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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SAN DIEGO -- Oakland rookie Sebastian Janikowski didn't miss
when it really counted. Oh, how the San Diego Chargers wished he
would have.
|  | | Sebastian Janikowski had a near-perfect day for the Raiders, nailing five of six field goals to score all 15 Oakland points.
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Janikowski kicked a 24-yard field goal with 13 seconds left to
give the Raiders a wild 15-13 victory over their winless AFC West
rivals Sunday night. It was his fifth field goal of the night,
tying the franchise record set by Jeff Jaeger in 1994.
Janikowski was wide left on a 42-yarder in the third quarter
that would have given the Raiders a little breathing room.
"I was thinking about that one that I missed," Janikowski
said. "I approached the ball too fast. So I slowed down big
time."
And he kicked it right through. Janikowski finished 5-for-6 and
the Raiders won their fifth consecutive game to improve to 7-1. The
Chargers, the NFL's only winless team, fell to 0-8 and are three
defeats shy of matching their worst start ever, 0-11 in 1975.
After Janikowski missed seven of his first 13 field-goal
attempts this season, coach Jon Gruden was about to blow a gasket.
However, Sunday night, Gruden was glad the Raiders were bold
enough to draft Janikowski in the first round.
"That's what we envisioned," Gruden said. "Not only did he do
an excellent job kicking field goals but his kickoffs were again
outstanding. He's really making a big difference on our team."
Janikowski had given the Raiders a 12-0 halftime lead on field
goals of 40, 40, 54 and 29 yards. Two weeks ago, he kicked a
43-yard field goal with 25 seconds left to beat the Kansas City
Chiefs 20-17.
The Chargers could only wish they had a first-round draft choice who was making an impact. Their most recent first-rounder,
quarterback Ryan Leaf, has returned to his ineffective, pouting
ways that marred his rookie season of 1998. Bobby Beathard, who
retired as general manager last spring, often traded away future
first-round choices to gamble on second-round picks, and many of
those players were busts.
"I guess they feel real good about their first draft pick,"
said Chargers tight end Freddie Jones, whose touchdown catch with
5:58 to go had given the Chargers a 13-12 lead. "Hats off to
Janikowski."
The Chargers appeared to have the game in hand when Jim Harbaugh threw his second touchdown pass of the night to Jones.
That drive was set up when Chargers star linebacker Junior Seau
intercepted Rich Gannon's shovel pass midway through the fourth
quarter. As the pocket was collapsing on Gannon, he tossed the ball
to Tyrone Wheatley, but it glanced off the running back's hands
right to Seau.
"I was anticipating the play," Seau said.
After Jones scored, Seau pumped both fists in the air on the
sideline. But it wasn't long before he and the rest of the Chargers
were disappointed again.
"It's hard to wake up in the morning, doing what we're doing,"
Seau said.
Janikowski, meanwhile, stayed alert.
"I thought the game would be tough because of their defense. So
I came out ready to kick some more."
Gannon moved the Raiders downfield with precision, gaining 68
yards on 13 plays. The big play was a 9-yard pass to Andre Rison on
third down to get the Raiders into field-goal range. The Raiders
ran down the clock and sent in Janikowski for the winning kick.
Seau said the Chargers should have stopped the Raiders on the third-down pass to Rison.
"It's the little things. They hurt us on a one-on-one situation," Seau said.
After Chargers rookie Ronney Jenkins had a 47-yard kickoff
return to the 50 with five seconds left, Harbaugh's desperation
pass was picked off.
"We weren't perfect tonight, but it's hard to beat a divisional
opponent twice," said Gruden, whose team beat the Chargers 9-6 on
opening day. "We like the resiliency of this football team."
On a night when the Chargers wore their 1960s-style throwback
uniforms, they spent the first half throwing back chances to the
Raiders.
Janikowski kicked field goals to cap the Raiders' first four
drives, and each one was extended by Chargers penalties. At
halftime, the Chargers had committed nine penalties for 69 yards,
and had gained just 70 yards total.
San Diego finally came to life when it took the second-half
kickoff and moved 76 yards for its first score, an 8-yard pass from
Harbaugh to Jones.
The Chargers had two more first downs on that drive -- seven -- than they did for the entire first half. San Diego didn't get into
Oakland territory for the first time until just nine seconds
remained in the first half, and then it was out of timeouts and the
clock ran out.
Game notes
Wheatley rushed for just 21 yards on 12 carries. He was
knocked out late in the game with an ankle sprain. ... Jones had 10
catches for 111 yards. ... Oakland's David Dunn, who grew up in San
Diego, had a 10-yard catch on a third-down on the winning drive for
his first reception of the season. ... The crowd, which had as many
Raiders fans as Chargers fans, seemed well-behaved. Police presence was tripled after several brawls broke out last year.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Oakland Clubhouse
San Diego Clubhouse
Contract extension will keep Seau a Charger through 2005
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