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It’s Been a Long Time Coming for the Oakland Raiders “It’s good to stop the streak,”---Head Coach Tom Cable
In a rivalry as old as the hills, the Oakland Raiders took on the San Diego Chargers at the Coliseum Sunday afternoon hoping to break the evil spell that has brought a long string of losses dating back quite a few years (2003) for the Raiders. It’s been a long time coming for this team. Every year, the Raiders come out fired up only to be denied time after time. Right from the get go the Raiders came out fired up sending the Chargers 3 and out in the first drive of the day. San Diego’s punt was blocked resulting in two points for Oakland and the early lead. The Raiders were showing an intensity that would have to persist the entire game if a win was in the Black and Silvers future. The Raiders extended their lead in the first quarter when Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 50 yard field goal for a 5-0 lead. The Raider defense sent San Diego 3 and out on their next possession. Then there was another block for the Raiders and this time a touchdown for a 12-0 lead. It was only five minutes into the quarter and it was crucial that Oakland kept the hammer on the Chargers avoiding any letdown. Late in the first quarter San Diego mounted a spotless drive that came to an end on the Raider one yard line when the Chargers fumbled the ball away and the Raiders were back in business. The inefficiency of the Oakland offense became very obvious when they were once again unable to move the ball going three and out squandering the opportunity given to them by the defense. Bouncing back, San Diego began a march deep into Raider territory when Rivers completed a 55 yard pass. When a San Diego score seemed inevitable, Rivers coughed up the ball, and Oakland recovered. Oakland had not been able to take advantage of the many opportunities their defense had created for them. This latest recovery was doomed as well realizing the same outcome. When Bruce Gradkowski was shaken up late in the second quarter, he headed for the locker room to have his right shoulder assessed. Jason Campbell took over at the helm and would play the rest of the game. It was just a matter of time before the Chargers woke up. Philip Rivers had been finding more and more open receivers as the game progressed into the second quarter. The sure handed Antonio Gates stepped up when it counted catching a 19 yard pass in the end zone for San Diego’s first score of the game now trailing Oakland 12-7. It had taken an entire quarter for the Chargers to get going. The Chargers would take the lead, 14-12 on a Mike Tolbert 4 yard run for a touchdown. The Raiders answered mounting a drive that culminated in a 30 yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski to take a one point lead 15-14 with one minute left in the half. It was just enough time for Philip Rivers to drive his team into field goal position. Kicker Nate Kaeding gave San Diego a 17-15 lead when he sent the ball 43 yards through the uprights to end the half. It was a worn out Oakland defense that left the field for the locker room. They had spent way too much time on the field. The Oakland defense could not stop the pass in the first half and they opened the second half unable to stop the run as well. Philip Rivers had all the time in the world and so did his wide open receivers. The Chargers extended their lead to 24-15 when Philip Rivers found Malcom Floyd in the end zone for a 43 yard strike and the touchdown. The closing minutes of the third quarter saw the Raiders mount the best drive they had all day with Jason Campbell finding Zach Miller in the end zone for the touchdown pulling within two points of San Diego 24-22. This was a 97 yard drive that ate up six minutes on the clock. The fourth quarter saw the Raiders mount yet another lengthy drive that finished with a run up the middle into the end zone by Michael Bush, this drive taking over eight minutes, and giving the Raiders the lead 28-27 with less than a minute on the clock. Oakland went for the two point conversion and was denied, and with 54 ticks left on the clock, clung to the one-point lead. San Diego needed not only a touchdown but also the two point conversion to tie the game. If you want a little luck, you have to create it and Oakland now had that opportunity. Of course it’s hard to create anything when bogus penalties are thrown your way. Despite some ridiculous penalties, Oakland created a little luck, in fact a whole lot more. Forcing a San Diego fumble deep in their own territory Oakland scooped the ball up and was off to the end zone extending their lead to 35-27, the final score. The drought is at long last over. Oakland’s special teams had a field day. The defense had success stopping the run but struggled defending the pass at times. That very same defense came up big forcing the final San Diego fumble, and recovering the ball for the final score of the day. The second half offensive performance by the Raiders engineered by Jason Campbell was mistake free with great use of the clock. The Oakland Raiders started this game in the same fashion that they ended it. They played some great football. “Obviously a tremendous win. When you think about the start of the game, two blocked punts, the last two drives offensively, 13 plays and 16 plays, it’s a great great team effort, “said Head Coach Tom Cable after the game. He touched on the loss of Bruce Gradkowski and the great effort by Jason Campbell. “It’s good to stop the streak but as I said to them (the team) let’s not make this a twenty-four hour feel good party; let’s make this who we are becoming.” It was a great victory for the Oakland Raiders. They had their ups and downs in this game but not a single fan left their seat until the final second ticked off the clock. It was a thrilling game for the Raider Nation. The Raiders will next head on over to the other side of the bay to take on the winless San Francisco 49ers next Sunday.
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