Moss Gets the Party Started in the Raider Nation
Oakland (1-0) 27 - Pittsburgh (0-1) 20
Pittsburgh, PA (Week 1, 2005) – Questions surrounding the Oakland Raiders during the off-season started to get some answers as the Raiders opened their season in Pittsburgh against a strong Steelers football team. A Raiders team that has been shrouded in criticism, with a new Owner and General Manager, followed by the subsequent trades of Charles Woodson and Sebastian Janikowski, it was another off-season move that proved to be the main story.
Randy Moss, traded by the Minnesota Vikings, had given the Raider Nation something to talk about as anticipation for the new season rose. Fans were excited about the prospect of having arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, and to give Kerry Collins a true deep ball threat. Moss stepped on to the field Sunday and showed the Raider fans that he would indeed play a big factor for the Raiders’ offence, as he was dominant all game long. CB Deshea Townsend could not stop Moss from gathering in 12 receptions for 223 yards and a touchdown. Further, Moss was Collins’ go-to receiver during a number of third and long plays, picking up the first down to extend drives.
“I am just happy to finally get the season going. Too much talk going on. I just wanted to show everyone why I am here and what I can do,” Moss said after the game. “I was open all game long, and Kerry was able to hit me. Get the ball into my hands, and I will take care of things from there.”
Another off-season acquisition for the Raiders paid off during the game against the Steelers. Lamont Jordan, the backup to Curtis Martin on the New York Jets last season, ground out an effective game as he collected 100 yards on the ground, along with 2 touchdowns.
“It was important to get a good balance going against that strong Steelers defense,” said Raiders Head Coach Jorge Shank. “We were able to keep them guessing as we had a great combination of Randy in the passing game, and Lamont in the running game. We are going to have a lot of success this season if we can keep that going.”
Pittsburgh QB Tommy Maddox, playing for an injured Ben Roethlisberger, got the Steelers back into the game late as he engineered a drive for a touchdown with 1:21 left in the game, which brought the team within 7 of the Raiders. Pittsburgh CB Chidi Iwuoma recovered an onside kick to give the Steelers a real chance at tying the game up, but a key sack by DE Derrick Burgess and DT Edward Jasper on the Raiders 23 yard line allowed Oakland to force the Steelers to turn the ball over on downs, and hold on for the win. Burgess was a force all game, coming up with a number of key plays.
Oakland now looks ahead to their home opener next week as they will be taking on the Buffalo Bills, and the Raiders feel like they have something special going on.
“This is only week one,” said DT Warren Sapp, “but we are undefeated, and on pace for a 16-0 season.”
Box Score
Code:
Attendance: 63,300 (64,500).
Weather: 78 degrees, fair.
1Q: 07:54 OAK - Steve Christie 20 field goal.
1Q: 05:07 OAK - LaMont Jordan 2 run.
1Q: 05:07 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
2Q: 11:36 OAK - Steve Christie 36 field goal.
3Q: 06:35 OAK - LaMont Jordan 1 run.
3Q: 06:35 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
3Q: 02:32 PIT - Tommy Maddox 4 run.
3Q: 02:32 PIT - Jeff Reed extra point.
4Q: 14:53 OAK - Randy Moss 7 pass from Kerry Collins.
4Q: 14:53 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
4Q: 07:56 PIT - Jeff Reed 23 field goal.
4Q: 03:17 PIT - Jeff Reed 25 field goal.
4Q: 01:16 PIT - Cedrick Wilson 10 pass from Tommy Maddox.
4Q: 01:16 PIT - Jeff Reed extra point.
Game MVP: OAK 18 Randy Moss
Oakland 10 3 7 7 - 27
Pittsburgh 0 0 7 13 - 20
Team Statistics OAK PIT
First Downs 22 18
Total Rushes 34 26
Rushing Yards 108 128
Yards Per Carry 3.1 4.9
Pass Attempts 34 31
Completions 21 16
Passing Yards 280 284
Yards Per Attempt 8.2 9.1
Sacked 1 3
Yards Lost 8 18
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 1/1
Total Plays 69 60
Total Yards 380 394
Yards Per Play 5.5 6.5
3rd Down Plays 5/11 2/11
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.6 8.8
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/1
Penalties 3 5
Penalty Yards 30 35
Avg. Drive Start OWN 33 OWN 32
Time Of Possession 33:43 26:17
Oakland Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
34 Jordan 31 100 3.2 9 2
32 Crockett 2 9 4.5 5 0
5 Collins 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
5 Collins 34 21 280 8.2 45 1 1 1
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
18 Moss 12 223 18.5 35 45 1
83 Anderson 3 16 5.3 10 7 0
43 Easy 2 10 5.0 0 7 0
88 Dudley 2 12 6.0 5 8 0
34 Jordan 1 6 6.0 6 6 0
85 Gabriel 1 13 13.0 3 13 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Gabriel 2 9 4.5 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
18 Moss 3 69 23.0 0
85 Gabriel 1 18 18.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
9 Lechler 4 143 35.7 40 0
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
6 Christie 2 2 36 3 3
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Clark 8 1 0.0 0 0 0
53 Foreman 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
36 Gibson 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
33 Taylor 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
91 Burgess 3 2 1.5 0 0 0
98 Hamilton 3 0 1.0 0 0 0
22 Hill 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
92 Washington 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
54 Williams 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
30 Schweigert 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
40 Cooper 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
59 Grant 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Washington 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
18 Moss 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
83 Anderson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Ward 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
64 Grove 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Morrison 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
49 Foschi 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Jasper 0 1 0.5 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
76 Gallery 0 0 0 0 4 0
65 Sims 0 0 0 0 1 1
62 Treu 0 0 0 0 7 0
67 Stone 0 0 0 0 2 0
5 Collins 1 0 0 0 0 0
70 Badger 0 0 0 0 1 0
55 Clark 0 1 0 0 0 0
91 Burgess 0 0 1 0 0 0
Pittsburgh Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
22 Staley 17 93 5.4 14 0
36 Bettis 4 13 3.2 4 0
8 Maddox 4 15 3.7 5 1
86 Ward 1 7 7.0 7 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
8 Maddox 31 16 284 9.1 48 1 0 3
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
86 Ward 5 95 19.0 17 35 0
80 Wilson 4 58 14.5 5 23 1
39 Parker 3 102 34.0 14 48 0
22 Staley 1 13 13.0 0 13 0
88 Kranchick 1 4 4.0 6 4 0
44 Tietsworth 1 4 4.0 0 4 0
47 Pritchett 1 8 8.0 1 8 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
80 Wilson 1 11 11.0 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
21 Colclough 2 42 21.0 0
86 Ward 1 17 17.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
17 Gardocki 5 171 34.2 45 0
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
3 Reed 2 3 25 2 2
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
50 Foote 8 2 0.0 0 0 0
51 Farrior 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
58 Gildon 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
67 Von Oelhoffen 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
43 Polamalu 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Williams 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Hampton 4 3 1.0 0 0 0
53 Haggans 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
21 Colclough 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
24 Taylor 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
23 Carter 2 3 0.0 0 0 0
28 Hope 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
91 Smith 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
29 Iwuoma 1 0 0.0 1 0 0
95 Jackson 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
66 Faneca 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Townsend 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
92 Harrison 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
66 Faneca 0 0 0 0 2 2
59 Albright 0 0 0 0 1 1
62 Peko 0 0 0 0 2 0
77 Smith 0 0 0 0 2 0
8 Maddox 1 0 0 0 0 0
98 Hampton 0 1 0 0 0 0
29 Iwuoma 0 0 1 0 0 0
83 Miller 0 0 0 0 1 0