Moss, Jordan Missing as Raiders Lose to San Diego
Oakland (5-3) 19 - San Diego (5-3) 37
San Diego, CA (Week 8, 2005) – Game time approached, and the Raiders could not find their two star players, Randy Moss and Lamont Jordan. The league leaders in yardage for their respective positions were no where to be found as the Raiders walked onto the field to start the game. And they were also not with the team by the time the game ended, with the Raiders losing the game to their divisional opponents, the San Diego Chargers.
Earlier in the day, Moss and Jordan were booked to attend a photo shoot for an NFL-driven charity drive. It was learned after the game that both players were at the shoot and were then trapped in the building after the shoot ended. They were descending the building in an elevator when the elevator lost power and trapped them both between the 16th and 17th floors. Maintenance crew were unable to restore power to the elevator for six hours and by the time Moss and Jordan were freed, they had already missed the game.
“It was insane. Being trapped in a small elevator for that much time, that is something I don’t wish on my worst enemy,” said Moss, who was reached for comment later in the evening. “Lamont and I wanted out as fast as possible because we knew that we had a big game today. To be stuck there for so long, and to find out that we lost, is just the garbage thing to have happen.”
On the field, the Raiders sorely missed the presence of their star players. Oakland QB Kerry Collins did everything that he could to give the Raiders a chance, and he spread the ball around 9 different receivers, but without the big play threat of Randy Moss, and without the strong running of Lamont Jordan, he couldn’t generate the offence needed to hold off the Chargers. The Raiders’ offensive line also had problems giving Collins any time, as Chargers DT Jamal Williams completely dominated the game. Williams recovered a blocked punt during the Raiders’ first offensive series of the game and returned it 27 yards for the Chargers opening points. He finished the game with 6 tackles, 4 assists, and a huge 4.5 sacks.
“He was incredible tonight,” said Collins after the game. “No matter where I looked, Williams was coming after me. It also didn’t matter who he lined up against, he beat everyone. Four or five sacks and a touchdown tonight? How can you beat that?”
The Oakland defence also had problems all game long. Despite two interceptions off of Chargers QB Drew Brees, including one by Stuart Schweigert for a touchdown, the San Diego offence was efficient and effective. Star running back LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, and the passing game was timely when needed. By comparison, Raiders RB Zach Crockett, starting for the missing Jordan, ran for only 40 yards on 14 carries.
“It is complete and utter [expletive deleted],” said Raiders Coach Jorge Shank. “Our two best players caught in this freak accident, and we miss them for our first big game of the year? What can I say? We did not have our best team out on the field, and we paid because of it. Complete [expletive deleted]. I hope they find out how this happened. It just seems to convenient.”
When questioned further about his comments, Coach Shank declined to say any more. Oakland now gets ready to get back into the win column against the Carolina Panthers.
Box Score
Attendance: 57,500 (71,600).
Weather: 72 degrees, rain.
1Q: 13:04 SDO - Jamal Williams 27 blocked punt return.
1Q: 13:04 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
1Q: 11:20 SDO - LaDainian Tomlinson 6 run.
1Q: 11:20 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point failed.
1Q: 05:38 OAK - Steve Christie 20 field goal.
1Q: 00:44 SDO - Drew Brees 1 run.
1Q: 00:44 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
2Q: 10:04 OAK - Dedric Ward 12 pass from Kerry Collins.
2Q: 10:04 OAK - Steve Christie extra point failed.
2Q: 07:07 OAK - Steve Christie 40 field goal.
2Q: 00:50 OAK - Stuart Schweigert 30 interception return.
2Q: 00:50 OAK - Steve Christie extra point.
2Q: 00:15 SDO - LaDainian Tomlinson 21 run.
2Q: 00:15 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
3Q: 01:39 SDO - Nate Kaeding 42 field goal.
4Q: 11:51 SDO - LaDainian Tomlinson 3 run.
