The Raiders will be without 24-year old TE Zach Miller for a while due to a injured fibula and a torn plantar fascia.  Miller has played in 10 games so far this year and he has caught 37 passes for 476 yards (12.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Raiders’ QBs have completed 37 of 61 passes (60.7%) to Miller this year as he has been a favorite target of theirs.  25-year old Brandon Myers will  likely be Miller’s replacement until he’s ready to return to action.  Myers has played in 10 games this season and he has 9 grabs for 69 yards (7.7 avg).  The Raiders will likely throw more to the WRs and RBs with Miller out of action.

The Raiders will be without QB Bruce Gradkowski for the rest of the year due to a separated right shoulder.  Gradkowski played in 6 games for the Raiders this year and he has completed 83 of 157 passes (52.9%) for 1,059 yards  with 5 TD passes and 7 INTs (66.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 41 yards (3.4 ypc) this year for the Raiders.  The Raiders will turn back to Jason Campbell at QB which should make owner Al Davis happy.  Campbell has played in 8 games for the Raiders so far this year and he has completed 104 of 190 passes (54.7%) for 1,322 yards with 7 TD passes and 6 INTs (75.8 QB Rating).  Campbell has also carried the ball 28 times for 101 yards (3.6 ypc) so far this year.  The Raiders have had more success with Campbell starting this season so maybe they can still turn things around this year.

The Raiders didn’t put up much of a fight yesterday against the Dolphins.   Bruce Gradkowski got the start at QB and he completed 17 of 32 passes for 252 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  Darren McFadden had his second awful game in a row as he carried the ball 8 times for 2 yards (0.3 ypc) but he did catch 7 passes for 63 yards (9.0 avg).  Rookie WR Jacoby Ford carried the ball 1 time for 13 yards and he caught 4 passes for 108 yards (27.0 avg) with a TD grab.  Ford also returned the opening kickoff of this game 101 yards for a TD.  He returned 7 kickoffs for 208 yards (29.7 avg) overall yesterday as he was one of the only Raiders who came to play yesterday.  WR Louis Murphy also had a decent game with 4 catches for 73 yards (18.3 avg).  The Raiders finished up with 16 yards rushing on 12 carries (1.3 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 32 passes for 247 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 18:22.

Safeties Tyvon Branch (10 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and Michael Huff (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) were busy yesterday.  LB Rolando McClain pitched in with 8 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 2 QB hits and 1 interception was also busy in this game.  The Dolphins finished up with 186 yards rushing on 49 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 30 passes for 285 yards.  The Raiders are now 5-6 on the season as that winning streak they had just a few weeks ago is looking like a mirage.

The Raiders got punished last weekend in Pittsburgh 35-3 but a return to the Black Hole could be just what the doctor ordered.  The Raiders are 4-1 in Oakland.  The Dolphins travel well as they are 4-1 on the road and they will have Chad Henne back under center.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Raiders have the ball:  I look for the Raiders to get back to running the ball with Darren McFadden & Michael Bush against a Fins’ D that is allowing 112.7 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.  The Raiders hope the running game gets going because Jason Campbell did not play too well last weekend.  Hopefully the Raiders can take some play-action shots deep to their speedy receivers but that all hinges on the running game.

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins have QB Chad Henne back but they won’t have their top WR in Brandon Marshall whose going to miss this game with a hamstring injury.  The Dolphins will probably run the ball with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams while throwing the ball short to Brian Hartline and Davone Bess.  Also look for them to turn to the Wildcat Formation at some point in the game.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 20, DOLPHINS 17

The Raiders have signed 26-year old OLB/DE Jarvis Moss.  Moss played in 9 games earlier this season for the Broncos and he had 5 whole tackles.  Moss has played in 34 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 29 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 3.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  The Raiders would be smart to return Moss to his old position (DE) to see if he can get his career back on the right path.

The Raiders have lost 26-year old DE Trevor Scott for the rest of the season with a torn left ACL.  Scott played in 10 games for the Raiders this season and he had 23 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1.5 sacks.  He has now played in 42 games in his first three years with the Raiders and he has 90 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 13.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  This hurts the depth of the Raiders’ D-Line.

