Raiders Gassed, Lose Lead Again

↵You can look at the second straight fall-from-ahead loss by the Raiders (this one a 28-18 defeat at the hands of San Diego) one of two ways: either the Raiders stink and opponents don’t exert effort until they need to, or Oakland’s players are so devoted to the continued existence of Lane Kiffin they give all they’ve got to get a lead, only to fail as time runs on.
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↵It’s been equal parts offense and defense: JaMarcus Russell was efficient and smart as OAK turned out a 15-0 lead; with the second half came turnovers and odd play. Meanwhile, the Raiders defense stuck San Diego hard in the first half: hassling Philip Rivers and stopping LaDainian Tomlinson. As the game worn on, Rivers got more comfortable and L.T. burst out (to some degree).
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↵The highlight, though, was clearly Sebastian Janikowski’s 76-yard field goal attempt heading into halftime. History in the making, for lovers of the absurd. (Sadly, it went right and -- this will shock you -- short.)
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↵The Rams also lead early and fell apart, though that happened against a stout Bills team. One of these weeks -- in November, perhaps -- Buffalo will need to bring its top effort from the opening kickoff. But so long as it’s the Rams lining up on the other side, you’re safe taking a quarter or two off.↵