Great Raider Games

These games are not in any order

1. AFC divisional game, Dec. 23, 1972. The Immaculate Reception game. Both teams exchanged turnovers in this defensive struggle.  Oakland coach John Madden replaced Daryle LaMonica with Kenny Stabler after halftime but Stabler could do no better against the Steeler defense.  Trailing 6-0 Raider quarterback Ken Stabler would end the dominance of the Steeler defense by slithering his way for a 30 yard touchdown run.  Pittsburgh would get the ball back with just 22 seconds left. Steelers running back Franco Harris scooped up a pass off the helmet of either Raiders safety Jack Tatum or Steelers running back Frenchy Fuqua -- no one is certain which player it hit off of -- on a fourth-and-10 play and took it in for the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of the game in a 13-7 victory.

2. AFC divisional game, Dec. 21, 1974. Raiders running back Clarence Davis snared a pass from Kenny Stabler, amid four Dolphins defenders in the final minute of the fourth quarter, for a touchdown that gave the Raiders a 28-26 victory and a berth in the AFC championship. Linebacker Phil Villapiano sealed the victory with an interception of Bob Griese in the final seconds.

3. AFC divisional game, Dec. 24, 1977. Tight end Dave Casper made a brilliant over-the-shoulder catch of a pass from Kenny Stabler to set up the Raiders' game-winning touchdown in double overtime. The Raiders' 37-31 victory over the Baltimore Colts is the longest game in franchise history and the third longest in NFL history.

4. AFC championship game, Jan. 4, 1976. Steelers defenders prevented Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch from going out of bounds after catching a pass at the Steelers' 15-yard line. Time ran out before the Raiders could run another play, and they lost 16-10 in the AFC championship game for the second straight year at Three Rivers Stadium.

5. AFC divisional game, Jan. 4, 1981. Raiders defensive back Mike Davis intercepted a Brian Sipe pass in the back of the end zone with 41 seconds left in the game to preserve a 14-12 victory at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. The Browns opted to go for a touchdown instead of a short-range field goal, because windy conditions at that end of the field resulted in several missed field-goal attempts earlier in the game.

6. AFC divisional game, Dec. 18, 1976. Quarterback Kenny Stabler scored on a bootleg behind left guard Gene Upshaw with 10 seconds left in the game to give the Raiders a 24-21 victory over the Patriots. A roughing-the-passer penalty kept the drive alive. This also is the game that spawned the phrase "two-minute warning."

7. Super Bowl 18, Jan, 22, 1984. Linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted a Joe Theismann screen pass, intended for running back Joe Washington, at the Redskins' 12-yard line with 12 seconds left in the first half, and returned it 5 yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders an insurmountable 21-3 lead. They went on to win 38-9. The Redskins ran the same play against Oakland earlier in the season. The Raiders scored touchdowns on Special Teams, Offense and Defense.

8. Super Bowl 15, Jan. 25, 1981. Unheralded linebacker Rod Martin snuffed out three promising drives by Philadelphia in keying a 27-10 victory at the Superdome. Martin's feat is a Super Bowl record that still stands today. The Raiders scored 10 points on drives set up by Martin's interceptions. Running back Kenny King set the tempo for the Raiders' victory by taking a third-and-four pass from Jim Plunkett and racing 80 yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. He caught only one other pass in the game. Plunkett threw three touchdown passes in the victory.

9. AFC Championship Game, December 26, 1976. The Raiders finally got revenge for the two-straight AFC title games against the Pittsburgh Steelers. This time Steeler running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier sat out with injuries.  But they didn't play defense as the Raiders rushed for 157 yards with three running backs gaining over 40 yards.  The Raiders found themselves in a early 10-0 lead by capitalizing off a Bradshaw interception and a blocked punt.  The Steelers would bounch back with a Terry Bradshaw touchdown pass but after that it was all Oakland.  Ken Stabler would lead the Raiders on a 72-yard touchdown drive which gave Oakland a 17-7 halftime lead.  After intermission Ken Stabler another touchdown pass and the Raiders then advanced to Super Bowl XI with a 24-7 victory.

10. AFC Championship Game, January 1, 1978. This game created the need for instant replay. Broncos running back Rob Lyle fumbles at the Raider two yard line and the Raiders recovery was overturned by the officals.  The Broncos scored a touchdown on the next play and the Broncos went up 14-3.  Dave Casper caught 5 passes and 2 scores but Denver WR Haven Moses caught 5 passes for 168 yards and a 74 yard touchdown.

