Poor Decisions, Turnovers Hurt Raiders in Season and Divisional Opener
San Diego (1-0) 24 - Oakland (0-1) 6
Oakland, CA (Week 1, 2006) – The Raiders’ season opener was a big game for a number of reasons which included the first regular season game for their new Head Coach, their new Defensive Coordinator, and a few new players. To top all of that off, it was a game against a divisional rival, the San Diego Chargers. As such, it was expected that the Raiders would come out with a fire…they did not.
The game started off with the Raiders 29 yards on four straight running plays, but unravelled in a hurry as QB Kerry Collins threw an interception to Chargers CB Sammy Davis. The Chargers took advantage of the turnover, putting together a six-play drive which ended on a 1-yard touchdown pass from QB A.J. Feeley to TE Antonio Gates. Once K Nate Kaeding kicked the point after, San Diego had all the points they would need to win the game.
San Diego did not need to generate a lot of offensive yardage to control the game, as they collected 320 yards, with 143 yards coming from the ground game. They were able to dominate the Raiders on the scoreboard by taking advantage of turnovers, with Collins throwing three interceptions and a RB Lamont Jordan fumble, and with penalty help, as the Raiders collected 8 penalties for 65 yards. Defensively, the Chargers were able to shut down Jordan and the running game, limiting him to only 48 yards on 18 carries, though rookie RB Erik Kuehler looked good with 29 yards on 4 carries.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson was able to grind the clock when needed, picking up 94 yards on 21 carries, though it was Feeley who was the real leader of the Chargers offence. After a mediocre year in Miami, Feeley signed with the Chargers in the off-season and proved to be strong at managing the game for San Diego. He was efficient as he went 14 for 18 with 193 yards and two touchdown passes. He also had time to throw the ball, though he was sacked twice by the Raiders.
“I felt good out there,” said Feeley, after the game. “I had a lot to adjust to in camp, but I think I showed a good grasp of our offence, and with the support that LT brings, it is easy to maintain control. And the line did a great job at giving me time to go through my progressions. We definitely had a good start here, and it is nice to get that first divisional win out of the way.”
Despite the poor showing by the Raiders, there were a few bright spots. Playing in a back-up role as the #3 receiver with Jerry Porter out, rookie WR Keith Distel had a good showing, collecting 103 yards on four catches, with a long of 36 yards, in the first regular season NFL game of his career. Also, newcomer Jerry DeLoach, who displaced Ted Washington as the starting nose tackle, had a decent game, collecting his first sack as an Oakland Raider. Rookie K Herb Mallory, expected to be inconsistent as he gains experience, was able to hit two field goals, including one from 52 yards, though he missed from 18 and 28 yards.
“We are going to have a lot of film to look at this week,” said Raiders Head Coach Brent Marlin. “Our execution on all sides of the ball was pretty poor. It is disappointing, but we will learn from our mistakes. There were some good things to build on, and we will focus on that this week. I like what we have in place here, and as we get used to playing together, and used to the schemes, the outcomes will get better. And with the veteran leadership we have on the team, I expect that it will be sooner rather than later.”
The Raiders will head out to San Francisco for their game next week against the 49ers, and hope to be back in the win column.
Box Score
Attendance: 55,600 (62,500).
Weather: 69 degrees, rain.
1Q: 08:56 SDO - Antonio Gates 1 pass from A.J. Feeley.
1Q: 08:56 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
1Q: 00:07 OAK - Herb Mallory 52 field goal.
2Q: 08:24 OAK - Herb Mallory 42 field goal.
2Q: 03:43 SDO - Eric Parker 42 pass from A.J. Feeley.
2Q: 03:43 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
3Q: 09:52 SDO - Jonathan Wells 1 run.
3Q: 09:52 SDO - Nate Kaeding extra point.
3Q: 00:00 SDO - Nate Kaeding 27 field goal.
