Oakland, Calif. – Another day, another debacle in the AFC West.
The pain and frustration the Oakland Raiders felt in a 31-17 loss to the Broncos on Sunday at McAfee Coliseum had a familiar feel.
Three-time AFC West champions from 2000 through 2003, the Raiders have become the division doormats, with the Broncos becoming the latest team to wipe their shoes before stepping through an open door.
Raiders linebacker Kirk Morrison may only be a rookie, but he understands how it works.
“When you’re playing in the AFC West, every play, every opportunity counts,” he said. “I mean from the first play until the end of the game. I feel like I had a dropped interception that could have changed the game. One play like that can hurt you in this division.”
True, Morrison dropped a Jake Plummer pass and looked to have 25 yards of open field in front of him, a play that would have cut the Broncos’ lead to 23-17 with more than 10 minutes to play.
But there were other chances that slipped away, just as they have in all but two division games since the Raiders won the AFC title in 2002.
Since going to the Super Bowl, the Raiders are 2-14 in division games. They are 0-4 this season with road games in Denver and San Diego still to play. That leaves open the possibility of the first winless division season since 1962 in the pre-Al Davis era.
Now 3-6, the Raiders are faced with a run-the-table pipe dream if they hope to make the playoffs.
Oakland fell behind 23-0 in the third quarter, received an energy surge on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Kerry Collins to Randy Moss and appeared to be on the verge of getting back into the game until Denver’s Darrent Williams returned a Collins pass 80 yards for a touchdown to clinch it.
Coming on the heels of last week’s 27-23 loss to Kansas City when the Chiefs scored from the 1 on the last play of the game, it was doubly painful.
“This is a very disheartening loss, especially after last week in Kansas City,” center Adam Treu said. “To see during the game that Kansas City actually lost (to Buffalo), that would have helped.”
Coach Norv Turner, whose only division win against eight losses came last season in Denver on a blocked field goal attempt in the final seconds, had no answers.
Defensive tackle Warren Sapp was puzzled.
“If I had the answer, we wouldn’t be 3-6 right now,” Sapp said. “It’s something you can’t put a finger on. We’re just missing grand opportunities early in the game to get us off to a good start.”
“They hurt worse because they’re rivalries – Raiders-Broncos, Raiders-Chiefs,” linebacker Danny Clark said. “It’s a grind.”
