– The Raiders faced a third-and-8 from their own 29 as the first quarter
ended after consecutive 1-yard gains from Darren McFadden (out of the
Wildcat formation) and Justin Fargas.
– Terdell Sands dumped Larry Johnson for a 3-yard loss to help take the
team out of a drive in which the Chiefs drove 55 yards to the Oakland 20
before Barth converted a 38-yard field goal to tie the score.
A 15-yard pass from Tyler Thigpen to Dwayne Bowe (who stepped out of a
tackle attempt by Kirk Morrison) got the Chiefs to the 23. From there,
Sands dumped Johnson, the Chiefs were called for delay of game, and
Thigpen hit Tony Gonzalez for 11 yards to the 20 on third-and-18.
– The Raiders drove from their own 13 to the Chiefs 7 and had a
second-and-3 but ended up settling for Janikowski’s chip-shot field
goal, which went through despite being partially blocked by Ron Edwards.
Big plays in the drive included a 22-yard pass interference penalty on
Bernard Pollard against McFadden, a beautifully thrown 28-yard pass from
JaMarcus Russell to Miller and a 16-yard gain on a hook-and-lateral
play, with Ronald Curry flipping to McFadden for a gain to the 14.
Johnnie Lee Higgins ran seven yards on a reverse to the 7, then the
Raiders sputtered. McFadden was stoped for no gain, and Russell threw
incomplete to Miller in the end zone.
The Raiders have one offensive touchdown in 66 first-half posessions.
– The Chiefs recorded a pair of first downs on their opening possesion
on passes of 16 and 10 yards from Thigpen to Gonzalez, but stalled at
the Oakland 46.
The Raiders got off the field when Asomugha broke up a second-and-10
pass intended for Gonzalez _ his first play in primary coverage for the
tight end _ and Stanford Routt tackled Will Franklin after a 4-yard goal
on third-and-10.
– Darren McFadden grabbed his own fumble at the 14-yard-line to avert a
pre-halftime disaster with 18 seconds remaning.
Oakland’s last possession of the half was doomed from the start when
Kwame Harris was called for holding on the first snap, forcing the
Raiders back to the 10.
– The Chiefs were forced to punt the ball back to the Raiders with 1:17
left in the half when an officials review negated a 1-yard first-down
run by Tyler Thigpen, bringing up fourth-and-1 from their own 38. Dustin
Coluqitt punted the ball into the end zone, with the Raiders getting the
ball their own 20 with 49 seconds left in the half.
– Following a Chiefs drive in which they got one first down on a Tyler
Thigpen 11-yard pass to Tony Gonzalez (against tight coverage by Nnamdi
Asomugha), the Raiders obliged with a three-and-out and a Shane Lechler
punt which had the Chiefs at their own 28.
Kansas City was offsides, with the Raiders accepting the penalty and
punting from the 38 to try and pin the Chiefs a little deeper in their
own territory. Lechler responded with one of his weaker punts, a
33-yarder that enabled Kanssa City to open a yard farther out at the 29.
– Russell overthrew a diving Ronald Curry in the end zone on
fourth-and-2 from the 21-yard line as the Raiders came up empty with
5:05 left in the half.
It was the 68th first-half possession this season, during which time the
Raiders have one touchdown in Week 4 against San Diego. They’ve now
blown six potential points on field goals on the fake earlier in the
quarter plus the fourth-down gamble.
Included in Oakland’s drive was a 20-yard Russell to McFadden slant pass
and a 16-yard bootleg by Russell in which he lowered his shoulder and
dropped Bernard Pollard.
– Having dazzled with a hook-and-lateral play on their first possession,
the Raiders fizzled with an ill-advised fake field goal attempt that
ended up a 67-yard touchdown return by Leggett.
