After weird week, Oakland grinds up K.C.

After weird week, Oakland grinds up K.C.
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September 15
San Francisco Chronicle


"Raiders coach Lane Kiffin finally got his way, which is a notable exception to the Al Davis rule as of late.

His three-headed rushing offense flourished with 300 yards behind a dominant offensive line. Special teams made play after spectacular play. The defense blitzed like he always wanted it to and stuffed the run like rarely before.

Just like that, the Raiders rolled Kansas City 23-8 at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, taking in their first victory in six tries since Dec. 2.

The question now is this: Was it enough to save Kiffin's job, if only for one more week? According to multiple team officials, there's a 50-50 chance owner Al Davis could fire Kiffin as soon as today, a notion that went unrefuted by a team spokesman.

Kiffin shrugged and said he knew as much about the situation as the reporter asking the question.

"That's not my decision whether I'll be here, so why waste time on it," Kiffin said. "If I'm here, we'll do the same this week."

Kiffin caught a glimpse of things worth being around to watch. That was hardly the case during last year's 4-12 run and certainly not in the season-opening 41-14 home loss to Denver.

So, what was so new that made such a profound difference?

Start with rookie running back Darren McFadden, the home run hitter from Arkansas drafted fourth overall.

He started the game sharing snaps with starter Justin Fargas, who had 43 yards on nine cutback carries. With 5 minutes, 14 seconds left in the second quarter, Fargas pulled up on a pass route with a groin injury and did not return.

That's when Kiffin, having limited McFadden's workload in the preseason and season opener, finally let McFadden explore the open spaces outside the tackle box.

McFadden's first carry of the second half went 21 yards around the left end. Three plays later, he took a shotgun draw 50 yards up the middle, then bounced outside. Three plays later, he took the pitch wide right and dived at the pylon for a 19-yard touchdown run and 13-0 lead.

"I slowed it down, took a deep breath, just hit the holes I'd seen," McFadden said, who had 21 carries for 164 yards (7.8 yards per) before leaving the game with turf toe in the fourth quarter.

That's the second-most rushing yards for a Raiders rookie. The record remains Bo Jackson's 221 yards on Nov. 30, 1987, when he rammed through Brian Bosworth and the Seahawks on "Monday Night Football."

If Fargas can't play Sunday at Buffalo, consider McFadden perfectly ready to assume the starting position with Michael Bush (16 rushes, 90 yards) the new backup.

"I feel very prepared," McFadden said.

None of this offense would have meant much if not for a complete defensive turnaround.

The same starting-11 that spotted Denver 41 points came back to brutalize three Chiefs quarterbacks and one Larry Johnson.

Johnson, purveyor of five 100-yard run games against Oakland, went absolutely nowhere. He had 12 carrie