by Dennis J. GeorgatosFiled under: Chiefs, Raiders, AFC West
Just a week removed from his first NFL start, Raiders rookie wide receiver Jacoby Ford made the critical plays that helped transform the Oakland Raiders into something they haven't been for a long time -- a contending team.Ford returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown for the Raiders' first points and he made two huge catches setting up the tying and winning field goals by Sebastian Janikowski as the Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 in overtime on Sunday.
The victory snapped the Chiefs' seven-game winning streak in Oakland and pulled Oakland to within a half-game of the front-running Chiefs in the AFC West. The Raiders won their third straight game for the first time since 2002 and improved to 5-4. It's also their first winning record this late in the season since 2002, when they put together a Super Bowl run. They've had seven consecutive losing seasons since then, and have never had more than five wins in a season in that span. They've already got their fifth win this season and they've got seven more to play.
Some thoughts on the game:
o. The Raiders tied the game on Janikowski's 41-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in regulation. The kick was set up by a great catch by Ford for a 29-yard gain. It looked like cornerback Brandon Flowers had made a leaping interception of Jason Campbell's pass but on the way down, Ford tussled for the ball, ripping it out of his hands and hanging on for the catch.
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o. A third Raiders' turnover figured in the Chiefs coming back to take the lead on Matt Cassel's 20-yard rocket to Dwayne Bowe for a touchdown with 6:13 remaining for a 20-17 lead. There appeared to be some confusion in the Raiders secondary with Bowe being covered by a safety instead of a corner on the play. The go-ahead drive was preceded by a controversial fumble on a punt return by the Raiders' Nick Miller. After a huge scrum, the officials determined that Kansas City's Verran Tucker recovered at the Raiders' 30-yard line. It appeared on replays that Miller was down by contact before losing the ball but the Raiders had used up their allotment of challenges and couldn't ask for a replay review.
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