FLASH RECAP:
Bruce Gradkowski rallies Oakland to a victory over St. Louis before an announced crowd of 48,396 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sept. 19, 2010.
Gradkowski, who replaces an ineffective Jason Campbell at the start of the third quarter, leads the Raiders on three scoring drives for 13 points. Gradkowski's 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Louis Murphy with 6:07 left in the third quarter gives Oakland (1-1) its first lead at 13-7.
Darren McFadden rushes for 145 yards on 30 carries and Sebastian Janikowski kicks three fields goals (38, 41 & 22 yards) for the Raiders.
Sam Bradford throws two touchdown passes to Mark Clayton for the Rams (0-2).
The Raiders win a home opener for the first time since 2004.
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS:
QB Bruce Gradkowski — Engineers three second-half scoring drives for 13 points to erase a 7-3 Raiders deficit. Gradkowski finishes 11-of-22 passing for 162 yards and a touchdown with an interception.
RB Darren McFadden — Has 145 rushing yards on 30 carries, his second 100-yard rushing game as a Raider.
WRs Louis Murphy & Darrius Heyward-Beyward — Combine for 12 catches for 170 yards and a TD. Murphy has six catches for 90 yards, including a 4-yard scoring pass late in the third quarter. Heyward-Bay has six catches for 80 yards, including five receptions during the second half.
QB Sam Bradford — Is 14-of-25 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
WR Mark Clayton — Has touchdown receptions of 7 and 17 yards.
MLB James Laurinatias — Contributes a sack and a game-high nine solo tackles.
KEY STATS:
The Raiders hold the Rams to 75 rushing yards after surrendering 205 rushing yards the previous game against the Tennessee Titans. The Rams’ Steven Jackson has 56 rushing yards on his first 8 carries but only 19 yards on his final 11.
The Raiders outgain the Rams, 404 to 210, in total yards. Oakland outgains St. Louis, 274 yards to 56, in the second half.
THEY SAID IT:
Raiders QB Bruce Gradkowski
"I want to be the starter. In my mind, I am the starter. But that’s how you have to approach it if you’re the backup, if you’re the third-stringer, no matter who you are. We don’t play this game to be backups. We play this game to be starters in this league and win championships, and that’s what we’re here to do."
"You have to play a little bit smarter. We were killing ourselves. We had a few penalties on a few big drives, and it hurt us."
Rams DT Fred Robbins
BY THE NUMBERS:
6: Receptions by Oakland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey, who had only 9 catches as a rookie during the 2009 season.
20: Combined penalties on the Rams and Raiders. St. Louis has 12 penalties for 90 yards compared to Oakland’s 8 penalties for 92 yards.
27: Rams losses in their past 28 regular-season games.
DID YOU KNOW?:
The announced attendance of 48,396 is the smallest crowd for a Raiders home opener since 1998 when they beat the New York Giants 20-17 before 40,545 fans.
The Raiders' Darren McFadden burned
the Rams defense for 145 rushing yards.
By Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch
