Marcus Allen Is Having It All--Great Game in Outstanding Season

Marcus Allen would disagree with Billy Crystal. Marcus Allen would say it is much better to feel good than to look good.

His point of reference was the 40-34 loss to San Diego a week ago. The Los Angeles Raiders had rolled up 454 yards to no avail.

Sunday, en route to a 13-6 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at the Coliseum, the Raiders sputtered, stalled and sputtered again, ultimately emerging with a net total of 281 yards.

It was later suggested that the Raider offense had not been very impressive.

“Who cares if we were impressive?” responded Allen. “Who cares how we looked? Last week we looked great and lost. This week we won. We needed the lift. We had lost two in a row. We needed to win no matter how it looked.”

Allen not only felt good, he had looked good.

Amid the overall inconsistency, he had put it together, rushing for 135 yards on 31 attempts and catching six passes for another 54 yards. He was the bellwether on the 12-play, 73-yard drive that led to the game’s only touchdown, breaking a 6-6 tie late in the fourth quarter. Allen scored it on a seven-yard swing pass from Marc Wilson.

This was the fourth straight game in which Allen has rushed for 100 or more yards and the sixth of the season, a club record. He also now has 1,063 rushing yards in 11 games, the third straight season in which he’s reached a thousand.

“This is the earliest I’ve ever done it,” Allen said. “It’s a great feeling, and I think the rest of the guys (meaning his offensive line) feel the same way.

“I have pride in it, but it’s more important for us to win. The important thing is that we’re still playing after Christmas.”

The media had Allen penned at his locker. He was wearing a cardinal-colored baseball cap with “Southern Cal” stitched in gold.

His performance during the pivotal drive of the fourth quarter had been reminiscent of a time when the entire uniform was cardinal and gold, a time when USC’s opponents knew the final, clutch plays would belong to the tailback, but still could not stop him.

Here it was Sunday:

Second-and-10 on the Raider 27: Allen over right guard for seven.

Third-and-three on the 34: Allen around left end for 17.

First-and-10 on the Bengal 49: Allen up the middle for four.

Second-and-six on the 45: Allen up the middle for six.

Second-and-three on the 32: Allen up the middle for one.

Third-and-two on the 31: Allen dives for no gain.

Fourth-and-two on the 31: Wilson passes to Allen for 18.

First-and-10 on the 13: Allen up the middle for five.

Third-and-four on the seven: Wilson passes to Allen for the touchdown.

Six carries for 40 yards. Two catches for 25.

The Raiders have always moved best when they’ve asked Allen to carry the burden, but there have been periods when they’ve seemed to forget that, moments when Allen has expressed dissatisfaction with his lack of activity.

Now?

“I don’t think this stems from anything other than the circumstances,” Allen said, shrugging off his previous comments.

“We had a situation with the quarterbacks (Wilson replacing an injured Jim Plunkett) where I don’t think they (the coaching staff) wanted to take a lot of chances. We started running the ball more and it carried over because we were having some success with it.

“Obviously I like it, particularly with the game on the line. We needed to win today, and they gave me the ball. I knew what I had to do with it.

“I mean, everyone expects a lot from me, but no one expects more than I do myself. I mean, everyone wants the ball in that situation, but no one wants it any more than I do.”

The touchdown was a simple swing on which Allen was the primary receiver. The 18-yard pass on fourth and two had been the big play, sustaining the drive.

“We had run consistently in short yardage situations and they thought we’d do it again,” Allen said. “It was a great call and a great fake setting it up. It was a wide open situation, but that worried me a little because lately I’ve been dropping the ball when I’m wide open.”

It was the Bengals who had twice dropped Allen on consecutive dive plays from the one during an impressive goal line stand in the second quarter. Allen said later that he thought the Raiders were sluggish during the first half, having reached a point in the season when the routine tiredness is showing.

In the end, however, the scoreboard was their elixir. As Allen noted, looking good is for Billy Crystal.