OAKLAND — What's next? Dogs living with cats? Republicans and Democrats
united? Raiders and Broncos fans mingling in the parking lot?
Just when you and everyone else are about to leave the Raiders for dead,
they up and play a game that stirs the senses.
The Raiders' all-around impressive 27-16 victory over the red-hot
Houston Texans on Sunday had those who braved the cold and rain at the
Coliseum roaring their approval and likely wondering if this was a
one-game aberration or a harbinger of things to come.
"Obviously, it lends itself toward a more positive vibe heading into
next year," Raiders coach Tom Cable said, "but, at the same time, we
want to go in to Tampa (on Sunday) and put a great effort on the field
so we can back it up. As I mentioned before, we have struggled to do
that. So this would be very important for us."
The Raiders snapped a three-game losing streak and won for only the
second time in two months. They improved to 4-11 and assured themselves
a third-place finish in the AFC West.
Perhaps more important, the Raiders showed they are capable of beating a
good team and playing well in all phases of the game from start to
finish, regardless of who is on the field.
The Raiders played without their top four wide receivers against a
Texans team riding a four-game winning streak on the strength of the
league's third-ranked offense.
The teams played to a standstill through the first half. In the past,
this was the kind of game where the opponent seized control and the
Raiders found a way to lose.
Not this time. In a span of eight plays, the Raiders went from a 13-13
tie to a 14-point lead.
Second-year wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins almost single-handedly
turned a close game into a one-sided affair. He scored on a 29-yard
touchdown reception and an 80-yard punt return within 4 minutes, 19
seconds of each other midway through the third quarter.
"I feel like I'm explosive," Higgins said. "Like, you never know what
can happen. 'It looks like he's tackled, it looks like he's down. Oh,
he's gone. It looks like he can't catch it, like he can't do this. There
he goes.' So, I always look at myself as a playmaker."
Cable and managing general partner Al Davis had ample time to look at
numerous young players Sunday as a means of gauging their worthiness for
inclusion on next season's roster and aboard the rebuilding express.
What Cable and Davis saw was nothing short of inspiring. Higgins, rookie
wide receiver Chaz Schilens, rookie running back Darren McFadden and
second-year tight end Zach Miller combined for 15 receptions for 219
yards and two touchdowns.
Second-year quarterback JaMarcus Russell had what Cable called his best
game as a professional. One-time backup defensive backs Chris Johnson
and Rashad Baker and former starter Stanford Routt contributed key plays
on defense and special teams.
"We're building something here," Raiders middle linebacker Kirk Morrison
said. "Look at all the young guys who made plays out there. It takes
time with young guys, but we're making progress and you see what we're
capable of doing."
Time will tell if the Raiders caught the Texans on a bad day, if the
Raiders benefited from the law of averages or if this game was a
watershed moment.
For now, they are content savoring the moment, if only as a way of
forgetting for a short time the bad memories of the first 14 games.
Yet, there were enough signs that signaled Sunday's victory meant more
than a meaningless tally in the victory column.
They won this late in December for the first time since the 2002 season.
They rebounded from back-to-back blowout losses. And they did it with
several players who weren't counted upon to contribute much this season.
"Those guys played like they're supposed to play," Cable said. "As I
just spoke in the locker room, 'Be very proud of what you just did.
You're 1-0 (Sunday).' That has always been our deal. And you did it the
right way. You played the right way."
