FLASH RECAP:
Sebastian Janikowski's 46-yard field goal with 5 minutes, 1 second
remaining in overtime gives Oakland (2-2) a dramatic victory over San Diego (0-4)
before an announced crowd of 54,078 at Network Associates Coliseum on
Sept. 28, 2003.
With fickle fans heading for the exits, Rich Gannon leads a furious comeback as the Raiders score two touchdowns in the final 4:38 of regulation to force the extra period. Gannon throws a 36-yard scoring pass to Alvis Whitted 81 seconds after Lorenzo Neal's 3-yard TD run extends the Chargers' lead to 31-17 with 5:59 left.
The Raiders deadlock the score 31-all on Charlie Garner's 24-yard run with 1:24 left in the fourth quarter.
On the Raiders’ second possession of overtime, Gannon is 4-of-5 passing for 53 yards to set up Janikowski's second field goal of the game.
Jerry Rice and Tim Brown, Oakland's future Hall of Fame receivers, combine for 13 catches for 228 yards and a touchdown. LaDainian Tomlinson leads the Chargers with 187 rushing yards and accounts for two touchdowns - the first on a 21-yard pass to quarterback Drew Brees and the second on a 55-yard run.
"Hopefully this is a way to shake ourselves out of it," Gannon tells reporters after Oakland's comeback victory. "This is a veteran team that's always done a good job with adversity. I'm not saying we're out of the woods yet, but this is a good step."
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS:
QB Rich Gannon - Throws for 348
yards and three TDs in engineering the Raiders' comeback. He passed for only 516 yards and two scores in Oakland’s first three games this season.
K Sebastian Janikowski - His
game-winning 46-yard field goal, which is kicked off the dirt surface,
travels at least an extra 10 yards. The Polish Cannon tells reporters
after the game: "I could have gone 60 (yards), easy." Janikowski is
8-for-8 on field goal attempts this season.
WR Jerry Rice - Four of his seven
catches for 118 yards come on Oakland's two touchdown drives late in
the fourth quarter. His 29-yard catch in overtime jump-starts a 64-yard
drive that culminates with Sebastian Janikowski's game-winning field
goal.
WR Tim Brown - Contributes six
catches for 110 yards and a TD. Brown's 23-yard reception in overtime
is negated by his controversial offensive pass interference penalty.
C Barret Robbins - Makes his
first start since being suspended for last January's Super Bowl after a
reported drinking binge. With Robbins returning to lineup, Oakland's
offense has its best performance so far this season.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson - Rushes
for 187 yards and a touchdown, catches seven passes for 24 yards and
throws a 21-yard TD pass to Drew Brees.
QB Drew Bees - Throws for 101 of
his 187 yards in the fourth quarter. He becomes the first quarterback
in franchise history to have a receiving touchdown.
WR Dondre Gilliam - His 37-yard
catch on third-and-11 from the Oakland 48-yard line sets up San Diego's
final TD with 5:59 left in the fourth quarter.
P Darren Bennett - Four of his
seven punts land inside Oakland's 20-yard line.
DT Dequincy Scott - Contributes
1.5 sacks.
KEY STAT:
Rich Gannon is 6-of-7 passing for 110 yards and a TD in leading the
Raiders to touchdowns on their final two drives of the fourth quarter.
TURNING POINT:
Trailing 31-17, the Raiders score two touchdowns in the final 4:38 of
regulation to force the extra period.
STUPID PLAY:
Chargers FS Jerry Wilson is called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike
penalty after bumping Raiders RB Charlie Garner in the end zone
following Garner's game-tying touchdown run. Instead of having a chance at
a decent kickoff return, San Diego starts a drive from its 20-yard line
after Sebastian Janikowski's kickoff sails into the end zone from the
Oakland 45. With the Chargers driving for a possible field goal
attempt, time expires in regulation after San Diego advances to
Oakland's 32.
BY THE NUMBERS:
-
11: San Diego losses in its past 13 regular-season games. The Chargers have dropped eight straight games over two seasons.
110: Receiving yards for Tim Brown, who had only 82 receiving yards in Oakland's first three games this season.
340 Rushing yards by San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson in two regular-season career games against the Raiders in Oakland.
448 Total yards by Oakland, which averaged 237.3 yards per game (30th NFL) in its previous three games this season.
THEY SAID IT:
Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson
"We thought we had it. I guess they showed why they went to the Super
Bowl last year. They know how to win games, and we don't."
"We're 2-2 and we haven't played a lick of good football. To me, that's positive."
Raiders FS Rod Woodson
"We had a chance to win, and we lost it. We gave it to them. It's the
worst feeling ever, playing ball."
Chargers DE Marcellus Wiley
DID YOU KNOW?:
The Raiders win their first overtime game at Network Associates
Coliseum since returning to Oakland in 1995. They had dropped their
previous four home OT games - to Minnesota (16-13) in 1996, Arizona
(34-31) in 2001 and San Diego (27-21) and San Francisco (23-20) in
2002.
The Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski
is cheered
after his 46-yard field goal beats the Chargers in OT.
By The Associated Press
