Raiders still have some fight left in them, if not wins [video]

The Oakland Raiders might be piling up the losses, but at least there is still some fight left in them as seen during a 34-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, when three players were ejected for their part in a brawl.

After a fumble return for a touchdown by the Raiders’ Mohamed Sanu was nullified by an official’s inadvertent whistle, a brawl ensued on the next play when a false start led to Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton getting tackled by Oakland defensive end Lamarr Houston, who apparently didn’t hear the whistles.

That led to Cincinnati tackle Andrew Whitworth bumping facemasks with Houston, which in turn sparked a brawl that ended with Houston and teammate Tommy Kelly on top of a fallen Whitworth. All three were ejected.

“When the whistle is blown four times and the guy does something like that to Andy, it’s my job to step in there and I had to,” Whitworth said.

Houston played it off as part of the game. “It gets a little rough out there sometimes,” he said.

Coach Dennis Allen of the Raiders, who are 3-8 after their fourth consecutive loss, understands his players need to play with passion but wants them to keep their composure.

“I think it’s OK to play with anger, but we’ve got to play with poise and composure,” Allen said. “We lost our poise a little bit.”

Perhaps Whitworth got off the best line.

“They were probably looking for a fight because they weren’t doing much on the field,” Whitworth said.

ALSO:

Monday night preview: Panthers at Eagles

Giants halt two-game skid with 38-10 rout of Packers

Powers, and underdogs, rain on playoff aspirants’ parade