Christie Misses Field Goal, Vanderjagt Doesn’t, as Raiders Ousted From Playoffs
Oakland (10-8) 27 – Indianapolis (13-4) 30
Indianapolis, IN (AFC Divisional Semi-Finals) – The Indianapolis Colts have been favored to win the Super Bowl since the start of the season, but their hopes were nearly dashed as they met the upstart Oakland Raiders for the AFC Divisional Semi-Finals. It was a game that the Colts should have controlled, but mistakes kept the Raiders in the game until the very last play.
The game started off with the Colts’ star receiver, Marvin Harrison, returning the opening kickoff 63 yards to set up the Colts offence on the Oakland 27-yard line. Indianapolis then opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal. It seemed that the Colts would be in control of the game as their defence forced the Raiders to punt as the Oakland offence could not get anything going, but that changed in a hurry as Colts’ QB Peyton Manning threw an interception to CB Renaldo Hill, which Hill returned 29 yards for the touchdown to give the Raiders the lead.
The Colts were able to get things back with a long 17-play drive, but Raiders defence held in their own red zone, forcing Colts’ K Mike Vanderjagt to settle for another field goal, this one from 24 yards out. Oakland continued to take it to the Colts with a long drive of their own, ending in a five yard touchdown run for RB Lamont Jordan, pushing the Raiders’ lead to 14-6. The Raiders momentum continued as their defence forced a Colts’ punt, which WR Jerry Porter took for a 58-yard punt return touchdown, and the Raiders were surprisingly ahead 21-6.
“We were in tough early,” said Manning after the game. “We thought we came out strong, but we made some early mistakes which got our team down. We were trying to remain positive on the sidelines, but it is tough when you spot the other team a 15 point lead early.”
Despite the dejection creeping in on the Colts’ sideline, Manning and the rest of their offence came out for the next series, hoping to spark the team again. They were able to do so by stringing together a strong nine-play drive which ended on a big 35-yard touchdown pass from Manning to WR Reggie Wayne, closing the Raiders’ lead to 21-13. Afraid of a momentum shift, the Raiders came back with another drive which ended in a 40-yard field goal by K Steve Christie, which allowed Oakland to take a 24-13 lead into the dressing room at halftime.
“We knew we had played them well in the first half,” said Porter. “We had them on the ropes, and we had done so by playing smart and getting the big plays when we needed to. But we knew that they would be coming out for the second half all fired up, and it seems that we were not ready for that.”
As the second half opened, the Raiders did what they could to continue to control the ball with an eleven-play drive, capped off by a 24-yard field goal. That was when Indianapolis came to life. Not wasting any time, Manning started to use his arm to find holes in the Raiders defence, and RB Edgerrin James came on to pound the ball on the ground. They quickly found the end-zone on a 6-yard touchdown run by James to close the score to 27-20 for Oakland. Oakland was unable to get any offence going after that, as the Indianapolis defence was dominant in stuffing the Raiders’ running game, not allowing them to maintain ball possession.
As the fourth quarter got underway, Indianapolis was able to tie the game at 27 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Harrison. The teams then traded turns with the ball, before Oakland was able to get into field goal position with 3:39 left in the game. Christie attempted the 54-yard FG, but missed it short, giving the ball back to the Colts. Manning and the rest of the Colts offence were able to string together a drive that killed the clock, giving the Colts a chance to win the game with 4 seconds left. Vanderjagt hit the 32 yard field goal, and the Colts won as the clock ran out, sending the Colts to the AFC Championship, and the Raiders home.
The Raiders were not able to control the game using the run, as Lamont Jordan only collected 55 yards rushing, though he did add a touchdown and another 47 yards receiving. WR Randy Moss was virtually invisible, gathering in 42 yards. His production has fallen off for the Raiders over the last few weeks of the season, and it was Jerry Porter who tried to pick up the slack with 102 yards receiving. Defensively, the Raiders got good performances out of LB Danny Clark, with 13 tackles and 3 assists, and CB Renaldo Hill, with two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. Despite that, the defence as a whole still gave up 415 total yards, including 169 on the ground.
“The team played hard, and we came so close,” said Raiders coach Jorge Shank. “We were not expected to make it this far, so it is a testament to the team and their play that we did so well. That said, this is a bitter pill to swallow. We are going home, and there is we will not be preparing for any games next week. I am not sure if it has sunk in for some of the guys, but it will next Sunday. All we can do is get ourselves ready for next year.”
The Raiders did indeed perform better than many experts expected, but now they are faced with more questions. The new ownership and management of the team made some bold moves before the season started, and it is expected that more will be forthcoming, as they seek to bring in some pieces to complete the team.