4Q: 11:51 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
Game MVP: SDO 76 Jamal Williams
Oakland 3 16 0 0 - 19
San Diego 20 7 3 7 - 37
Team Statistics OAK SDO
First Downs 21 17
Total Rushes 22 32
Rushing Yards 61 139
Yards Per Carry 2.7 4.3
Pass Attempts 45 21
Completions 24 11
Passing Yards 284 154
Yards Per Attempt 6.3 7.3
Sacked 6 1
Yards Lost 36 7
Interceptions 1 2
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 2/0
Total Plays 73 54
Total Yards 309 286
Yards Per Play 4.2 5.2
3rd Down Plays 6/17 5/11
Avg. YTG on 3rd 10.0 6.2
4th Down Plays 1/1 0/0
Penalties 7 6
Penalty Yards 55 35
Avg. Drive Start OWN 22 OWN 45
Time Of Possession 33:16 26:44
Oakland Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
32 Crockett 14 40 2.8 10 0
28 Henry 7 20 2.8 13 0
5 Collins 1 1 1.0 1 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
5 Collins 42 24 284 6.7 26 1 1 6
16 Walter 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
81 Curry 6 74 12.3 18 26 0
87 Whitted 3 32 10.6 3 12 0
85 Gabriel 3 42 14.0 2 17 0
83 Anderson 3 34 11.3 2 17 0
82 Ward 3 40 13.3 1 15 1
32 Crockett 2 38 19.0 22 23 0
88 Dudley 2 19 9.5 3 11 0
43 Easy 1 2 2.0 4 2 0
28 Henry 1 3 3.0 3 3 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Gabriel 3 47 15.6 0
10 Francis 1 11 11.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
9 Lechler 5 188 37.6 49 1
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
6 Christie 2 2 40 1 2
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Clark 8 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Walker 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
36 Gibson 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
59 Grant 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
45 Robinson 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
51 Brayton 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
99 Sapp 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Whitted 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
53 Foreman 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
91 Burgess 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Routt 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Williams 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
30 Schweigert 1 2 0.0 1 30 1
27 Washington 1 1 0.0 1 39 0
22 Hill 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
28 Henry 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
88 Dudley 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Ward 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
10 Francis 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Morrison 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Hamilton 0 2 0.0 0 0 0
92 Washington 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
76 Gallery 0 0 0 0 2 2
66 Walker 0 0 0 0 0 1
43 Easy 0 0 0 0 0 1
78 Slaughter 0 0 0 0 0 1
70 Badger 0 0 0 0 0 1
67 Stone 0 0 0 0 1 0
32 Crockett 1 0 0 0 0 0
62 Treu 0 0 0 0 1 0
45 Robinson 0 1 0 0 0 0
28 Henry 0 1 0 0 0 0
San Diego Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
21 Tomlinson 23 109 4.7 21 3
43 Sproles 4 14 3.5 6 0
9 Brees 3 10 3.3 5 1
33 Turner 2 6 3.0 4 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
9 Brees 21 11 154 7.3 26 0 2 1
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
86 McCardell 2 25 12.5 5 19 0
21 Tomlinson 2 14 7.0 10 7 0
82 Caldwell 2 34 17.0 9 26 0
85 Gates 2 30 15.0 2 18 0
88 Parker 2 34 17.0 5 25 0
84 Peelle 1 17 17.0 3 17 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
88 Parker 1 14 14.0 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
43 Sproles 4 124 31.0 0
22 Davis 1 18 18.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
5 Scifres 5 170 34.0 47 3
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
10 Kaeding 1 1 42 4 5
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
59 Edwards 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
76 Williams 6 2 4.5 0 0 0
58 Godfrey 6 3 0.0 0 0 0
23 Jammer 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
91 Merriman 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
51 Leber 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
22 Davis 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Robinson 3 1 1.0 0 0 0
20 Wilson 3 3 0.0 1 28 0
48 Kiel 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
25 Fletcher 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Phillips 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
99 Olshansky 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
41 Neal 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
56 Hardy 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
40 Starks 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Tomlinson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Turner 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 Castillo 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cesaire 0 1 0.5 0 0 0
31 Milligan 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
77 Fonoti 0 0 0 0 1 1
50 Binn 0 0 0 0 2 0
41 Neal 0 0 1 0 1 0
72 Oben 0 0 0 0 2 0
79 Goff 0 0 0 0 2 0
84 Peelle 1 0 0 0 1 0
22 Davis 0 0 2 0 0 0
76 Williams 0 0 0 1 0 0
85 Gates 0 0 0 0 1 0
88 Parker 1 0 0 0 0 0
48 Kiel 0 1 0 0 0 0