Raiders snap losing streak with shutout and Janikowski’s leg

Photo by Bob Carr

Originally published on SBReport.net on Dec. 16, 2012

The Raiders were able to stop their longest losing streak since 2007 by beating the Kansas City Chiefs without scoring a touchdown.

All it took was five field goals from Sebastian Janikowski (20, 50, 57, 30 and 41 yards) and a shut out to beat the the lowly Kansas City Chiefs 15-0 on Sunday at O.Co Coliseum.

While it wasn’t always pretty, Raiders head coach Dennis Allen knows you have to take a win when you can.

“Obviously we want to score touchdowns and not be able to get field goals,” Allen said following the game. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to win football games and we were able to do that today.”

With Dewayne Bowe out and Brady Quinn starting, the Raiders shut down Jamaal Charles and the Chiefs running game. The result was a Chiefs offense that had only 10 rushing yards, and only 119 yards of total offense all together. Charles had nine carries for 10 yards while Quinn finished 18/32 for 136 yards and one interception.

I think we were able to play a real physical game,” Raiders defensive tackle Desmond Bryant said. “We play them twice a year and we kind of know what they’re trying to do in the running game and we were able to go out there and execute and stop the run.”

The Chiefs’ inept offense didn’t record a first down until the third quarter when utility player Dexter McCluster hauled in an eight-yard reception for the first down. The same drive resulted in the Chiefs’ first plays executed in the Raiders’ territory.

To make matters worse for the Chiefs, head coach Romeo Crennel went for it on fourth down on three separate occasions, not converting a single fourth down.

Down just 12-0 in the third quarter on the Raiders four-yard line, Crennel decided to leave the offense on the field. Crennel stuck with his decision even after a delay of game, but Raiders defensive end Lamarr Houston got in the backfield and forced Quinn to check the ball down short of the endzone.

The Raiders defense recorded four sacks on Quinn and consistently applied pressure on him to force him to dump the ball off short.


“I like to think that we play a pretty physical brand of football and I think against a team with that kind of running game it kind of plays to our strengths, so we were able to go out there and play really physical and it gave us the edge on their o-line,” Bryant said.

Oakland was able to get the running game going while the Chiefs struggled. Darren McFadden surpassed the 100-yard plateau with a 110 yard rushing effort. It was the first time McFadden rushed for over 100-yards since he last played the Chiefs on Oct. 28. Fellow running back Mike Goodson was able to give McFadden a break by having a big day of his own by rushing for 89 yards on just 13 carries.

“It gives DMac a break. He takes a lot of carries, a lot of hits,” Goodson said of his ability to spell McFadden. “And once he’s out there fresh, he can go the distance on any run.”

Palmer did what he need to by protecting the ball and throwing for 182 yards on 18/29 passing with no turnovers and no touchdowns.

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor officially saw his first regular season action in the NFL, handing the ball off twice and throwing an incomplete pass. Pryor would not return as it was decided beforehand that he would only play one drive.

On a different side of the story, a pigeon seemed to be unable to fly and spent nearly the entire first half marching around midfield. Players from both teams were seen trying to encourage the pigeon to leave the field but it wouldn’t budge.

That thing is in between the defensive end and outside linebacker, I mean, that’s kind of deadly for that thing,” left guard Mike Brisiel said laughing. “I was trying to shoo it along and then I get bood for it. I turned around as soon as I heard the boos and was like ‘holy …’, they’re watching that thing.”

The pigeon was eventually escorted off of the playing field during halftime.

Oakland finishes up the season with two road games starting with the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.

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