NFL Game of Week:Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
By Editorial Staff
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders played a rain soaked thriller with both teams playing sloppy early and aggressive late. But in the end the Raiders edged the Chiefs with a 33-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski to give them the 23-20 win and improve their record to 5-4. As the Raiders celebrated the victory over their division rivals most forgot the sloppy play of the first half.
During the first half the Raiders couldn’t get anything going offensively and looked out of sync causing many penalties. By the time the second quarter concluded the Chiefs were leading 10-0 and all looked bleak for the Raiders. But as the second half began rookie WR Jacoby Ford stepped on the scene and set the tone for the remainder of the game.
To read more by Jesse Zamarripa visit www.sportsbyjesse.com
Ford, a 4th round pick in the 2010 draft, was virtually unknown before Sundays contest but quickly made himself famous among the Raider Nation with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to begin the third quarter. On the next play the Raiders recovered a fumble from Chiefs kick returner Javier Arenas and the comeback was on.
The remainder of the game was decided in the air by key plays from Raider QB Jason Campbell who finished with 19 completions on 33 attempts for 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He connected with Ford at the end of regulation for a 29-yard gain to put the Raiders in field goal range. Janikowski promptly cashed the completion in for a game tying field goal to send the game into overtime with the score 20-20.
The Chiefs won the coin flip and elected to receive the ball to begin overtime play but after 3 plays they were forced to punt. After the punt Campbell connected with Ford on the first play for a 47-yard completion placing Janikowski in field goal range. Janikowski connected for a 33-yard field goal and the celebration was on.
Ford finished with 6 receptions for 148-yards and 158-yards in kick returning for a total of 306-yards for the day. Raider RB Darren McFadden finished with 17 carries for 89-yards and had a strong 34-yard run. The Chiefs dropped their record to 5-3 as division rival San Diego improved their record to 4-5 and the Raiders to 5-4.