ALAMEDA, CA – Hue Jackson may not have enjoyed watching what appeared to be an easy victory turn into a nail biter on Sunday at the Coliseum, but he’ll happily take the 24-17 victory the Oakland Raiders wound up with over the Cleveland Browns.
The win put the Raiders’ record at 4-2 – the first time since 2002 the team’s record has been two games above .500. Despite the near-collapse in the fourth quarter, the team faced adversity when Jason Campbell went down with a ‘fractured clavicle’ towards the end of the second quarter.
“We found a way to grind another one out and get it done,” said Jackson of the game. “I keep telling everybody this team is becoming something. We don’t blink when things happens. Obviously we lost our quarterback early. Very unfortunate. But that’s part of the game, part of the business. We all understand that.”
Campbell completed six passes on nine attempts for 52 yards, and rushed for 16 yards on two attempts. His second attempt may have put him out of action for more than six weeks.
With the Raiders facing a third and eight from their own 27, and 4:18 left in the half, Campbell was in the pocket checking off his reads. While the Browns rush closed in, the Raiders quarterback scrambled straight up the middle of the field and began to dive face first. Before he could hit the ground, two Browns defenders had sandwiched him to the ground – landing him on his throwing shoulder.
Up 14-7, and down a starting quarterback, the Raiders would have to rely on their defense and backup veteran Kyle Boller to complete the win. Boller, who finished the game 8-14-0 for 100 yards, wasn’t flashy, but didn’t make any costly errors that would have given the game away.
“Well, as a backup, you just -- you've gotta' be ready to go in there,” said Boller of the position he was in Sunday. “I felt like I, I was a little bit quick in the beginning, but as the game went on, you know I settled down a little bit and was able to find some receivers and be productive.”
He was productive enough.
Aided by Darren McFadden’s game-high 91 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown, and a fake field goal that turned into seven points, Boller managed the game well enough, but there were throws that he missed that could have turned the game into a laugher.
“Obviously there's some throws that I want back,” said the Cal product of his performance. “I'm not going to usually miss those. You know that will be, with getting timing in practice with the receivers. I haven't taken very many reps with those guys in six weeks so I wish I had some of those back, but I definitely felt like I got more comfortable as the game went on.”
The Raiders scored on their first possession of the game, methodically moving the ball 88 yards on 15 plays – 10 of which were run plays. The drive culminated on a four-yard touchdown run over the left tackle by McFadden to give the Raiders a 7-0 advantage with 5:43 left in the first quarter.
The 7:48 opening drive by the Raiders nearly broke the Browns defense early. On the Raiders’ second possession, the drive was halted when Campbell scrambled up field for nine yards, jumped forward head first, and fumbled while landing on the ball at the beginning of his dive landing.
The fumble was recovered by Cleveland at their 43. Seven plays later, quarterback Colt McCoy turned a play-action pass into the Browns’ first score by hitting an open Alex Smith in the end zone from the one.
The ensuing kickoff grabbed the momentum for the Silver and Black. Jacoby Ford took the kickoff from a yard in the end zone, and ran straight up the field, cut through the seam and ran down the right sideline for a 101-yard touchdown return. The return tied him with himself for the third longest in franchise history.
“That blocking scheme is great and is definitely something that’s hard to defend,” said Ford of the return. “And if they try to defend it it’s like there’s another way to defeat it.”
After retaining the lead, defense led the way. The Raiders held all Browns rushers to just 65 yards on 21 carries, with the longest rush being nine yards. Cleveland needed McCoy to put them on his shoulders, but the Raiders defense hurried and harassed the young quarterback to 21-45-0 passing for 215 yards and two touchdowns.
After Campbell went down, the Raiders offense struggled with Boller at the helm. On their second drive of the third quarter a short pass to Ford on third and seven from the Oakland 38 turned into a 27-yard first down that set up a Sebastian Janikowski 48-yard field goal to extend their lead 17-7.
On Cleveland’s next possession, McCoy fumbled while getting hit in the backfield, and the Raiders’ defensive tackle Tommy Kelly recovered it at the Browns’ 25.
Again, the Raiders couldn’t move the ball, and faced a fourth and 20 with Janikowski coming on for a 53-yard attempt.
Rather than go for the field goal, punter Shane Lechler, who was on the field to hold, took the snap, stood up with Janikowski as his blocker and fired to wide open tight end Kevin Boss in the right flat. Boss made the catch and turned the rare Lechler pass into a 35-yard touchdown to put the Raiders up 24-7 with 1:23 left in the third quarter.
The play was pretty special for Lechler, who told reporters it’s a play he is really familiar with. “We’ve run that play in practice for 12 years,” said the Pro Bowl punter. “This is the first time we got to do it.”
Lechler wasn’t the only key player on the play to be happy it was run. “It’s pretty memorable, special, to catch a pass thrown by one of the greatest punters of all time,” said Boss.
While it was the only fake seen on special teams for the Raiders, it wasn’t the only one called for. “I called probably three or four fakes in this game and the opportunities weren’t there,” said Jackson of the play of the day. “On that one I called it, it was there and we executed it. I keep telling you we’ll do whatever it takes to win football games.”
With a 24-7 lead that was getting larger by the drive, it appeared that the game was well in hand with the start of the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t.
The Browns’ first drive of the quarter started on the Raiders’ 42 after a 31-yard punt return by Joshua Cribbs, lasted seven plays, and netted 13 yards, but it also resulted in a Phil Dawson field goal to inch them closer to the Raiders, 24-10.
With 12:24 remaining in the game, the Raiders may have had their best drive of the season that didn’t result in a score. Starting from their 35 yard line, Oakland consistently moved the ball down to the Browns’ five yard line – taking 7:40 off the clock with a two-touchdown advantage.