11. AFC Divisional Playoff Game, January 13, 1991. This is the Bo Jackson injury game.  Jackson rushed for 77 yards on just 6 carries but his 6th carry ended his promising career forever.  However, running back Marcus Allen replaced him and showed flashes of his former self as he rushed for 140 yards and allowed QB Jay Schroeder to play action pass for the game clinching touchdown. The Bengals fell to Los Angeles 20-10. The following Sunday the Raiders would fall to Buffalo 51-3

12. AFC Wild Card Game, January 9, 1994. After losing the AFC Championship game 51-3 in 1991 and a wildcard playoff game to the Chiefs a year later the Silver and Black had not won a playoff game or appeared in the playoffs since.  However, the Raiders facing do or die in their season finale to the Broncos won the game in overtime.  One week later the teams met again in this Wild Card matchup which saw Raider quarterback Jeff Hostetler fire 3 touchdown passes and throw for 294 yards.  Running Back Napoleon McCallum had his greatest game as a pro rushing for 81 yards and three touchdowns including a 26 yarder.  Denver fell to Los Angeles 42-24.

13. AFC Championship Game, December 29, 1974. The Raiders led 10-3 going into the fourth quarter. However they were held to just 29 yards rushing on the day in comparison to 224 yards rushing in the Steelers favor.  Franco Harris reeled off 111 yards and scored two of Pittsburgh three fourth quarter touchdowns as the Steelers rolled 24-13.  The Steelers overcame 5 turnovers on the day.

14. AFC Championship Game, January 8, 1984. Marcus Allen had one of his greatest games as a pro as he gained 154 yards rushing, 62 yards receiving and scored one touchdown reception as the Raiders rolled Seattle 30-14.  The Raider defensive backfield consisting of CB Lester Hayes and CB Mike Haynes held Seattle wideout Steve Largent to just 2 receptions for 25 yards and 0 touchdowns.  Largent would go on to become the NFL's leading receiver in receptions, yardage and touchdowns at the time of his retirement.

15. AFC Divisional Playoff Game, January 5, 1986. The Raiders went into this game with a 12-4 record and the visiting Patriots looked like they would be easy pickings.  However Patriots running back Craig James rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown.  Los Angeles turned the ball over 6 times and did not score in the second half.  The Raiders could not defeat New England despite Marcus Allens 121 yards rushing 1 TD performance.  The Pats won 27-20.

16. Regular Season. September 24, 1984. This was one of the Raiders greatest Monday night games.  Marcus Allen's fourth touchdown of the game, a 1 yard run with 45 seconds left, lifted the Raiders over the Chargers. Allen also had scoring runs of 1 and 2 yards, and caught a 30 yard touchdown pass from Jim Plunkett.  He overshadowed the performances of San Diego's Ernest Jackson, who gained 155 yards on 29 carries and Kellen Winslow, who had nine catches for 119 yards and 1 touchdown.  Raider tightend Todd Christrensen had 8 catches for 120 yards, wide receiver Cliff Branch added 94 yards on 6 catches and Allen had 109 total yards to go along with his four touchdowns.

17. Regular Season. September 16, 1974. Buffalo wide receiver Ahmad Rashad's second touchdown in the final two minutes lifted the Bills past John Madden's Raiders.  Rashad's first score came with 1:56 to go.  Buffalo seemed to have the game clinched but running back Jim Braxton fumbled the ball and Raider linebacker Art Thomas ran in for a touchdown to give Oakland a 20-14 lead with 1:15 to go.  Rashad then took a Joe Ferguson pass 33 yards to give the Bills the lead.  Oakland had one final chance to win it, but George Blanda missed a 50 yard field goal on the final play. Buffalo rushed for 200 yards and gained 306 total offensive yards.  After this game Oakland won 9 straight and easily won their division only to lose to Pittsburgh in the AFC Title game.

18. Regular Season. October 13, 1996.  The Raiders jumped out to a 34-0 lead into the third quarter before the Lions made the game more respectable in garbage time.  Raider quarterback Jeff Hostetler threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver James Jett and another to tight end Ricky Dudley as the Raiders won their second straight game.  Hostetler finished the day completing 27 of 38 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns.  The Raider defense held Lions superstar running back Barry Sanders to 36 rushing yards on nine carries.  The defense also intercepted 2 Scott Mitchell passes.

