No, its not the speed of the Oakland Raiders receivers that burn rubber in 60 seconds, its the speed of the Raiders offense to blow a chance at winning a game that begs the phrase, Gone In 60 Seconds, again.
On a crispy autumn afternoon where their opponent was the (1-7) Kansas City Chiefs, the (2-6)Oakland Raiders were looking a winning day gift horse in the mouth. The day was a day of defense and missed opportunities for both struggling teams. Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell passes were off at times and the times when he did get the ball on target the receiver simply dropped the ball.
After the #1 draft pick of 2007 (QB Jamarcus Russell) was benched and replaced by backup QB Bruce Gradkowski in the third quarter, the Oakland offense sputtered but looked like they wanted to finally play catch. So with less than two minutes left in the game the Raiders began an offensive two-minute-drill attack that teased the fans with offensive production.
Gradkowski got the team down to around the twenty-five yard line with a pass to WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. The huge play, ruled a completion on the field, could've easily been called back after replays showed Bey's foot landing out of bounds. Here was where that Raiders gift horse for the day came prancing up to the Raiders sideline with mouth wide open. Upon further review by the replay assistant in the press box, the call on the field stood and the Raiders could continue their march to a last second touchdown for the win.
However, something strange happened on the way to the end zone. With less than 30 seconds left, a lifetime from the 25 yard line, Gradkowski dropped back and found an open Darrius Heyward-Bey at the 10 yard line and threw the perfect pass. The fans were screaming with exhilaration as the pin-point pass lofted beautifully into the hands of our leaping 2009 #1 draft pick, with defenders closing in.
Then just as quickly as you could say "Touchdown Raiders" the football bounced off of Bey's hands as if tapped up into the air. Bey had a second chance at the pigskin but his hands seemed to magnetically repel, instead of attract, the ball. Fans watched as the brown leather projectile hovered in the coliseum air just long enough for a Chief defender closing to gain ground and position himself perfectly for the interception off Bey's deflection.
While Bey was being slung away from the ball by another defender, the other defender gracefully glided underneath the pigskin and cradled it like a babe in his basket curled arms, interception complete, game over. The Oakland Raiders gift horse moment simply chomped down on its bit and galloped off into the western sunset, poof, Gone in 60 Seconds!
Final Score
Chiefs 16
Raiders 10
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