Notes

Oakland has beaten Buffalo four straight times at home since moving back from Los Angeles prior to the 1995 season, and improved to 14-5 overall on friendly ground against their former AFL rivals ... Sunday marked the 13th time Janikowski made exactly four field goals in one contest, doing so for the first time since Nov. 24, 2013 against Tennessee ... Jackson, Watkins and Woods became the first trio to record at least 60 receptions each in one season in team history ... Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore left the game with a concussion and did not return.






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