On fourth and one from the Cleveland five yard line, Jackson chose to go for it rather than increase his lead. A give to Michael Bush resulted in no yards when the fifth-year back out of Louisville was stuff in the middle of the line.
“I believe in my players,” said Jackson of his reasoning for not attempting the field goal in that situation. “My players, we didn’t get it done. I called a play. I thought it was a good play. They stopped us. Almost came back to hit me in the teeth.”
“As I told you guys, I kind of live on the edge,” Jackson continued. “I trust my players. We didn’t get that one done. OK. We won the game. That’s the most important thing.”
Jackson may be right, but there’s something to be said about almost losing too.
Instead of the defense getting the ball back for his offense to melt the game away, McCoy drove his Browns teammates 95 yards on 14 plays and finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi with 1:06 remaining in the game.
It took another defensive stop before the Raiders’ offense could get the ball.
After recovering the onside kick at the Raiders’ 49, Cleveland could only move the ball seven yards before a pass to Massaquoi fell incomplete on fourth and three.
Next week, the Raiders will face rival Kansas City at home, but the atmosphere may not equal that of Sunday’s game.
The Raiders paid tribute to the legendary Al Davis throughout the game. Every employee of the Silver and Black, from Amy Trask to the interns, wore black tee-shirts with the name ‘Al’ placed inside the Raiders’ shield – much like the sticker that was placed on the back of the helmets.
Prior to the game, a stirring tribute was played on both video screens that chronicled behind the scenes moments from when the team was informed of Davis’ death to the interception by Michael Huff that finished off the Houston Texans.
The sold out crowd cheered at the end of the video.
The Raiders came out on the field from the tunnel receiving high fives from rappers Ice Cube and MC Hammer.
The crowd was asked to stand for a moment in silence for Davis, and then the National Anthem was sung by former Raiders great Henry Lawrence. Lawrence, whose voice cracked during his performance, was saluted by the Raider Nation at the conclusion with loud cheers.
Throughout the game stoppages, more tribute videos were played on the screens, and at halftime, 31 former players from Art Thoms to Sean Jones stood around the Raiders’ logo in the center of the field. Each former Raider was introduced, with Tom Flores being called last to thundering cheers.
After the introductions, the crowd was told to look to the South East corner of the stadium, where Hall of Fame coach John Madden stood next to a 10-foot torch. Madden lit the torch as the public address stated that the flame stood for the Commitment to Excellence that Davis had inspired in every Raider since joining the organization.
Probably the greatest tribute given to Davis, was the tribute his team gave by winning their second straight game.
“But today was about a lot of good things,” said Jackson after speaking about the injury to his quarterback. “This team is 4-2 and that’s what we expected to be after the day was done. We honored one of the greatest Raiders ever in Coach Davis. I know he’s looking down saying ‘Just win, baby.’ That’s what we did. That’s what we do here. We win.”
Jackson continued, “We don’t care. I don’t care what it looks like. I don’t care if it’s pretty it’s ugly or whatever. Nobody at the end of the year if we keep stacking these wins up will say this was an ugly win, this was a pretty win. All they’re going to say is this is your record. That’s what goes on this team’s ledger when it’s all said and done.”
“I’m proud of the football team. We still have some things to continue to clean up. But our players are working, fighting, they ought into working hard, they bought into the details and we have to keep growing and we will.”
NOTES:
- Before Hue Jackson could answer about Kyle Boller, reports had already surfaced that the Raiders had already contacted David Garrard's agent. Nothing had been substantiated at the time of this writing.
- Rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor comes off the inactive list beginning Monday. Jackson didn't give a ringing endorsement about the rookie getting on the field soon. Asked if he was comfortable with Pryor as the backup, Jackson retorted, "He’s on our team. Right now that’s what we got. I’m OK with it. Obviously he comes on the roster tomorrow and we’ll go from there. I heard a sigh when I said that. We’re going to be fine. This football team will be fine. This team is a little bit more resilient than everyone thinks they are. Trust me when I tell you."
- Samson Satele was the only other injury for the Raiders. He suffered a knee sprain, but Jackson was confident that his center wouldn't miss time. Should Satele not be able to go against the Chiefs, Stefen Wisniewski would slide over to center, and fellow-rookie lineman Joseph Barksdale would fill in at left guard.
- In Al Davis-like fashion, the first post-Davis trade was for athlete Aaron Curry, who started at linebacker after just one practice with team. Jackson was cautiously pleased with his new linebacker. "I’m going to watch the tape, but I thought he was out there flying around, trying to make plays, as I told you when I traded for him, I traded for him for a reason, to stick him in there. How about the play Quentin Groves made on special teams down there on the 16? I mean, that’s what a team is. I put a guy ahead of another guy, the other guy went and did his other job and made plays, and that’s what this thing’s all about. We’re becoming a really good football team and that’s what I’m most excited about."
- Rookie DeMarcus Van Dyke started opposite of Stanford Routt at corner. After getting burned repeatedly in the preseason, the young guy has begun to settle in as a pro. Jackson wasn't ready to give him too much credit just yet. "He’s done a good job. He’s a rookie. Again, another one of those young good rookie players on our football team that is getting better. The more you play, the better you’re going to get. Guys continue to work hard, and the environment we create, we practice hard, we get after it, guys will get after it. He’s talented. We drafted him for a reason, but I think he’s doing a good job. But he’s got to get better, we’re going to play some real good receivers down the stretch here as we keep going. I mean, we’re six games into this thing, and obviously, we’ve got a big game next week against Kansas City and we’ve got to go to work."
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