To say the Oakland Raiders received a big game from Jacoby Ford in their 23-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs is a huge understatement. The rookie wide receiver and return man put together far and away the biggest performance of his young NFL career. Ford returned a kick for a touchdown to start the second half and then hauled in six receptions for 148 yards ALL IN THE SECOND HALF. Ford, like the rest of the Raiders offense, was kept quiet in the first half, but the entire team stepped up in a big way for the final 30+ minutes to improve the Raiders to 5-4 and give the Raiders their first three game winning streak since 2002.
The Raiders offense failed to show up in the first half and the defense kept the team in this game thanks to some timely tackles throughout the first half. The Chiefs went into the half only leading 10-0 thanks to a half-closing interception in the end zone by Jeremy Ware.
Signs of resurgence were quick in the second half as Jacoby Ford opened play returning the kickoff for a touchdown. On the subsequent kickoff the Chiefs fumbled the ball and the Raiders recovered deep in Chiefs territory. Unfortunately the Raiders couldn’t convert as Sebastian Janikowski missed a 47-yard field goal.
The Raiders defense kept the Chiefs mostly in check as the two teams exchanged scores. Some defensive lapses allowed the Chiefs to take a 20-17 lead before Jason Campbell led arguably his biggest drive as Raiders QB. Campbell took the team into field goal range with five seconds remaining to force OT. The Chiefs sputtered in OT and the game was there for the Raiders to win, which they did.
The story of the game has to be the breakout performance by Jacoby Ford. The rookie didn’t make any touchdown receptions but virtually all his catches came at clutch moments. The 22-yarder near the end of regulation got the team in scoring position to tie and then a 47-yarder on the first play of the Raiders OT drive put the team deep in Chiefs territory and basically ended this thing. It’s safe to say Ford will be a big waiver wire pick-up this week in fantasy football.
The Raiders now head into their bye week at both the best and worst times. It’s a great time because the team has positive momentum and can put together some strong preparation for their road trip to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s a bad time because the team is playing so well and a bye could disrupt that rhythm.
Whatever the case, in two weeks they face a big game as they look to win a sixth game for the first time since they went 11-5 and won the AFC championship in 2002.