Perhaps Jerry, not Joey, Porter should have been the one guaranteeing a win.
On Sunday, the Oakland Raiders traveled to Miami, rushed for 299 yards
and left with a 35-17 victory, their second of the season.
Dolphins linebacker Joey "We will win" Porter finished the game with a
whopping four tackles. On the opposite side of the field, Raiders
wideout Jerry Porter hauled in three passes for 52 yards and two
touchdowns. Advantage: Jerry Porter and the Raiders.
The story in Miami, though, was ex-Dolphins quarterback Daunte
Culpepper, who totaled five touchdowns and no turnovers in his first
start with Oakland.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder rushed for three touchdowns, including a
diving 5-yarder in the third quarter where he got up, pointed to his
right knee and signaled "A-OK" with his fingers. It was a sight every
Dolphin fan didn't want to see, but one Raider Nation had to love.
Aside from three rushing TDs, Culpepper also threw for two scores,
including a 27-yarder to Porter midway through the fourth quarter to
give Oakland a two-score, 28-17 lead.
Much of Oakland's success through the air, though, came as a result of a
tremendous rushing game.
Starting running back LaMont Jordan left the game with a back injury
with 38 seconds remaining in the first half and never returned. Before
then, however, the 230-pounder had already racked up 74 yards on the
ground on 4.9 yards per carry. In his place, fifth-year halfback Justin
Fargas finished off the game and carried the ball 22 times for a
career-high 179 yards (8.1 yards per carry).
Defensively, it was, for the fourth straight week, Oakland's linebackers
who stole the show.
Despite no mid-week guarantees, bold quotes or predictions prior to the
game, Oakland's top two LBs, Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard, combined
for eight solo tackles and an interception. The pair of young defenders
now has 53 tackles and six interceptions in four games.
Also, cornerback Stanford Routt, who shared time with Fabian Washington
for the second straight week, registered an interception, his second of
the year. Routt picked off a deep pass midway through the second quarter
intended for wideout Chris Chambers, who was held to just 21 receiving
yards on the game.
The last time Oakland scored 35 or more points was on Oct. 23, 2005, in
a 38-17 win over the Buffalo Bills.
Next week, the 2-2 Raiders will head home for a Week 5 bye.
In two weeks, running back Dominic Rhodes will return from suspension,
when the team matches up with the division rival San Diego Chargers, who
are off to a surprising, disappointing 1-3 start.
• Raiders' Week 4 duds:
2. Mike Williams: Williams put his finger up in celebration on a 48-yard
Justin Fargas scamper. The problem? Fargas was still running, and as a
result, Williams missed a block that could have possibly sealed a touchdown.
1. Johnnie Lee Higgins: The 23-year-old rookie lost a fumble off a punt
in the third quarter that resulted in a Dolphins touchdown. He was
replaced by Chris Carr on the next punt.
• Raiders' Week 4 studs:
3. Daunte Culpepper: After his third touchdown of the day, Culpepper ran
to the sideline and gave his signature "roll" taunt. No. 8 rolled all
day; he was single-handedly responsible for each of the Raiders' five
touchdowns.
2. LaMont Jordan/Justin Fargas: The two running backs split the game in
the half and finished with a combined 37 carries for 253 yards. That's
close to 7.0 yards per rush.
1. Offensive line: This isn't the same line as last year. Oakland's
front five gave up just one sack on the day and led the way for nearly
300 yards on the ground.