Lining up for a 43-yard field goal attempt, it appeared holder Shane
Lechler was supposed to pitch to a lumbering Sebastian Janikowski,
running to his left, on fourth-and-10. Not only would Janikowski have
been stuffed, but Lechler missed the pitch, with Leggett coming in to
scoop up the gift and run for the touchdown.
To repeat _ fourth-and-10. Janikowski. Running the ball.
Really.
No shot from the owner’s box, but rest assured there was smoke coming
form the ears of Al Davis.
Scoring
Oak–Justin Fargas 1-yard run (Sebastian Janikowski kicks PAT), 11:13
Notes:
– The Chiefs killed off muchof the third quarter by driving from their
own 9 to the Chiefs 19-yard line as the quarter expired.
Kansas City is facing a second-and-12 after Larry Johnson was dropped
for a 2-yard loss.
Tony Gonzalez, the one player the Raiders don’t have an answer for, has
three catches for 51 yarfds on the drive, a 23-yard catch against Nnamdi
Asomugha to start things off and two third-down conversions, a 16-yard
catch on third-and-10 and a 12-yarder on third-and-9.
– Chris Johnson stole a first-and-10 pass from Thigpen intended for
Dwayne Bowe and raced 44 yards to the 1-yard line, setting up a dive for
a touchdown by Fargas on the next play.
It was Fargas’ first touchdown of the season and first since Dec. 16
last season against Indianapolis, a span of 159 carries.
Scoring
KC–Larry Johnson 2-yard run (Connor Barth kicks PAT), 13:43
KC–Connor Barth 27-yard field goal, 8:54
Oak–Sebastian Janikowski 51-yard field goal, 2:55
Notes:
– Tyler Thigpen hit Dwayne Bowe with 13-yard dagger and a first down,
with Oakland calling its third time out in succession with 2:31 to play.
The Chiefs, taking over at their own 20, gained 3 yards on a run by
Thigpen and 5 yards on a carry by Larry Johnson, with the Raiders
calling time out at 2:48 and 2:43.
Johnson later carried 15 yards to the Oakland 46, with the Chiefs
assistants requesting the “victory” formation, meaning all Thigpen has
to do is kneel on the ball until the clock runs out.
– Janikowski’s 51-yard field goal came after an unimpressive drive which
saw the Raiders drive 46 yards in 11 plays, with Russell misfiring on
some open passes but getting one first down on a scramble and another on
a pass to Zach Miller.
The Raiders have all three of their time outs with 2:55 left to play,
meaning they can keep deep if they wish and count on stopping the Chiefs
offense.
– After a dropped pass by Miller, Russell ran 21 yards on fourth-and-10
to keep the Raiders alive. Russell nearly had a pass intercepted by
Derrick Johnson, with Gunther Cunningham nearly having a stroke in the
coaches booth next to the press box.
– A pair of misfires by Russell to open receivers Ashley Lelie and
Ronald Curry, leading to a three-and-out, led to a smattering of boos
with 8:00 remaining as the Raiders punted the ball trailing by 10 points.
Boos also followed a 2-yard loss by Fargas on first-and-10.
Although officially a sellout, the unofficial crowd count numbered
considerably less, and the Coliseum was growing more empty as fans began
heading for the exits.
–Fargas began to lose possesion on a carry when with Rocky Boiman
getting a hand on the ball, with Bernard Pollard knocking it loose, and
the Chiefs recovering at the Oakland 38-yard line just one play into
Oakland’s possession following the Chiefs score.
A 26-yard by Thigpen got the Chiefs close, with Kansas City ruining its
chances for a touchdown with help from a delay-of-game penalty on
third-and-5 from the 6.
Barth came in to kick a field goal when Thigpen’s short pass to Brad
Cottam came up short.
– The Chiefs finished off a 16-play, 91-yard drive that ate up 9:24 of
the clock when Johnson scored from the 2 with 13:43 remaining.
Thigpen rushed for 8 yards on second-and-12 from the 19, then ran 9 more
yards on a quarterback draw to the 2 before Johnson went in for the score.
