A funny thing happened over at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. No it wasn’t a dream sequence nor was it anything that came from a Hollywood script. No way, no how. What happened, you’re wondering? The Oakland Raiders – poster children of the dysfunctional set – in their game against the Philadelphia Eagles, actually put together a game of football that probably made team owner Al Davis even smile – not that he has had much to smile about lately.
Quarterback JaMarcus Russell finally had a decent effort while the Raiders’ usually anemic rushing attack woke up, to the tune of 116 yards. They even played some defense, holding the Eagles to 283 total yards of offense. the end result? Oakland picked up their second win of the season as they held off Philadelphia 13-9.
The game, by and large, was a game of attrition as the end zone was visited only once during the entire 60 minutes of play, which was due to either an inspired effort by the Raiders defense or simply a lackluster effort by Eagles QB Donovan McNabb. Your choice. Nonetheless, the Raiders – courtesy of a 86-yard Russell-to-Zach Miller TD pass and a 29-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal – managed to go into halftime leading the Eagles 10-6.
The third quarter was scoreless and the final period was much like the first half – a battle of field position and ball control – with the only scoring taking place in the final quarter on a 46-yard FG by Janikowski and a 45-yard FG by Eagles kicker David Akers.
The Raiders managed to accumulate 300+ yards of total offense as Russell had his best game this season, going 17-of-28 for 224 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions while McNabb went 22-of-46 for 269 yards. The Raiders outrushed the Eagles 116-67, led by Justin Fargas as he ran for 87 yards while Brian Westbrook rushed for only 50 yards, although he also caught 9 passes for 91 yards.
Miller led all Raiders receivers with 6 receptions for 139 yards and a score while WR Gary Russell caught 5 passes for 55 yards; DeSean Jackson led all Eagles receivers with 6 receptions for 94 yards while TE Brad Celek caught 4 passes for 75 yards. Oakland (2-4) will now remain at home as they host the New York Jets next Sunday while Philadelphia (3-2) look to revert to their winning ways as they visit Washington, D.C. to take on the Redskins next Monday night.
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