GREEN BAY, Wis. -- After being on the wrong end of back-to-back blowouts, the Oakland Raiders suddenly are scrambling to make the playoffs.
The Raiders were blown out, 46-16, by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, falling to 7-6 with their second straight loss and looking like anything but serious contenders in the AFC West.
"I'm not going to let this team keep going backward," coach Hue Jackson said. "The last two weeks we haven't come close to playing or looking like the football team we've been."
Throw in Sunday's overtime victory by Denver to take the division lead, and things are looking more grim for the Raiders.
Oakland continues to play without several key players on offense because of injuries, including running back Darren McFadden and wide receivers Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore. Jackson dismissed speculation that McFadden will miss the remainder of the season.
"There is nothing new on Darren," Jackson said. "I expect him to be back before the end of the season."
But the Raiders sustained several more injuries Sunday. Jackson said Darrius Heyward-Bey hurt his heel, wide receiver Chaz Schilens hurt his foot, center Samson Satele hurt his shoulder and safety Michael Huff hurt his hamstring. The severity of the injuries was not immediately clear.
Injuries aside, the Raiders made plenty of mistakes against a team that doesn't really need a whole lot of help from its opponent. Carson Palmer threw for 245 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions.
Palmer took the blame, saying he simply didn't give his team a chance to win. But he wasn't the only one making mistakes. The Raiders were penalized 11 times for 89 yards.
"You are not going to beat a high school team with the penalties and mistakes (like) the ones that we made," linebacker Aaron Curry said. "You make a lot of mistakes, you lose."
Detroit Free Press News Services
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