Raiders Win Third In a Row Despite the Refs
“How was that for exciting,”----Head Coach Tom Cable

By Barbara Mason
Raiderdrive.com/Bay Area Sports Drive

Sunday’s game at the Oakland Coliseum was a must win for the Oakland Raiders.  Coming off two wins in a row, the Raiders at long last sold out a game lifting the black out.  Playing the division leading Kansas City Chiefs Oakland had to bring their A game if they hoped to make it three in a row. 

The weather certainly didn’t make things easy although at game time, a slight mist was all that was left from the earlier downpour.  The wet field didn’t hamper the Chiefs at all.  On the other hand, the Oakland Raiders came out with an interesting game plan trying to make too much happen.  The Raiders had one great series on the running side of the game that was stalled out with a number of incomplete passes.  Other than that series, the Raiders looked miserable with 2 fumbles and 1 interception in the first half.  Kansas City took a 10-0 lead into the locker room after two quarters.

The second half brought an abrupt change in how things were going for the Raiders in this game.  How about a 94 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jacoby Ford to get back into the game?  That score pulled the Raiders to within three points.  The very next series how about a Kansas City fumble recovered by Oakland?  Talk about one crazy game.   Oakland drove to within field goal range but missed the opportunity to tie the game by 47 yards.  The score remained 10-7.

When it looked as if the Raiders had come to play, penalties drained the life out of them with eleven and counting.  Those penalties contributed to a 25 yard field goal for the Chiefs giving them a 13-7 lead.   It was just about the right time for the Raider offense to wake up.  A series that show-cased a nice run and three passes gave the Raiders the lead 14-13.  It was like waking the sleeping giant as Jason Campbell connected with Khalif Barnes in the end zone for the 2 yard touchdown.

A 37 yard pass from Jason Campbell in the fourth quarter to Jacoby Ford took the Raiders to the Chief 7 yard line, first and goal.  Unable to reach the end zone, Oakland settled for a 23 yard field goal and a 17-13 lead.  The next series was a 3 and out for the Chiefs.  Fumbling the ensuing punt, Oakland recovered the ball being clearly down, in fact, signaled down by two of the referees.  That call was overturned and the second ridiculous call of the game gave the ball to Kansas City.  It was a horrible, horrible call. 

Taking advantage of the bad call, Matt Cassel found Dwayne Bowe in the end zone for the lead 20-17.   With two minutes left in the game the Raiders were about 55 yards from a tie game.  With 41 seconds left Oakland had moved into Chief territory.   Seven seconds remained on the clock when Sebastian Janikowski 

kicked the 41 yard field goal that tied the game at 20.  The game would go into overtime. 

In this thriller Jason Campbell moved his team down to the Kansas City 15 in overtime and it was up to Sea Bass to bring it on home for Oakland.  Thirty-three yards; the snap, the kick, and a victory for the Oakland Raiders, and their third win in a row.

“How was that for exciting,” said Coach Tom Cable after the overtime win.  “Really an ugly game in a lot of ways; 27 penalties called on two teams.  I thought our defense did a tremendous job keeping us in the game.  I wasn’t pleased with special teams in the first half but they showed up big in the second half to get it started,” he said.

He was especially pleased with the way that every player, those on the field and those on the sidelines, were not backing down, not giving in.  “I kept seeing the offensive guys pulling for the defensive guys and vice versa.”

Cable gave special thanks to the sell-out crowd, the loyal fans who have never given up on this team.  “The fans were off the hook,” he said. “They made a difference and that is what it is all about, when a team connects back with their fan base.”

“I think this win has done wonders for our season,” said quarterback Jason Campbell after the game.  “In the first half it seemed like nothing could go right for us offensively but our defense kept us in the game.  You’ve got to give the Chiefs some credit; they are a good football team.” 

The Oakland Raiders will now enjoy a bye week.  It will give them time for key players to get healthy and time to continue to work on improving.  With three wins in a row and more importantly being undefeated in their division the Raiders are making some noise.  They are a team to be reckoned with.  Hopefully the two week layoff will not disrupt the momentum that they have been enjoying of late.

Their biggest challenge this season will come in week eleven when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers.  They will need all of those key players back in action as they face one of the hottest teams in the NFL.