2010 Oakland Raiders Season: Does Raider Nation Believe In Moral Victories?

NFL players, coaches and experts say there are no such things as moral victories.  As an Oakland Raiders fan, I disagree.  I know a playoff berth is what we all long for, but the 2010 season gave fans more victories than they have had in a long time and yes, a lot of those were moral victories.

For the purpose of this article, I'm going to lump all of the moral victories into one.

If Raiders fans have anything at all to boast about following the 2010 season, it's the fact that they swept the AFC West. Yes, the Raiders were the first team to sweep their division and not make the playoffs, but Raiders fans will still revel in the fact that they beat their most hated rivals

The way that the Raiders won some of those games makes it that much more special for the fans. 

The first victory came against the San Diego Chargers in Oakland. It was an up and down game that started with the Raiders scoring points on two blocked punts to take an early lead. The Chargers seemed to get their legs back and Phillip Rivers and Malcom Floyd had huge games and the Chargers eventually recaptured the lead. A late fourth quarter touchdown by Michael Bush gave the lead back to the silver and black and a forced fumble by Michael Huff that Tyvon Blanch returned for a touchdown sealed the deal.  The win also snapped a thirteen game losing streak against San Diego which removed a huge monkey of their back.

The second game against the Bolts was much more lopsided than the first with the running game pounding their way to a 28-13 victory in San Diego. Darren McFadden and Michael Bush combined for 192 yards and a touchdown a piece.

The second Charger win was sweet because it snapped their December winning streak. .       

Sweeping the Chargers was, by far , the most satisfying for me, but there were other AFC West victories in and around those that were very pleasing as well.

There was the 59-14 thumping of the Denver Broncos in Denver. The game in Denver seemed to recharge the team and start a three game win streak; the longest in seven seasons. When the series returned to Oakland the Raiders took care of business again with a sound butt thrashing.

Beating the Broncos is always fun, especially the way the Silver and Black beat them to sleep in both games.

When the Kansas City Chiefs came to Oakland, the Raiders had just won consecutive games for the first time since the Super Bowl year in 2002. This win put a smile on Raiders fans everywhere. Another up and down game that came down to the final seconds. A spectacular catch by rookie Jacoby Ford in the final seconds of regulation set up a game tying field goal by Sebastian Janikowski.

In overtime, the defense stopped the Chiefs cold in their own territory setting up great field position for Jason Campbell and the Raiders. Jacoby ford made another clutch catch and Janikowski soon followed with the game winner.

The second victory against the Chiefs was a game that meant nothing  to the Raiders as far as the playoffs were concerned. None of that mattered and the Oakland defense stepped up big and beat the Chiefs and sent them limping into the playoffs.

I know Raider haters will mouth off at the Raider Nation and say the season meant nothing because they missed the playoffs for the eighth straight season. Well, I think the Nation begs to differ, with the way things have been lately, I think it meant a lot.

Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me, because as a Raiders fan I never get tired of talking about those six victories.