Raiders continue winning ways with win over Titans

The Raiders and Titans both came into the game with only two wins this season. While the Raiders added Randy Moss and LaMont Jordan, Oakland had yet to produce up to expectations. The Titans came into the game thinned by injuries in the secondary and at receiver.

The game began on a sore note for Tennesse when defensive lineman took an ill-advised shot at Oakland quarterback Kerry Collins to draw a personal foul penalty on the initial Oakland possession. A few plays later, Collins hit receiver Jerry Porter, who spun away from cornerback Pacman Jones to make the score 7-0 in favor of the Raiders.

The Titans went three on out on their first possession, and left the door open for Oakland to extend their lead.

After big runs by Alvis Whitted and LaMont Jordan, the Raiders found themselves deep in Tennessee territory. But the Titans stiffened up and the Raiders had to settle for a Sebastian Janikowski field goal that upped the score to 10-0.

The Titans went three-and-out again and the Raiders then further extended their lead to 17-0 when Jordan scored on a screen pass from 18 yards out after a drive filled with penalties on both teams.

The quarter would end with the Raiders running up 181 yards of offense with 11 first downs while the Titans would be held without a first down and only 19 yards of offense.

The Titans would answer on a Steve McNair to Courtney Roby 19-yard pass play. But the extra point attempt failed and the Raiders would still hole a 17-6 lead.

And the Raiders would shoot themselves in the foot with a penalty that negated a nice Chris Carr return and then compound it by going three-and-out with Randy Moss on the bench.

The Titans would take the gift and after a solid Pacman Jones punt return, running back Chris Brown scored on a 38 yard run to make the score 17-12 after the two-point conversion failed.

After the Raiders went three-and-out, the Titans looked to have taken the lead when Jones returned a Shane Lechler punt 82 yards for a score. But thanks to a penalty on Tank Williams, they found themselves backed up deep in their own end instead. Warren Sapp would knock the ball loose on a sack of McNair and Jarrod Cooper would score for the Raiders to make the score 24-12.

The Titans would drive inside the Oakland 20-yard line with under a minute to go in the half and close to within 24-15 on a 39-yard Rob Bironas field goal.

The Titans would close the gap when Kerry Collins would revert back to his 2004 form on a third and one and throw the ball right into the waiting hands of Reynaldo Hill, who returned the gift 52 yards for the touchdown. The early Christmas present took place with less than 20 seconds remaining in the half and made the score 24-22.

In the third quarter, the Titans tried to shoot themselves in the foot on their opening drive on more than once occasion, but the inept Oakland pass defense allowed them to bail themselves out each time until McNair fumbled for the second time in the game and Bobby Hamilton recovered for the Raiders.

The Raiders moved the ball inside the Tennessee 20-yard and dodged a bullett when Rien Long knocked the ball loose after hitting Collins. The Oakland drive would stall and the Raiders would settle for a 32-yard Janikowski field goal to make the score 27-22.

The Raiders apparently had the Titans stopped on the ensuing drive but a stupid penalty for roughing the passer on Derrick Burgess kept the Tennessee drive alive. The bad penalty coupled with a lack of coverage and the inability of the Raiders to put consistent pressure on McNair helped the Titans sustain a 15 play, 84 yard drive that culminated with a 24-yard Bironas field goal to make the score 27-25.

With under seven minutes to go in the contest, the Raiders appeared to turn to LaMont Jordan to try and put the game on ice without risk. But then Collins hit Jerry Porter with a short pass, Pacman Jones blew a half-hearted tackle and the Raiders had a 34-25 lead on the 44-yard pass play.

The touchdown would seal the fate of the Titans, who would not be able to move the ball late in the game.

Jerry Porter would finish with 123 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Raiders. Kerry Collins would amass 238 yards passing with three touchdown passes.

Warren Sapp would lead the Oakland defense with an unofficial 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

For the Titans, Chris Brown rushed for 97 yards with one score and McNair passed for 229 yards with one touchdown toss.