Raiders can’t win a duel in the wild West

By Anthony Carroll  |   Wednesday, December 07, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Oakland Raiders
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It's December and the Oakland Raiders are still without a divisional win. With just one more AFC West meeting remaining on Christmas Eve at Denver, it is evident as to why the Raiders have officially been eliminated from the NFL postseason. For fans, this losing pattern is not something new. Since 2003, Oakland has won only two divisional games in 17 total meetings.

Following Oakland's Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, yet another detrimental pattern had begun. The subsequent 2003 season included just one divisional victory against the San Diego Chargers. Bear in mind, this Chargers team was not the same ballclub that the Raiders have lost to twice this season-at that time, San Diego was 0-3. The Raiders defeated the Chargers in 34-31 in their fourth game of the season. As it ended, both the Chargers and Raiders finished with an abysmal 4-12 record-thanks to a week 17 Oakland failure against San Diego in their second meeting.

The 2004 season was no better for Oakland, as they matched their grisly 1-5 divisional record from the previous year. That year's win came at the expense of the Denver Broncos in a game in which Jerry Porter came out with 135 yards and three touchdowns. The Raiders were fortunate enough to sneak out of the snowy Denver atmosphere with a 25-24 victory on a late Langston Walker field goal block. Sadly, this week 12 victory, and only their 4th win of the 2004 season, was the pinnacle of all 17 weeks.

It's now 13 weeks into the 2005 campaign and the Oakland Raiders are at risk of failing to match the dreadful 1-5 divisional record that they have held for the past two seasons. Oakland has already dropped two games to Kansas City and San Diego and one game to Denver.

All that Raider fans want for the Holiday Season is a divisional win. Well, maybe a new coach and quarterback would be a heartwarming gift to rowdy fans also. But in the interim, Oakland needs to find a way to break this three year divisional slump.

Any comments on this article? Contact Anthony Carroll at acarroll@realfootball365.com
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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