The Raiders scored first in this game and it must have pissed the Steelers off!  Jason Campbell had a game to forget as he completed 7 of 19 passes for 70 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  The Raiders then summoned Bruce Gradkowski off the bench and things didn’t get much better.  Gradkowski completed 13 of 24 passes for 98 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Gradkowski also carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards.  Michael Bush carried the ball 4 times for 33 yards (8.3 ypc) to lead the way on the ground for the Raiders in this game and he also caught 2 passes for 18 yards (9.0 avg).  Darren McFadden only rushed for 14 yards on 10 carries (1.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg).  Johnnie Lee Higgins led the way in the passing game for the Raiders with 4 grabs for 37 yards (9.3 avg) last Sunday.  The Raiders finished up with 61 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 43 passes for 121 yards as they only had the ball for 27:13.

The Raiders played pretty awful in this game on D.  The Steelers finished up with 162 yards rushing on 33 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 29 passes for 269 yards.  The Raiders’ highlight on D was when DE Richard Seymour whacked Ben Roethlisberger with a open hand.  “Big Ben” went down like a ton of bricks.  The Raiders are now 5-5 on the year.

This is a game between two teams going in opposite directions.  The Raiders have won three games in a row by a combined score of an amazing 115-37!  They are also well rested and prepared coming off their bye week.  The Steelers have lost 2 of their last three games by a combined score of 80-63.  The Raiders beat the Steelers last season at Heinz Field and they will try to do it again this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders are averaging 162.2 yards rushing per game (4.9 ypc) while the Steelers are only allowing 63.2 yards rushing per game (2.8 yards per carry.  The Raiders are still going to give the rock to Darren McFadden a lot in this game to keep the Steelers’ pass rush honest.  Don’t think for a minute that the Raiders aren’t going to attack the Steelers down the field as they are allowing 252.2 yards passing per game.  The Steelers had problems with the TEs of the Patriots last week so look for Zach Miller to have a big game.  The Steelers’ corners really stink this year and the Raiders have two of the fastest WRs in the NFL in Jacoby Ford & Louis Murphy.

When the Steelers have the ball:  With the offensive line in shambles the Steelers would be better off to run the ball a lot in this game with Rashard Mendenhall against a Raiders’ D allowing 124.8 yards rushing per game (4.5 ypc).  The Raiders have 27 sacks this year and they are going to get into the grill of Ben Roethlisberger.  He’s definitely not going to have all day to throw so Mike Wallace, Hines Ward and Heath Miller are going to have to catch short passes and take hits this weekend.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 24, STEELERS 20

The Raiders are on a 3-game winning streak in which they have outscored the competition 115-37!  The Raiders are now 5-4 on the season as they are improved on both sides of the football.  The offense, in particular, has been outstanding this year.  The Raiders are averaging 361.0 total yards per game (162.2 rushing) so far this year and they are also averaging 26.1 points per contest.  The Raiders considered getting rid of the 45-year old Cable due to the fact that be likes to punch people…..which makes him Al Davis’ kind of guy.  Cable has led the Raiders to a 14-23 (37.8%) record in his third year with the team.

Rookie 23-year old WR/KR Jacoby Ford had a huge breakout game against the Chiefs as he was the biggest reason for the win.  Ford returned a kickoff for a TD against the Chiefs and he made the two biggest catches of the game which set up Sebastian Janikowski with the game tying and game winning field goals.  Ford has played in 9 games for the Raiders this year and he has caught 10 passes for 185 yards (18.5 avg) and he has also carried the ball 4 times for 48 yards (12.0 ypc).  Look for his offensive role to continue to expand as he is one of the fastest players in the entire NFL.  Ford has also returned 22 kickoffs for 535 yards (24.3 avg) with a 94-yard TD.  Ford is looking like a steal for the Raiders as he was selected in the 4th round of the 2010 NFL Draft.