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Late turnover dooms Raiders
By Jeremy Kahn October 21, 2007 |
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OAKLAND-With a chance to end a 16-game losing streak against the AFC West, the Oakland Raiders saw their last chance go awry against the Kansas City Chiefs. Daunte Culpepper was driving the team down the field and into field goal range; however Jarrad Page stepped in front of Ronald Curry to intercept the Culpepper pass and the Kansas City Chiefs escaped with a 12-10 victory. He fell off inside the receiver, said Culpepper. The Raiders were able to get the back after the Chiefs punted the ball. Culpepper first found Zach Miller for seven yards, after the Miller completion, Culpepper went to Curry for eight yards and Curry once again for three yards. On the very next play, Culpepper attempted to thread the needle and find Curry once again; however Page stepped in to intercept the ball and seal the Raiders fate. The Raiders have not won a division game since defeating the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High on November 28, 2004. The Chiefs got on the board first, as Dave Rayner hit a 41-yard field goal on the opening drive of the game. That would be the only scoring of the first quarter, as the Chiefs and the Raiders would exchange punts on their next four possessions to end the opening period. On a drive that would continue over from the first quarter, and into the second quarter, the Chiefs added another field goal, as Rayner hit a 31-yard field goal to put the Chiefs up 6-0. After back-to-back three and outs by the Chiefs and Raiders, the Raiders attempted to finally get on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, the drive stalled, when Lamont Jordan was denied on fourth and one. Id do the same thing again, said Lane Kiffin. Following the unsuccessful fourth down conversion, the Chiefs and Raiders would exchange punts until the end of the half. Stanford Routt came up a with huge interception, as he made an over-the-shoulder catch in front of rookie Dwayne Bowe to end the Chiefs drive. After the Routt interception, the Raiders once again failed to take advantage of the turnover and they had to punt the ball away. On that drive, Curry dropped a sure fire first down and in frustration, he threw the ball in the air. The officials called Curry for Delay of Game, and pushed the Raiders back an additional five yards. Shane Lechler boomed a 66-yard punt, pinning the Chiefs on their 27-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage following the Lechler punt, Larry Johnson raced 54 yards to the Raiders 28-yard line. Damon Huard then hooked up with former CAL star Tony Gonzalez for 18 yards ,as the Chiefs were in business at the Raiders 11-yard line. After a false start penalty called on Carlos Terry that backed up the Chiefs an additional five yards, Huard then found Johnson on consecutive completions; however the Raiders came up huge and stopped the Chiefs well short of the first down. Rayner then missed a golden opportunity to put more points on the board, as his 30-yard field goal went wide left. Following the Rayner miss, Culpepper found Jerry Porter streaking down the sidelines for a 59-yard completion that put the Raiders at the Chiefs 21-yard line. On the very next play, Culpepper found a wide open Curry in the end zone to tie up the game, and Sebastian Janikowski then put the Raiders into the lead with the extra point. It was a play-action and I just got behind him it was good to get one after the drops; it was good to catch the ball. The coach just kept them coming to me so it was confidence I guess, said Curry. Johnson then put the Chiefs back out in front once again, as he busted through the Raiders defensive line for a one-yard touchdown run to give the Chiefs a 12-7 lead. The Chiefs missed the ensuing two-point conversion, as Huard was unable to connect with Bowe that would have given the Chiefs a seven-point lead. Janikowski then hit a 37-yard field goal to cut the Raiders lead down to 12-10. Following another punt by the Chiefs, the Raiders once again got the ball back with 1:46 remaining at their own 26-yard line. After completing three consecutive passes, Culpepper then threw a pass that was snared by Page that sealed the game for the Chiefs. Culpepper went 18-for-29 for 228 yards, with a touchdown and a huge interception that ultimately sealed the game. Jordan, who at one point in the season was leading the NFL in rushing was held to just 29 yards on 11 carries. |
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