Fourth Quarter Comeback Over Divisional Rivals For Raiders
San Diego (6-4) 28 - Oakland (7-3) 31
Oakland, CA (Week 11, 2005) – Both teams knew that the game would be an important one, as the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders met to determine the sole leader of the AFC West, though it is still early in the season. It had all the markings of an exciting game, and it did not disappoint.
Things started well for the Raiders as Raiders CB Renaldo Hill forced and recovered a fumble on the Chargers’ second possession of the game. It took only two plays for Lamont Jordan to break a few tackles and take the ball 50 yards for the first six points of the game. The Raiders continued to play well, working up a strong 21-10 lead over the Chargers near the end of the half. The Chargers started to work away at that lead with a field goal as the half ended.
San Diego came out for the second half with the momentum as they picked off QB Kerry Collins, setting up a drive that ended with an 11-yard TD pass from Chargers’ QB Drew Brees to TE Antonio Gates. They tied the game with a successful two-point conversion. San Diego finally took the lead with less than eight minutes left in the game on a TD pass to Reche Caldwell for 31 yards, and the 28-24 lead.
Oakland had difficulty getting anything going after that point, until a big play by DT Warren Sapp, when he forced Chargers’ RB Darren Sproles to fumble, which LB Kirk Morrison fell on to give the Raiders the ball on the Oakland 25-yard line with 2:04 left in the game. This time, Collins came out firing, first hitting Alvis Whitted for a 36-yard reception, then a huge 44-yard TD pass to Doug Gabriel to give the Raiders the 31-28 lead with 1:21 left in the game. The Oakland defence did a great job holding the Chargers at bay, including a sack by LB Danny Clark, and time ran out to give the Raiders the big victory.
“This was huge for us,” said DT Edward Jasper. “With all of the early season stuff we went through, and with the bizarre circumstances surrounding the last game against the Chargers, we needed to come out and make a statement. It wasn’t overly pretty at times, but we made a statement. You can’t count us out, and we are going to fight tooth and nail to win a game.”
The game was all about offence, as both teams combined for 857 total yards of offence. San Diego was led by Brees, who had a fantastic game by going 21 for 36, with 317 yards and three touchdown passes. WR Reche Caldwell was Brees favorite target during the game as he finished with 138 yards and two touchdowns. RB LaDainian Tomlinson also had a good game as he ran for 100 yards.
Lamont Jordan was the big player for the Raiders, ending the game with 126 yards rushing and two touchdowns, as well as another 56 yards receiving. Randy Moss also had another strong game with 124 yards receiving and a touchdown. Collins had a good game as well, as he threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception being the lone blemish.
The Raiders defence also had a few good performances, led by DE Derrick Burgess, who 2 sacks during the game. Unfortunately, Burgess went down with an injury during the game, and will be lost for up to three weeks with a strained foot ligament. “We are going to miss him, that is for sure,” said LB Danny Clark. “But, this is the NFL, and injuries are a part of life. The season comes down to a battle of attrition, and the teams who are successful are the ones who can deal best with injuries. We have shown that we can do that, and we will continue to do that.”
The Raiders did get some good news on the injury front, as it was announced that WR Jerry Porter will be back at practice this week and should be available for the Raiders game against the Denver Broncos in another divisional match-up.
Box Score
Attendance: 55,900 (62,500).
Weather: 73 degrees, rain.
1Q: 10:02 OAK - LaMont Jordan 50 run.
1Q: 10:02 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
1Q: 05:46 SDO - Nate Kaeding 41 field goal.
2Q: 10:46 OAK - LaMont Jordan 2 run.
2Q: 10:46 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
2Q: 04:54 SDO - Reche Caldwell 12 pass from Drew Brees.
2Q: 04:54 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
2Q: 01:09 OAK - Randy Moss 46 pass from Kerry Collins.
2Q: 01:09 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
2Q: 00:03 SDO - Nate Kaeding 32 field goal.
3Q: 08:32 SDO - Antonio Gates 11 pass from Drew Brees.
3Q: 08:32 SDO - Drew Brees pass to Antonio Gates for conversion
3Q: 04:45 OAK - Steve Christie 31 field goal.
4Q: 07:45 SDO - Reche Caldwell 31 pass from Drew Brees.
4Q: 07:45 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
4Q: 01:10 OAK - Doug Gabriel 44 pass from Kerry Collins.
