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Norv Turner returns to Oakland
By Jeremy Kahn December 30, 2007 |
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OAKLAND-Despite making a return to McAfee Coliseum as the Offensive Coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers during the 2006 preseason, this was the return of former Oakland Raiders head coach Norv Turner to the East Bay in a regular season game. In his return to where he was employed for two seasons, Turner left with not only a victory, but also the number three seed in the AFC Playoffs and the San Diego Chargers defeated the Raiders 30-17. LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 56 yards, as he won the league rushing title for the second straight year and a caught a touchdown from Philip Rivers that got the Chargers on the board in the first quarter. That was one of two touchdown tossed by Rivers on the afternoon, as the Chargers finished with a 11-5 record and six consecutive victories to end the regular season. Chris Chambers was on the receiving end of the second Rivers touchdown, as he hauled in a Rivers pass for a 19-yard touchdown that gave the Chargers a 14-7 lead with just 38 seconds remaining in the first half. Rivers went 13-for-23 for 135 yards and those two touchdowns, as the Chargers will host a Wild-Card playoff game at Qualcomm Stadium on January 6, 2008. JaMarcus Russell made his first NFL start, and he was intercepted on the very first play from scrimmage. On the play, Igor Olashansky picked his first interception of his four-year NFL career. Russell went 23-for-31 for 224 yards, just one week after throwing three interceptions in a 49-11 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. A lot better than last week, said Russell. I had a lot more time to see everything and get a feel for the clock. ... I think I made a lot better decisions this week. Russell hit Jerry Porter for a 32-yard touchdown pass after Russell fumbled the ball and it was recovered in the end zone by Jyles Tucker. It was fun to see him play today, said Lane Kiffin. I've been very critical of him. He understands that. We have extremely high expectations for him. The way he played the week before, I don't care if it's the first time he's ever played, that's not our standards for him and he understands that. Dominic Rhodes carried the ball 29 times for 122 yards, as he became the first Raiders running to eclipse the 100-yard plateau versus the Chargers since Napoleon Kaufman ran for 109 yards on November 19 at Qualcomm Stadium. Warren Sapp forced a fumble that eventually turned into a Rhodes touchdown, is contemplating retirement from the NFL after a marvelous 13-year career that included a 48-21 victory over the Raiders by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. If that was the last time Raiders fans got a look at Warren Sapp on the field, I wanted it to be something special, said Sapp. |
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