Raiders rally, block field-goal attempt to beat Steelers.
Raiders 24, Steelers 21: Coliseum rocks, Pittsburgh falls
Call it the Revenge of the Coliseum.
Every Raiders game in Oakland feels like a wake these days, one final farewell to the memories and the moments that have filled Oakland Raiders history. With most of the recent ones being largely forgettable.
For much of Sunday, it looked like Game 13 of the woeful 2018 season was going to be just another hohum, losing affair.
Until the Coliseum rose up and said: It shall not be so. That this was Raiders versus Steelers, damn it, for probably the very last time in Oakland. And it was going to be memorable.
So, after the Raiders took the lead with 21 seconds to play on a touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Derek Carrier, and after the Steelers got into position to tie the game thanks to a 43-yard hook-and-lateral, the old building and its seeping innards went to work.
Sunday’s game took place in a chilling December ground fog that cast the Coliseum in gloom, slicked the cracked concrete and sucked moisture to the surface of the field.
“It was slippery out there,” Oakland running back Jalen Richard said. “I was slipping.”
“It’s always slippery here,” said tight end Jared Cook.
Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell trotted onto the field for the game-tying field-goal try, planted his left leg, and as he swung back his right to kick, his plant leg gave out from under him, leaving a dark divot in the grass and the Raiders filled with joy.
The Raiders had won. They beat their historic rival Pittsburgh 24-21 for just their second win at home this year, and third overall.
In the midst of the uproarious celebration on the field, head coach Jon Gruden ran down to the Black Hole to high-five the fans. It was the type of image that all the citizens of Raider Nation had in their minds when they got the news in January that Gruden was returning to Oakland. But there has been precious little to celebrate.
“I went to see my old friends, all grown up,” Gruden said. “We’re 2-10 (actually 3-10 after the win). I wanted to thank them. It was an awesome scene today. I appreciate their support. They’ve been with us no matter what.”
It was an awesome scene. Black and silver mixed with black and gold. There might never have been so many opposing fans in the Coliseum for a Raiders game. Every play resulted in a roar from about half the crowd.
“I was surprised,” Raiders receiver Seth Roberts said. “I didn’t know they traveled like that.”
Oh, they do. The 49ers can vouch for that. The Pittsburgh fans’ enthusiasm was dampened when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went out with a rib injury and the offense stalled. He came back in the game to orchestrate one goahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter and then got the team into field-goal position with the remarkable lateral play.
But then the Coliseum rose up and did its work. And Roethlisberger exited without having won in Oakland, leaving with an 0-4 record.
So, Big Ben, what were the field conditions like out there?
“Terrible,” he said, “but we knew that coming in.
“I shouldn’t say terrible. I’m sorry, that’s the wrong word. The conditions weren’t ideal. But (offensive coordinator) Randy (Fichtner) addressed it all week and preached it every day to the offense: He said to make sure you have the right shoes. You saw how many times guys slipped out there. I think they might have even slipped more than we did.”
Boswell said he has been using the same cleats since he’d been in Pittsburgh, which seems a little crazy, given the different conditions every NFL field offers.
“You can’t blame anything,” Boswell said. “It’s as bad as it is for me as it is for anyone else.”
The Kicker Slippage is not going to go down in history with the Immaculate Reception or other great moments in the history of the two teams. But it gave fans a fun outcome in a woeful season.
And the woes have continued. The Raiders are in position for the No. 3 draft choice. Who will be making the decision? There was a story Sunday morning that general manager Reggie McKenzie would be departing the team after the season. All the principals — McKenzie, Gruden and owner Mark Davis — nocommented on the story, which wasn’t exactly groundbreaking. The assumption has been, from the moment Gruden arrived and only reinforced as this season has unspooled, that McKenzie would be on his way out sooner or later.
The players whom McKenzie drafted, and that Gruden traded, also were in the news Sunday. Receiver Amari Cooper had three touchdowns for Dallas (including the game-winner in overtime) and 217 yards on 10 catches. The Cowboys are ready to put him in their Ring of Honor right now. And Khalil Mack helped the Bears beat the Rams on “Sunday Night Football,” a spot the Steelers-Raiders matchup got flexed out of, partially because of Mack’s increased star power.
Meanwhile, the Raiders sit tied for the worst record in the league, with one game left in Oakland this season and 10,000 question marks about their status next season. The building is falling down around them. On Sunday night, a janitor discovered two dead mice in the soda machine in the press box. The one that dozens of people had been using to pour their drinks all day. Truth.
What a place. But on Sunday, it gave Raiders fans at least one more memorable moment.
A win, courtesy of the dank, damp Coliseum.