“We will have to evaluate things now that the season is over for us,” said Raiders GM Barrett Blade. “We know that we are not a Super Bowl contender yet, as we have some glaring weaknesses, and there will need to be changes. Our performance this year is heartening, but we are not there yet. We will get there, though.”
Box Score
Attendance: 57,200 (60,300).
Weather: 68 degrees, fair.
1Q: 12:45 IND - Mike Vanderjagt 35 field goal.
1Q: 06:06 OAK - Renaldo Hill 29 interception return.
1Q: 06:06 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
2Q: 12:50 IND - Mike Vanderjagt 24 field goal.
2Q: 08:00 OAK - LaMont Jordan 5 run.
2Q: 08:00 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
2Q: 06:28 OAK - Jerry Porter 58 punt return.
2Q: 06:28 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
2Q: 02:56 IND - Reggie Wayne 35 pass from Peyton Manning.
2Q: 02:56 IND - Mike Vanderjagt extra point.
2Q: 01:04 OAK - Steve Christie 40 field goal.
3Q: 09:10 OAK - Steve Christie 24 field goal.
3Q: 06:00 IND - Edgerrin James 6 run.
3Q: 06:00 IND - Mike Vanderjagt extra point.
4Q: 11:39 IND - Marvin Harrison 18 pass from Peyton Manning.
4Q: 11:39 IND - Mike Vanderjagt extra point.
4Q: 00:00 IND - Mike Vanderjagt 32 field goal.
Game MVP: IND 32 Edgerrin James
Oakland 7 17 3 0 - 27
Indianapolis 3 10 7 10 - 30
Team Statistics OAK IND
First Downs 15 25
Total Rushes 18 40
Rushing Yards 55 169
Yards Per Carry 3.0 4.2
Pass Attempts 28 34
Completions 20 20
Passing Yards 206 252
Yards Per Attempt 7.3 7.4
Sacked 1 1
Yards Lost 9 6
Interceptions 0 2
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0
Total Plays 47 75
Total Yards 252 415
Yards Per Play 5.3 5.5
3rd Down Plays 4/11 9/15
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.8 7.4
4th Down Plays 0/0 1/1
Penalties 5 7
Penalty Yards 35 60
Avg. Drive Start OWN 25 OWN 34
Time Of Possession 24:55 35:05
Oakland Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
34 Jordan 18 55 3.0 10 1
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
5 Collins 28 20 206 7.3 28 0 0 1
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
84 Porter 7 102 14.5 23 28 0
34 Jordan 6 47 7.8 12 14 0
18 Moss 4 42 10.5 10 16 0
43 Easy 2 8 4.0 5 5 0
83 Anderson 1 7 7.0 1 7 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
84 Porter 1 58 58.0 1
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Gabriel 2 55 27.5 0
18 Moss 1 24 24.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
9 Lechler 4 181 45.2 58 1
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
6 Christie 2 3 40 3 3
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Clark 13 3 0.0 0 0 0
36 Gibson 10 0 0.0 0 0 0
53 Foreman 5 5 0.0 0 0 0
30 Schweigert 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
59 Grant 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Routt 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
54 Williams 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
33 Taylor 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Jasper 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
22 Hill 2 2 0.0 2 44 1
98 Hamilton 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
37 Warfield 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
91 Burgess 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Morrison 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
99 Sapp 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
18 Moss 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
85 Gabriel 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
76 Gallery 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
65 Sims 0 0 0 0 1 1
62 Treu 0 0 0 0 1 0
66 Walker 0 0 0 0 1 0
83 Anderson 0 0 0 0 1 0
76 Gallery 0 0 0 0 1 0
Indianapolis Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
32 James 39 158 4.0 12 1
18 Manning 1 11 11.0 11 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
18 Manning 34 20 252 7.4 35 2 2 1
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
87 Wayne 6 107 17.8 32 35 1
88 Harrison 4 45 11.2 4 18 1
32 James 4 24 6.0 12 14 0
83 Stokley 3 44 14.6 4 23 0
23 Mungro 2 23 11.5 6 16 0
82 Horner 1 9 9.0 3 9 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
87 Wayne 2 8 4.0 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
88 Harrison 4 137 34.2 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
17 Smith 3 132 44.0 56 1
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Vanderjagt 3 3 35 3 3
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
94 Morris 6 3 0.0 0 0 0
28 Jackson 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
42 David 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Sanders 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 Freeney 3 2 1.0 0 0 0
50 Thornton 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Tripplett 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
51 Gardner 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
20 Doss 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
77 Simon 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
36 Pritchett 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 James 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
53 Hodge 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
80 Hartsock 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
30 Harden 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
71 Diem 0 0 0 0 2 1
63 Saturday 0 0 0 0 6 0
78 Glenn 0 0 0 0 4 0
69 Ulrich 0 0 0 0 2 0
67 Zimmerman 0 0 0 0 1 0