19. Regular Season. December 10, 1990.  In a classic Monday Night game in the Silverdome the Raiders outlasted the Lions in a shootout.  Running back Bo Jackson trimmed a 24-14 Lions lead with a 55 yard touchdown run.  Quarterback Jay Schroeder came out and fired two of his three touchdown passes in the second half to give Los Angeles a 35-24 lead.  Lions quarterback Rodney Peete would run for a six yard touchdown to narrow the lead 35-31.  The Raiders would get a key field goal late in the game to give the Raiders a 38-31 victory.  The Lions had Barry Sanders, the Raiders had Bo, Marcus Allen and Tim Brown to give this game 4 Heisman Trophy winners on field.

20. Regular Season. December 17, 1972.  In Oakland running back Clarence Davis scampered his way to a 45-yard touchdown run to give the Raiders a 28-21 victory over the Chicago Bears.  This would mark the first time that these storied franchise would face one another. Ken Stabler replaced LaMonica in the third quarter showed Raider fans a glimpse of the future as he helped guide Oakland to a win.

21. Regular Season September 26, 1999. In a classic matchup in Oakland the Raiders held the Bears to just 34 rushing yards and new starting quarterback Rich Gannon gave the Raiders fans hope as he completed 25 of 36 for 295 yards and two touchdowns.  Gannon also led the Raiders team with 47 yards rushing on just five carries.  Wide receiver Tim Brown caught nine passes for 121 yards and a score.  The Bears held a 17-14 lead as the fourth quarter began but Oakland would tie the game with a field goal and would get the win via a touchdown pass from Gannon to tight end Rickey Dudley.

22. Regular Season October 25, 1970. In the first meeting between the Steelers and the Raiders the Silver and Black would have to use a old man to get their eventual 31-14 victory.  Oakland held a 17-14 lead late in the first half only to see starting quarterback Daryle Lamonica leave with injury.  43-year old George Blanda would replace him and throw two touchdown passes to guise the Raiders to the victory.  Blanda would man the quarterback position for five straight weeks and help the Raiders win four with the other resulting in a tie versus the World Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

23. Regular Season November 17, 1968. "The Heidi Game" was a classic matchup between the NY Jets and the Oakland Raiders.  It was a thrilling, competitive game, a duel between quarterbacks Daryle Lamonica and Joe Namath with the lead see-sawing back and forth, but it was also running behind time.  With 65 seconds left in the game the Jets kicked a field goal to take a 32-29 lead as NBC switched to one of its network shows called "Heidi" instead of showing the final minutes of the game.  During those final seconds the Raiders scored a touchdown on a 43 yard touchdown pass and another touchdown on a fumbled kickoff return to put the game away 43-32. After a huge uproar allowed the NFL to negotiate contracts with television stations to televise games to their conclusion regardless of their score or if they went over their allotted time slot.

24. Regular Season September 10, 1978."The Holy Roller" took place in a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Raiders.  Oakland trailed San Diego 20-14 with just ten seconds remaining and the ball on the Chargers 23 yard line.  Ken Stabler faded back to pass, but was caught by Woodrow Lowe before he could get rid of the ball. In desperation he intentionally fumbled it forward.  The ball bounced ahead to FB Pete Banaszak at the 11 yard line.  Surrounded by Chargers, Pete decided to kick the ball forward himself rather then try to cover it.  It reached Dave Casper at the 5-yard line.  Casper kicked it into the end zone pounced on it for the winning touchdown.  The Chargers were furious but the play was legal and stood.  It was quickly made illegal, though, foiling the season, and the rule outlawing it is often called "The Raider rule."  Final Score: Raiders 21 Chargers 20

25. Regular Season November 30, 1987. This was the defining game in Bo Jackson's short but spectacular career with the Raiders.  Before a Monday Night Football audience, Bo rushed for 221 yards and 2 TD's against the Seattle Seahawks.  In the second quarter, on 3rd and 6 from the Raider nine-yard line, Bo took the handoff, swept around left end, burst past All-Pro safety Kenny Easley and cruised en route for a 91-yard touchdown run.  Future Hall of Fame Seahawk receiver Steve Largent later stated that Bo's awesome run was the greatest run that he had ever seen. Later in the game, Bo swept left again, this time from the Seattle two-yard line, and ran over much-hyped linebacker Brian "The Boz" Bosworth for the score.  Final score: Raiders 37 Seahawks 14.

