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Raiders Hang on to Finish Kansas City
The game started out with a lot of promise. The Oakland Raiders Michael Huff picked off a Brodie Croyle pass, and it looked as if the Oakland Raiders were getting off on the right foot in this rival game against the Kansas City Chiefs. As has happened far too frequently, the Raiders had to settle for 3 as Janikowski sent a 25-yard field goal through the uprights for the early 3-0 lead. The Chiefs went ahead when rookie Kolby Smith, playing in his first NFL game, scampered 10 yards into the end zone for the 7-3 lead. Midway through the second quarter, the Raiders again called on Janikowski, who booted a 54-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 7-6 in favor of Kansas City. The half ended with the Chiefs in the lead 10-6, when Kansas City’s Rayner successfully kicked a 30-yard field goal.
As the third quarter got underway, Kansas City began to have troubles with clock management, and their rookie quarterback began to buckle under the pressure. His yardage numbers remained unmoved at 50 yards while his pass percentage tumbled to 3 for 11, and inexperience began to rear it’s ugly head. With Daunte Culpepper able to move his offense in the second half of the game, the Raiders began to make a real move on the Chiefs. Justin Fargas began to pick apart the Kansas City defense with his speed and moving off the edges. With 6 minutes left in the third quarter, LaMont Jordan took the ball for 6 yards, plowing into the end zone, and the real estate that has been elusive for Oakland this season became a 6-point acquisition, giving the Raiders the lead 13-10 with the successful PAT. Double coverage on Chief ace receiver, Tony Gonzalez, took him out of the game for the most part. His first catch of the game came late in the third quarter, taking the Chiefs deep into Raider territory. The Raider defense was once again unable to stop Smith, and the fifth-round pick out of Louisville romped into the end zone to put the Chiefs back into the lead, 17-13. Smith had a banner day, finishing with 150 yards on 31 carries in his NFL debut The Raiders answered as Culpepper moved his team downfield in the fourth and final quarter of the game. Once again, the Oakland running game put six up when Justin Fargas burst into the end zone on a 14-yard run, giving the lead back to the Raiders, 20-17. Oakland had the lead late in the fourth quarter as they have had in past games. What they desperately needed was to hang onto that lead and finish the game. With time running out, Kansas City was faced with a fourth and one on the Raider 24. The Chiefs gambled and lost going for the first down and bypassing the field goal, which would have tied the game. Counting heavily on Smith to rise to the occasion, that one yard he needed so badly eluded him as the Raider defense closed all available gaps. The Raiders hung on and clinched the victory, their third win of the season
Daunte Culpepper was 15-22 for 170 yards, but, more importantly, he moved his offense successfully downfield for most of the game. He found Jerry Porter for two brilliant catches, one of them being a one-handed catch for 25 yards. His longest pass was for 35 yards, one which ended with a bell-ringing hit. He finished with 75 yards. The once ostracized Porter has found new life with head coach Lane Kiffin, and his rebirth really showed against the Chiefs. It was an entirely different atmosphere as Coach Lane Kiffin voiced his thoughts on Sunday’s win in Kansas City. “I am very excited the way the players kept playing today. We scored, they scored, and we didn’t buy into it,” Kiffin said after the game. “I am happy for the guys in the locker room that have been playing for us for a long time and for the media that have nothing more to write about anymore.” He was excited in regard to the success that LaMont Jordan celebrated. “We haven’t given him the ball for a long time,” he said. It was all about the team’s mindset as they entered the game. “We had no turnovers today; we adjusted and turned things around. That made me feel really good,” said Kiffin. “We had a great pass rush; we made great plays all through the game. It made me feel good to be ahead in the game and finish the way we did,” he said. “It made me feel good to go after them (Kansas City) on 4th and 1,” he added. With this win, the monkey was escorted off the back of the Oakland Raiders, and the string of nine straight losses at the hands of the Chiefs was snapped. The 17 straight losses in the AFC West was also history. For now Oakland will relish the sweetness of this victory; however, they will be back at work in Alameda, getting ready to face the Denver Broncos. The momentum of this victory is crucially important for the Raiders, since the difference between Denver and Kansas City is like night and day. For now, the Oakland Raiders have the satisfaction of knowing that yes, they can finish a game |
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At
the half, Croyle had completed only 3 of 5 passes for 50 yards. It was
Oakland’s Derrick Burgess, who gave Croyle an appropriate welcome to the
big time as he harassed the rookie throughout the game. The story of the
first half was, without doubt, the brilliance of rookie Kolby Smith, who
finished the half with 94 yards. The Raider defense was unable to stop
Smith, who romped for impressive gains over and over again, looking
nothing like a rookie. 
Justin
Fargas finished with 22 carries and 139 yards, his longest carry being 21
yards. It was a banner day for Fargas, who has taken over the position
that LaMont Jordan once occupied. Last Tuesday, it looked like Jordan
would be leaving Oakland, and Sunday here he was running in for a
touchdown. He wore a grin from ear to ear as he stood on the sidelines
after the score. It seems that all this passionate athlete wants to is
play hard and help his team win, something he sure did Sunday.