4Q: 01:10 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
Game MVP: OAK 34 LaMont Jordan
San Diego 3 10 8 7 - 28
Oakland 7 14 3 7 - 31
Team Statistics SDO OAK
First Downs 23 18
Total Rushes 25 31
Rushing Yards 145 148
Yards Per Carry 5.8 4.7
Pass Attempts 36 24
Completions 21 16
Passing Yards 317 286
Yards Per Attempt 8.8 11.9
Sacked 4 2
Yards Lost 25 14
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 2/2 1/0
Total Plays 65 57
Total Yards 437 420
Yards Per Play 6.7 7.3
3rd Down Plays 6/12 4/10
Avg. YTG on 3rd 11.3 7.1
4th Down Plays 1/1 0/0
Penalties 13 5
Penalty Yards 89 40
Avg. Drive Start OWN 32 OWN 25
Time Of Possession 30:36 29:24
San Diego Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
21 Tomlinson 18 100 5.5 12 0
43 Sproles 4 25 6.2 15 0
9 Brees 3 20 6.6 8 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
9 Brees 36 21 317 8.8 33 3 0 4
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Caldwell 8 138 17.2 13 31 2
88 Parker 4 75 18.7 6 33 0
86 McCardell 3 35 11.6 5 17 0
85 Gates 2 28 14.0 4 17 1
87 Osgood 2 30 15.0 2 18 0
21 Tomlinson 1 4 4.0 1 4 0
34 Pinnock 1 7 7.0 1 7 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
88 Parker 1 19 19.0 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
43 Sproles 4 119 29.7 0
86 McCardell 1 16 16.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
5 Scifres 4 166 41.5 47 2
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
10 Kaeding 2 2 41 2 2
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
51 Leber 7 1 1.0 0 0 0
59 Edwards 5 3 0.0 0 0 0
58 Godfrey 5 2 0.0 1 23 0
74 Cesaire 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
22 Davis 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
23 Jammer 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
76 Williams 2 1 1.0 0 0 0
99 Olshansky 2 3 0.0 0 0 0
91 Merriman 2 3 0.0 0 0 0
20 Wilson 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Jue 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
29 Florence 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
48 Kiel 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 Pinnock 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Phillips 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 Castillo 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Robinson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
70 Olivea 0 0 0 0 4 2
79 Goff 0 0 0 0 0 2
72 Oben 0 0 0 0 3 0
50 Binn 0 0 0 0 1 0
41 Neal 0 0 0 0 1 0
82 Caldwell 1 0 0 0 0 0
77 Fonoti 0 0 0 0 1 0
99 Olshansky 0 1 0 0 0 0
43 Sproles 1 0 0 0 0 0
Oakland Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
34 Jordan 26 126 4.8 50 2
32 Crockett 3 11 3.6 5 0
5 Collins 2 11 5.5 6 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
5 Collins 24 16 286 11.9 46 2 1 2
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
34 Jordan 6 56 9.3 14 26 0
18 Moss 4 124 31.0 15 46 1
87 Whitted 2 48 24.0 0 36 0
43 Easy 2 7 3.5 5 4 0
85 Gabriel 1 44 44.0 6 44 1
88 Dudley 1 7 7.0 0 7 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
18 Moss 2 40 20.0 0
87 Whitted 1 15 15.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
9 Lechler 5 198 39.6 48 2
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
6 Christie 1 1 31 4 4
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
22 Hill 9 3 0.0 0 0 0
55 Clark 7 2 1.0 0 0 0
54 Williams 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
30 Schweigert 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
45 Robinson 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
91 Burgess 3 0 2.0 0 0 0
53 Foreman 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
36 Gibson 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
98 Hamilton 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
99 Sapp 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Walker 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
18 Moss 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 Kelly 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
59 Grant 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
34 Jordan 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
81 Curry 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
51 Brayton 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
88 Dudley 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Washington 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Jasper 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
26 Routt 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Morrison 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
77 Hawthorne 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
65 Sims 0 0 0 0 2 1
67 Stone 0 0 0 0 2 1
70 Badger 0 0 0 0 2 0
62 Treu 0 0 0 0 2 0
22 Hill 0 1 1 0 0 0
34 Jordan 1 0 1 0 0 0
76 Gallery 0 0 0 0 2 0
99 Sapp 0 1 0 0 0 0
52 Morrison 0 0 1 0 0 0