September 16, 2009
NFL- San Diego Beats Oakland in Season Opener
By Ally White
After a strong start in their game against the San Diego Chargers, the Oakland Raiders were unable to handle their lead and lost again to their longtime rivals 24-29 last Monday in Oakland. It was obvious that the Raiders’ offense and defense were dominant through most of the game. But, by the end of the game, the Chargers slipped from behind to take a lead with just 18 seconds left in the game.
The game marks the Raiders’ seventh straight loss in a season opener, including last year’s 41-14 against Denver and 2006’s even worse 27-0 routing by San Diego. It is also the Raiders’ 12th consecutive loss against the Chargers.
The Raiders outplayed the Chargers for much of the night; however, quarterback JaMarcus Russell made too many mistakes, as did the defense, for Oakland to keep the game. The team did manage to take control of the action in the first half of the game with great running and great plays, with Russell going 8-of-18 for 111 yards, making 1 interception and a earning a 41.7 rating.
By the middle of the second quarter, however, events took a turn for the worst for the Northern California team. The running game was no longer anywhere near 8 yards. It seemed that as soon as Russell threw the ball, the Chargers would pick it up.
Then, with 2:34 to play, Russell threw a pass to Louis Murphy in a 57-yarder on fourth-and-fourteen that gave the Raiders a 20-17 lead. The Chargers took a timeout with only seconds left to make a play. No one expected an easy play after the timeout, but Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers ended the game with Darren Sproles’ 5-yard run with 18 seconds left, closing the game and giving the Chargers the victory.
Rivers was an important player for the Chargers in the fourth quarter, completing 10 of 12 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown, making two scoring drives and wrapping the last one for 89 yards.
At the end of the game, despite the loss to the Chargers, Raiders head coach Tom Cable discussed his satisfaction with his team’s performance. The game, he thought, would be a learning experience and provide motivation for the next matches, although the disappointment of a loss proved inevitable.
“Let's face it. You feel good about playing that game last night the way we played it against that particular opponent. That's all fine and dandy, but at the end of the day we didn't get it done at the end, and that's the next step. I think we really tasted it. Certainly going into this thing our expectations are high and they should be, but now we have to learn how to close out and win those close games," Cable said.
Chargers head coach Norv Turner acknowledged that the Raiders entered the game a stronger team than in the last years and a difficult one to beat. However, he was confident in San Diego’s ability to attain victory.
“I knew going into the game after watching the Raiders and having played them that it was going to be a very physical game. I knew they were going to give us their best shot. I’m proud of the way our guys stayed in that game with the adversity that we had. To go into Oakland on Monday night in that environment and come out with a win is exciting to me,” Turner said.
About the Author
Ally White has been a prominent writer on daily NFL Football Season reviews, sports news and sports betting industry updates for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.