Not Yet Ready for Russell: Culpepper Brings a "W" Back to Oakland

The week before JaMarcus Russell will see his first NFL action, Pep decided to show him the ropes.

Daunte Culpepper started Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, his second matchup against them this season. 

In their first meeting back in week seven, a Culpepper interception ended a possible game-winning drive.

Not this time.

The scoring Saturday was started by Sebastian Janikowski, who kicked a field goal from 25 yards out to give the Raiders a quick 3-0 lead. Janikowski's kick came after a short drive started by a Michael Huff interception.

The Chiefs were fast to respond.  Handing the ball off to the rookie Kolby Smith, the Chiefs drove the ball downfield. Smith, who would carry the ball 31 times for 158 yards, broke off a few big runs on the drive, and was able to punch it into the end zone to give the Chiefs a 7-3 lead.

Oakland moved the ball a little bit more than halfway down the field, but were forced to settle for a 54-yard field goal attempt.  Fortunately for the Raiders, Janikowski is still money from that distance, and Kansas City's lead was cut to one.

After a Dave Rayner field goal, the Chiefs led 10-6 at halftime.

Oakland fans were hoping they might get a chance to see Russell in the second half, but Culpepper and the Raiders got on a roll quickly in the third quarter.

After asking to be released earlier in the week, Lamont Jordan came through big for the Raiders, tucking a halfback pass in the red zone and taking the ball five yards in for the score.  Jordan's touchdown gave Oakland a three-point lead, shifting the score to 13-10.

Justin Fargas also had a good game Sunday, running the ball 22 times for 139 yards and one touchdown.  After Smith had scored to put the Chiefs ahead going into the fourth quarter, Fargas lowered his head and plunged into the end zone from 14 yards out with 9:34 left in the game, giving the Raiders a 20-17 lead.

Following several minutes of gridlock, the Chiefs found themselves set up at the Raiders 23, facing fourth-and-one with the game on the line.

Knowing his kicker was not on his game—having earlier missed a 33-yard field goal—Herm Edwards decided to hand the ball to Smith, who was stopped by the Raiders defense and ended up losing yardage on the play.

Fargas then broke two consecutive first-down runs to help drain the clock, gaining 12 and 11 yards respectively. These gains were followed by a catch by Ronald Curry for another first down. 

Culpepper finished the day 15 of 22 for 170 yards—not an eye popping performance, but he was able to make key throws when they needed to be made. Culpepper threw for no touchdowns—but more importantly, for no interceptions. 

Jerry Porter made two incredible catches down the sideline on scoring drives—and was only inches away from a third.  He finished the day with three catches for 75 yards.

The Raiders got their first divisional win since November 28, 2004, when they beat the Broncos, 25-24. 

Oakland now sits at 3-8 on the season.

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