26.  Regular Season, November 28, 2004. The pre-game hype was all about how good Champ Bailey was and how he would shutdown Jerry Porter. Porter and the rest of the Raider receivers torched Bailey with Porter picking up three touchdowns. The Raiders relished the role of spoilers, putting a major dent in the Broncos' playoff plans. Wide Receiver Ronald Curry made an unbelievable one handed grab for a touchdown.  This was one of Tyrone Wheatleys last games as a Raider.  Final score: Raiders 25, Broncos 24

27. Regular Season, September 18, 1966.  On this day the Oakland Raiders played their first regular season game at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum.  Their opponent was the Kansas City Chiefs led by quarterback Len Dawson.  Raiders rookie Rodger Bird returned the opening kickoff 16 yards and this officially opened the new stadium.  The Chiefs drew first blood with a field goal aided by a defensive interception of Raiders quarterback Cotton Davidson.  The Raiders would answer on their next drive with Daniels finding Clem Daniels for a 22 yard touchdown.  Leading 7-3 the Raiders offense watched helplessly as Len Dawson gave the Chiefs the lead back with a 20 yard touchdown toss.  Later, the Raiders would tie the game at 10-10 but within moments the Chiefs special teams would make a big play.  Raiders punter Mike Eischeid had his punt blocked and Lenny Dawson fired his second touchdown pass of the day to give the visitors a 17-10 advantage.  From this point on it was all Kansas City as Hank Strams Chiefs spoiled the home stadium opener for the Raiders 31-10.  Though a loss, this game has a lot of significance because it welcomed the "House of Thrills" into the AFL.  Final Score: Chiefs 31 Raiders 10.

28. Regular Season, October 9, 1966.  The Raiders first ever regular season game at the Coliseum on September 18, 1966 was a failure.  One week later, these men in silver and black would lose to the hated Chargers 29-20 for their second straight loss within their new stadium.  On October 9th, their third home game would pit the Raiders against the Miami Dolphins.  This would be the first meeting between two franchises that would become champions in the years to come.  But with the future unknown to the participants Quarterback Tom Flores completed 14 of 24 attempts for 261 yards and a trio of touchdowns as the Raiders easily defeated the Dolphins 21-10.  Final Score Raiders 21 Dolphins 10.

29. Regular Season, September 11, 1960.  For their first ever regular season game, the Raiders found themselves at home at Kezar Stadium, in San Fransciso. Future Hall of Famer George Blanda led his Houston Oilers into town.  In the third quarter, with the game tied at 7-7, Raiders linebacker Eddie Macon picked off a Blanda pass and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown.  The 14-7 lead would be short-lived as Blanda led the Oilers to 23 unanswered points and a 30-14 lead.  Raiders quarterback Tom Flores would fire two touchdown passes to pull Oakland within eight points but Blanda would counter that with his fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon to win.  Final Score: Oilers 37 Raiders 22.

30. Regular Season, September 30, 2007.  Since playing in Super Bowl 37 the Raiders had fallen far from grace.  From 2003-2006 the men in black in silver had lost 49 times and only achieved victory in 15 game during that same span.  The Raiders traveled to Miami where they hadn't won since 1990 when Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen were the starting running backs. QB Daunte Culpepper ran for three touchdowns and threw two TD passes to WR Jerry Porter, and the Raiders amassed 299 yards rushing in their 35-17 win over the Miami Dolphins at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. RB Justin Fargas ran for a career-high 179 yards on 22 carries.  Oakland improved their record to 2-2 after winning only two games during their 2-14 2006 season.  Raiders win 35-17

31. Regular Season, September 23, 2007. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 32-yard field goal with a 3-0 lead with 37 seconds left in the 1st quarter. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 22-yard field goal, and the Raiders lead 6-0 with 11 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Josh McCown threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Curry.  The Raiders lead 13-0 with 4 minutes and 45 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 23-yard field goal. The Raiders lead 16-0 with 2 minutes and 5 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Josh Cribbs returns a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with a good point after touchdown with the Raiders leading 16-7 with 1 minute and 53 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Phil Dawson kicked a 23-yard field goal with the Raiders still in the lead, 16-10 with 11 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. After halftime, Derek Anderson threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards with a extra point, and the Browns lead 17-16 with 9 minutes and 16 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. LaMont Jordan runs a 1-yard touchdown with a extra point, Raiders lead 23-17 with 11 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 48-yard field goal with the Raiders leading 26-17 with 8 minutes and 11 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Derek Anderson runs a 1-yard touchdown and extra point with the Raiders still leading 26-24 with 3 minutes and 33 seconds left in the 4th quarter. After getting the ball back with 1:04 left on the clock, Derek Anderson drove the Browns down to the Oakland 22-yard line. However, as the ball for Dawson's game winning field goal was snapped, Raiders coach Lane Kiffin called a timeout, imitating the strategy used by Denver.. On Dawson's second attempt, the ball was blocked by Tommy Kelly, ending the game and ending an 11-game losing streak for the Raiders.