The Oakland Raiders gave their fans who came out for the first sellout in more than a year plenty to celebrate.Jason Campbell threw a 47-yard pass to rookie Jacoby Ford in overtime to set up a 33-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski that gave the Raiders their biggest win in eight years, a 23-20 victory over the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Campbell and Ford hooked up on a 29-yard pass in the closing seconds of regulation to set up Janikowski’s tying 41-yard field goal. The Raiders (5-4) then won it in overtime for their most significant victory since winning the 2002 AFC championship. Oakland hasn’t had a winning record at any time since being 2-1 in 2004 and not this late since ‘02.
By winning their third straight game for the first time since that season, Oakland heads into its bye week just a half-game behind Kansas City (5-3) in the division.
The Chiefs won the overtime toss but were unable to generate a first down and the Raiders started their first drive at their 38. Campbell then hit Ford for a deep, diving catch on the first play. Ford, a fourth-round pick, caught six passes for 148 yards and also returned the opening kick of the second half for a touchdown.
After a short run and a timeout by the Chiefs, Janikowski came on for the winning kick. As soon as it sailed through the uprights, the Raiders poured out on the field and celebrated with the first sellout crowd in Oakland since last year’s opener.
The talk all week was about the revival of a rivalry that was one of the sport’s best for a decade starting in the 1960s. While the play was sloppy at times with five turnovers, 27 penalties and two blown fake punts, the intensity was top-notch.
The Raiders trailed 20-17 when they took over at their 25 with 2:06 to play. Campbell converted two third downs and then hit Ford on a 29-yard pass to the 22 in the closing seconds. Oakland rushed to the line and spiked the ball with 7 seconds left, setting the stage for Janikowski’s tying 41-yard field goal.
Kansas City had taken a 20-17 lead on a 20-yard pass from Matt Cassel to Dwayne Bowe with 6:13 to play. That score was set up when Nick Miller muffed a punt and Kansas City’s Verran Tucker recovered at the Raiders 30. It appeared as if Miller’s knee might have been down before the ball came loose, but coach Tom Cable had already used his two challenges so Kansas City kept the ball.
The Raiders had gained just 54 yards with their only score coming on Ford’s 94-yard kickoff return to open the second half when they took over trailing 13-7 early in the third quarter.
The offense finally got going as Campbell hit Ford on a 16-yard pass and Darren McFadden followed with a 34-yard run. A 16-yard pass to McFadden on third-and-4 moved the ball to the 2 and two plays later Campbell found tackle Khalif Barnes for a touchdown that gave Oakland a 14-13 lead.
The Raiders tacked on a 23-yard field goal by Janikowski after Campbell found Ford on a key third-down conversion for 37 yards. Campbell scrambled to keep the play alive and Ford made the catch at the 7 while falling down.
Both teams opened up the playbooks early, with the Raiders running four direct snaps to McFadden in the first quarter and both teams failing to convert fake punts.
After Rock Cartwright was stopped on Oakland’s try. The Chiefs appeared to score on a slant pass from Cassel to Tony Moeaki on third-and-2 from the 6.
Cable challenged the call and won it when replays showed Moeaki’s knee went down at the 1. Instead of giving the Chiefs a first down, the officials originally called it fourth and goal from the 1. After a holding call on Kansas City, the officials corrected the down and the Chiefs had first-and-goal at the 11.
Tucker made an acrobatic catch in the back of the end zone on the next play to give Kansas City the lead. Cable challenged that call and lost it, meaning Oakland was out of challenges with 14:31 left in the half.
The Chiefs added a field goal from Ryan Succop after McFadden lost a fumble to make it 10-0 and could have had an even bigger lead at the half but had a touchdown and field goal erased by penalties. Cassel also threw an interception in the end zone in the final minute of the half.
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