FLASH RECAP:
Oakland begins the Lane Kiffin era by negating a spirited comeback with a deflating finish.
After erasing a 17-0 deficit with three quick touchdowns, the Raiders (0-1) surrender 16 unanswered points in the final 4:15 to seal their 10th straight regular-season defeat in their 2007 season opener.
Jon Kitna throws for 289 yards and three touchdowns to lead Detroit (1-0) to a victory over the Raiders before an announced crowd of 61,547 at McAfee Coliseum on Sept. 9, 2007. The Lions win for only the seventh time in their past 49 road games.
Kiffin, at 32, is the youngest head coach in the NFL modern era. The former USC coordinator is Oakland's fourth head coach in five years.
Quarterback Josh McCown, whom Kiffin chose to start the season opener over former Viking and Dolphin Daunte Culpepper, throws for 313 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
The Lions score 17 points off of three Oakland turnovers.
The Raiders score all their points in a span of 8 minutes, 21 seconds. The instant offense consists of 18 plays for 159 yards. McCown throws touchdown passes to Ronald Curry (4 yards) and Justin Griffith (7 yards) and LaMont Jordan scores on a 12-yard run.
Oakland drops its fifth straight season opener and second straight at home.
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS:
QB Jon Kitna — The former Seahawk and Bengal dissects Oakland's defense with a 26-of-39 passing performance for 289 yards and three TDs with two interceptions for a 102.7 efficiency rating.
Lions wide receivers — Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, Calvin Johnson and Shaun McDonald torch the Oakland defense for a combined 19 catches for 232 yards.
DT Shaun Rogers — Continually disrupts Oakland's offensive line and also blocks a Sebastian Janikowski field goal attempt from 50 yards.
DE Dewayne White — Sets up 10 Lions points with an interception and fumble recovery.
WR Ronald Curry — Has 10 catches for 133 yards, including a 4-yard TD catch in the third quarter.
RB LaMont Jordan — Contributes 159 combined yards (70 rushing and 89 receiving on nine catches).
QB Josh McCown — Is 30-of-40 passing for 313 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in his first start (with Arizona) since 2005.
MLB Kirk Morrison — Stops a Lions drive with an end zone interception and has nine tackles.
KEY STAT:
The Raiders surrender 284 passing yards after leading the league in pass defense (150.9 yards per game) in the 2006 season.
TURNING POINT:
With the Lions trailing 21-20, Shaun McDonald catches a 13-yard pass from Jon Kitna on third-and-nine from the Oakland 45. On the next play, McDonald makes a 32-yard catch for the go-ahead touchdown with 4:15 remaining.
THEY SAID IT:
"It just makes me sick. I dwell more on the negatives right now, the turnovers and the things like that. Those are the things that I go over and over in my mind."
Raiders QB Josh McCown
"Fans have the right to their opinions. After the third touchdown in a row they weren't chanting for Daunte (Culpepper) anymore."
Raiders coach Lane Kiffin
"In the fourth quarter, when it got loud, we didn't blink. We kept executing and doing what we needed to do."
Lions QB Jon Kitna
BY THE NUMBERS:
3: Missed field goals (50, 46 and 57 yards) by Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski.
17: Consecutive field goals by Detroit's Jason Hanson, who is 3-for-3 on field goal attempts against Oakland during the 2007 season opener.
19: Fourth-quarter points allowed by the Raiders.
232:44 Raiders touchdown drought, which ends on Ronald Curry's 4-yard TD pass late in the third quarter. The drought of 232 minutes, 44 seconds dates back to Oakland's 27-10 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 10, 2006.
DID YOU KNOW?:
Lane Kiffin continues a trend of new Raiders coaches losing their first game. Joe Bugel (1997), Jon Gruden (1998), Bill Callahan (2003), Norv Turner (2004) and Art Shell (2006) also dropped their first game as Raiders coach. Mike White (1995) was the last Raiders coach to win his first game.
The Lions end a three-game losing streak to the Raiders in Oakland. The Raiders won games in 1974, 1978 and 1996.
The Raiders' LaMont Jordan (34) is tackled
by Lions linebacker Ernie Sims (50).
