Raiders Come From Behind to Defeat the Jets

Raiders Come From Behind to Defeat the Jets
“We’re not perfect yet, but we’re working at it,”--Raider Head Coach Hue Jackson

By Barbara Mason 9/25/11
Raiderdrive, Bay Area Sports Drive

It felt like shades of the good old days; Raiders selling out, fans jockeying for position to access the parking lot and excitement, lots of excitement for the upcoming season. Losses in the pre-season enabled coaches and team to put together a system that looked good against the Denver Broncos as well as the Buffalo Bills, a game that should have given Oakland their second win of the season. Sunday’s game against Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets would be a tall order but one that the Raiders could definitely pull off.

The opening drive for Oakland was picture perfect as the Silver and Black moved down the field with ease culminating in a two yard run by Darren McFadden for the early 7-0 lead. Missed tackles were killing Oakland letting the Jets move downfield in huge chunks resulting in 3 unanswered scores through the first hadl to lead by 17-7. The Raider offense was completely stalled out. It was not until the final five minutes of the second quarter that the Raiders offense came to life with a 70 yard romp by #20 Darren McFadden aided by some great blocks for a touchdown pulling to within 3 points. Holding the Jets on their next possession the Raiders had 1:44 left to move the ball. Able to drive to within Sebastian Janikowski range the Raiders tied up the game with a 54 yard line kick as the half ended.

Mid-way through the third quarter the Raider defense had begun to harass Jet quarterback Mark Sanchez sacking him 4 times when the game was all said and done. The final Raider drive in the third quarter show-cased the team’s speedsters with McFadden’s 27 yard run to the Jet 23 yard line. With 40 seconds left in the third quarter rookie sensation #17 Denarius Moore made (as he often does) something out of nothing to plow his way into the end zone for the go ahead touchdown and a 24-17 lead.

The ensuing kickoff by Oakland was a line drive that was completely mishandled by the Jets and recovered by the Raiders inside the Jet twenty. On first down Darren McFadden drove to the Jet one yard line. It was a piece of cake for McFadden as he rumbled untouched into the end zone extending the Raiders lead to 31-17 as the fourth quarter got underway.

With 5:33 left in the game, #17 Plaxico Burress caught a long Sanchez pass in the end zone to pull to within one touchdown of tying the game. A huge Raider first down with under three minutes left in the game forced the Jets to start burning the three timeouts they had left. With 2:48 left Oakland was in field goal range on the Jet 31 yard line. This game hinged on the foot of Sebastian Janikowski. His 49 yard field goal all but sealed the deal for the Raiders and gave them their second win of the season 34-24. With 49 seconds left in regulation the Jets drove inside the ten but were stalled by the Oakland defense.

Coach Jackson was reading off the litany of injuries which were too numerous to mention but he was pleased with how the team filled in those spots and succeeded and how this team finished the game. “I’m very proud of our organization. They (the Jets) were in the AFC championship game last two years. What a tremendous win for this team,” he said. “I wanted them to finish. We’re not perfect yet but we’re working at it. This is one of the greatest victories I’ve ever been a part of,” said Jackson.

Everyone of these player stepped up and were an intricate part of this victory. With 171 rushing yards running back Darren McFadden was an important part of the Raiders second win this year. “Coach always says to go out there and try and bully them,” said McFadden and there was a lot of evidence of that especially in the second half of this game. When asked if he was injured he replied with a toothy grin,” I’m good, I’m healthy.”

“I’m just proud that we fought back from 17-7,” said quarterback Jason Campbell after the game. “We just kept saying, one play at a time, one play at a time. We did a good job in stopping the run,” he said. This was a great win for Oakland proving that they can not only chip away at a deficit but extend it into a lead and an eventual win. Campbell felt that this was a real statement game for the team.

While overcoming this hurdle was huge, it doesn’t get any easier for the Raiders as they look ahead to the New England Patriots at home. They will celebrate this victory and then get down to the business of preparing for Tom Brady and his team. The Patriots did lose game three and will come in hungry but Oakland will try and pull this winning momentum into game four and hopefully come in even hungrier.