Moss in Road Rage Incident and Misses Game, Raiders Lose to Atlanta
Oakland (8-5) 17 - Atlanta (5-7-1) 32
Atlanta, GA (Week 14, 2005) – One hour before game-time, the unimaginable happened to the Oakland Raiders’ star wide receiver Randy Moss: he was brought into an Atlanta police station for questioning regarding an incident of road rage that took place a half hour earlier.
Given permission by the team, Moss rented a 2005 Black Hummer to visit some friends before the game. After the visit, Moss headed back to join his team-mates at the stadium and prepare for their game. During that return trip, Moss was involved in a minor accident which turned ugly as tempers flared. The details of the incident are sketchy, as all of the involved parties gave statements to the police that were contradictory. As such, the parties were brought down to a police station where further questioning ensued and the Raiders-Falcons game took place.
According to the statement given by Moss, he was cut off by another driver in a 1992 Toyota Corolla, and Moss hit the Corolla from behind. Upon getting out of their respective cars, the other driver, identified as Jarred Klusky, started to yell and scream obscenities at Moss for the accident. Moss attempted to calm Mr. Klusky down, but Mr. Klusky became even more agitated and started to attempt to punch Moss. Moss then punched Mr. Klusky in the chest, knocking him down into the street. It was at this moment when Atlanta police arrived on the scene. Mr. Klusky’s statement disputes some details, as he reports that Moss rammed his car into Mr. Klusky’s Corolla at a light when there was ample time to stop. Upon getting out of their vehicles, Mr. Klusky reports that Moss yelled at him, saying that he was late for the game now, and it was all Mr. Klusky’s fault. Moss yelled some obscenities, then punched Mr. Klusky, knocking him down.
After four hours at the police station, enough witnesses had corroborated Moss’ original statement, and Moss was released. Unfortunately, it was too late for Moss to get into the line-up for the Raiders game, and they felt his loss, as the Atlanta Falcons controlled the majority of the game.
The Raiders’ offence could not get into a rhythm early, while their defence took a step back in the play that they have exhibited over the past few weeks. Falcons QB Michael Vick looked good passing and running, giving the Oakland defence a tough time. Vick finished the day going 19 for 28, with 257 yards and a touchdown, as well as another 68 yards on the ground. The DVD running game was in full effect, as Dunn pitched in 53 yards rushing and a touchdown, while Duckett had another 68 yards and a touchdown. Young wide receiver Michael Jenkins was the Falcons top receiver, with 87 yards and a touchdown.
It was the inability to establish the run game that hurt the Raiders most. RB Lamont Jordan only managed 44 yards on 13 carries, while Collins could not keep the Falcons defence honest with the passing game, going 13 for 24, with 223 yards. He did throw two touchdown passes, however. WR Jerry Porter did his best to make up for the loss of Moss, gaining 117 yards, though he did not find the endzone.
“We have no excuses for this game,” said Collins. “Sure, it hurt without Randy in the line-up, but we cannot be a team that is reliant on one person. We have a lot of talent here, and we should be able to win games like these without Randy. I just wasn’t very sharp tonight, and I didn’t push hard enough to make something happen. We are in a fight to win the division, and every single game counts. If we can’t overcome performances like this, we have no chance to make it to the Super Bowl.”
The Raiders also suffered another blow to their defensive line, as DE Derrick Burgess once again went down with an injury. He could miss the rest of the regular season, though it will depend on how well things heal.
Oakland now looks to what should be a tough match-up against the 8-5 Tennessee Titans next week, back in Oakland.
Box Score
Attendance: 62,200 (71,100).
Weather: 68 degrees, fair.
1Q: 09:29 ATL - Michael Jenkins 5 pass from Michael Vick.
1Q: 09:29 ATL - Todd Peterson extra point.
1Q: 00:44 ATL - Todd Peterson 19 field goal.
2Q: 14:48 OAK - Dedric Ward 24 pass from Kerry Collins.
2Q: 14:48 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
2Q: 09:32 ATL - Warrick Dunn 1 run.
2Q: 09:32 ATL - Todd Peterson extra point.
2Q: 05:42 ATL - Todd Peterson 22 field goal.
2Q: 00:09 ATL - Todd Peterson 33 field goal.
3Q: 11:49 OAK - Rickey Dudley 10 pass from Kerry Collins.
3Q: 11:49 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
3Q: 06:18 ATL - T.J. Duckett 3 run.