Game MVP: SDO 3 A.J. Feeley
San Diego 7 7 10 0 - 24
Oakland 3 3 0 0 - 6
Team Statistics SDO OAK
First Downs 18 18
Total Rushes 36 24
Rushing Yards 143 89
Yards Per Carry 3.9 3.7
Pass Attempts 18 42
Completions 14 20
Passing Yards 193 301
Yards Per Attempt 10.7 7.1
Sacked 2 2
Yards Lost 16 18
Interceptions 0 3
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/1
Total Plays 56 68
Total Yards 320 372
Yards Per Play 5.7 5.4
3rd Down Plays 4/11 6/13
Avg. YTG on 3rd 5.0 9.0
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/1
Penalties 6 8
Penalty Yards 35 65
Avg. Drive Start OWN 37 OWN 24
Time Of Possession 31:41 28:19
San Diego Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
21 Tomlinson 21 94 4.4 11 0
25 Wells 11 36 3.2 9 1
3 Feeley 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0
44 Goings 1 1 1.0 1 0
34 Pinnock 1 10 10.0 10 0
43 Sproles 1 3 3.0 3 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
3 Feeley 18 14 193 10.7 42 2 0 2
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Parker 5 96 19.2 30 42 1
85 Gates 4 39 9.7 8 27 1
88 Gardner 2 34 17.0 0 23 0
21 Tomlinson 2 9 4.5 10 5 0
84 Kennison 1 15 15.0 2 15 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
89 Parker 2 6 3.0 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
43 Sproles 2 55 27.5 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
5 Fitzgerald 4 153 38.2 47 1
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
10 Kaeding 1 3 27 3 3
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
59 Edwards 9 2 0.0 0 0 0
22 Davis 7 2 0.0 1 9 0
23 Jammer 6 1 0.0 1 29 0
95 Peterson 5 0 0.0 1 13 0
76 Williams 4 2 1.0 0 0 0
27 Jue 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
47 Mitchell 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
99 Olshansky 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
37 Allen 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
20 Manuel 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
91 Merriman 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
84 Kennison 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reese 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
81 Bennett 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
44 Goings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Wilson 0 3 0.0 0 0 0
79 Robertson 0 2 0.0 0 0 0
41 Fenimore 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
44 Goings 0 0 0 0 3 0
69 Peko 0 0 0 0 1 1
72 Naeole 0 0 0 0 2 1
95 Peterson 0 1 1 0 0 0
85 Gates 0 0 0 0 2 0
60 St. Clair 0 0 0 0 1 0
82 Euhus 0 0 0 0 1 0
62 Bourgeois 0 0 0 0 1 0
68 Alston 0 0 0 0 1 0
Oakland Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
34 Jordan 18 48 2.6 14 0
22 Kuehler 4 29 7.2 15 0
44 Grier 2 12 6.0 7 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
5 Collins 41 20 301 7.3 36 0 3 2
16 Walter 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
34 Jordan 5 36 7.2 12 12 0
80 Distel 4 103 25.7 8 36 0
83 Anderson 3 33 11.0 3 16 0
10 Francis 3 53 17.6 4 24 0
81 Curry 2 30 15.0 5 18 0
85 Gabriel 1 24 24.0 1 24 0
22 Kuehler 1 11 11.0 0 11 0
89 Rackers 1 11 11.0 2 11 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
27 Washington 2 35 17.5 0
81 Curry 1 26 26.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
9 Lechler 2 103 51.5 58 1
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
2 Mallory 2 4 52 0 0
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
91 Burgess 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Hamilton 5 2 1.0 0 0 0
56 Davis 5 4 0.0 0 0 0
55 Clark 5 3 0.0 0 0 0
59 Grant 4 4 0.0 0 0 0
30 Schweigert 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Williams 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Washington 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
25 Walker 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 DeLoach 2 3 1.0 0 0 0
45 Robinson 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
58 Rainer 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
10 Francis 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
44 Grier 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
24 Foley 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Asomugha 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
54 Williams 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
57 Cooper 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
97 Grzecki 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
51 Brayton 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
76 Gallery 0 0 0 0 2 0
66 Walker 0 0 0 0 0 1
65 Sims 0 0 0 0 0 1
62 Treu 0 0 0 0 5 0
70 Badger 0 0 0 0 1 0
34 Jordan 1 0 0 0 0 0