Raiders riding explosive plays to success of late

ALAMEDA -- The Raiders define an "explosive" play as a pass that gains at least 16 yards or a run that gains at least 12 yards.And for the third straight game, in Oakland's 26-16 defeat of Kansas City, the Raiders had more explosive plays than their opposition, getting nine such plays -- a balanced total of five passes and four runs -- to the Chiefs' six -- two passes and four runs.Perhaps not coincidentally, the Raiders have won two straight, and put a mighty scare into the Atlanta Falcons."Absolutely, I think two of the most critical variables in winning football games are explosive plays, whether it be gaining explosive gains or eliminating explosive plays defensively, and then the turnovertakeaway ratio," said coach Dennis Allen. "We call that the double-positive. If you win both those areas, you generally win football games in the National Football League."GUTIERREZ: Cracking the Run DMC Code?
For the season, the Raiders have had 52 explosive plays (43 passes, nine runs) with three of those passes resulting in touchdowns and one run being a touchdown.Oakland's opponents, meanwhile, have had 48 explosive plays against the Raiders (34 passes, 14 runs) with three TDs each by pass and run.It's a big turnaround from the pre-bye week Raiders, who had 26 explosive plays (23 passes, three runs) at the time, compared to 34 combined (25 pass, nine runs) by the Chargers, Steelers, Dolphins and Broncos.