3Q: 06:18 ATL - Todd Peterson extra point failed.
3Q: 00:00 OAK - Steve Christie 20 field goal.
4Q: 11:17 ATL - Todd Peterson 32 field goal.
Game MVP: ATL 7 Michael Vick
Oakland 0 7 10 0 - 17
Atlanta 10 13 6 3 - 32
Team Statistics OAK ATL
First Downs 12 32
Total Rushes 17 50
Rushing Yards 54 200
Yards Per Carry 3.1 4.0
Pass Attempts 24 28
Completions 13 19
Passing Yards 223 257
Yards Per Attempt 9.2 9.1
Sacked 1 1
Yards Lost 5 6
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 0/0
Total Plays 42 79
Total Yards 272 451
Yards Per Play 6.4 5.7
3rd Down Plays 4/10 13/17
Avg. YTG on 3rd 5.7 4.2
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0
Penalties 6 4
Penalty Yards 50 25
Avg. Drive Start OWN 27 OWN 32
Time Of Possession 21:33 38:27
Oakland Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
34 Jordan 13 44 3.3 9 0
5 Collins 2 3 1.5 4 0
84 Porter 1 4 4.0 4 0
20 Fargas 1 3 3.0 3 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
5 Collins 24 13 223 9.2 61 2 0 1
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
84 Porter 5 117 23.4 39 61 0
82 Ward 4 63 15.7 9 24 1
34 Jordan 1 5 5.0 2 5 0
85 Gabriel 1 17 17.0 0 17 0
83 Anderson 1 11 11.0 1 11 0
88 Dudley 1 10 10.0 0 10 1
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
84 Porter 1 3 3.0 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
20 Fargas 3 76 25.3 0
85 Gabriel 2 68 34.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
9 Lechler 5 191 38.2 49 1
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
6 Christie 1 1 20 2 2
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
22 Hill 8 3 0.0 0 0 0
55 Clark 8 2 0.0 0 0 0
53 Foreman 7 6 0.0 0 0 0
30 Schweigert 5 5 0.0 0 0 0
59 Grant 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
98 Hamilton 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
91 Burgess 4 1 1.0 0 0 0
27 Washington 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
54 Williams 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
36 Gibson 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
26 Routt 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
45 Robinson 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Morrison 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Walker 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
51 Brayton 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Badger 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Whitted 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 Jordan 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
96 Irons 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 Kelly 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Jasper 0 3 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
76 Gallery 0 0 0 0 0 1
62 Treu 0 0 0 0 3 0
5 Collins 1 0 0 0 0 0
65 Sims 0 0 0 0 1 0
34 Jordan 0 0 1 0 0 0
Atlanta Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
28 Dunn 17 53 3.1 9 1
45 Duckett 16 68 4.2 14 1
7 Vick 12 68 5.6 11 0
27 Versteeg 2 6 3.0 4 0
33 Griffith 1 3 3.0 3 0
44 McCrary 1 2 2.0 2 0
82 Korinek 1 0 0.0 0 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
7 Vick 28 19 257 9.1 33 1 0 1
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
12 Jenkins 6 87 14.5 26 33 1
89 White 4 65 16.2 17 24 0
83 Crumpler 4 61 15.2 20 23 0
82 Korinek 2 20 10.0 4 12 0
28 Dunn 1 8 8.0 8 8 0
33 Griffith 1 12 12.0 0 12 0
44 McCrary 1 4 4.0 4 4 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
12 Jenkins 1 11 11.0 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
21 Hall 3 93 31.0 0
36 Webster 1 20 20.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
9 Koenan 1 54 54.0 54 1
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
2 Peterson 4 4 33 2 3
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
56 Brooking 8 2 0.0 0 0 0
21 Hall 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
38 Heard 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Beck 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
75 Coleman 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
36 Webster 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Jansen 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
96 Engelberger 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
95 Babineaux 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
98 Reese 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
24 Scott 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
28 Dunn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Duckett 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Griffith 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
51 Williams 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
29 Carpenter 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
99 Fincher 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Versteeg 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Moylan 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
78 Levine 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
73 Kocialski 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
62 McClure 0 0 0 0 6 0
69 Claxton 0 0 0 0 3 0
79 Stokes 0 0 0 0 1 1
74 Weiner 0 0 0 0 1 0
96 Engelberger 0 1 0 0 0 0
83 Crumpler 0 0 0 0 1 0
64 Bibla 0 0 0 0 1 0