Raiders Fumble, Stumble, Finally Crumble : Six Turnovers Give Patriots a 27-20 Upset

A funny thing happened on the way to that dream Bear-Raider matchup, not to mention the dream Dolphin-Raider semifinal. The Raiders got knocked out in the first prelim, so the only local team that will face the Bears is the Rams.

The New England Patriots and six of their very own turnovers beat the Raiders, 27-20, before 88,936 in the Coliseum Sunday, the winning touchdown scoring, ingloriously enough, when Sam Seale dropped a kickoff, picked up the ball and fumbled it again. The ball rolled into the end zone, where Jim Bowman, a rookie Patriot safety, fell on it.

The Raiders’ Fulton Walker also fumbled a punt, leading to a 21-yard drive and the first Patriot touchdown. There was also the old standby--interceptions. Marc Wilson threw three of them, his 22nd, 23rd and 24th of the season.

Tom Flores said later that such mistakes can’t be made “in a game of this magnitude,” although the Raiders made them in games of all other magnitudes this season. And there was another post-game incident in the runway leading to the locker rooms, this one involving Patriot General Manager Pat Sullivan and the Raiders’ Howie Long and Matt Millen.

And, though there was much less finger-pointing than at Seattle after last season’s playoff sayonara , a recrimination or two did leak out.

Said Lester Hayes: “We had ‘em, 17-7. They were in a tomb. We gave ‘em life. And now the Patriots are going down to South Florida. This is a silver and black gift-wrap to the Dolphins.

“These guys flew 4,000 miles and kicked our butts in our house. That’s extremely asinine. . . . I thought the silver and black were invincible at home. That was a fiction. The Dolphins have a home-field advantage that’s factual, not fictional. Do the Patriots have a chance at Miami? I give them two chances, the old Texas A&M-ism--slim; and none.

“The turnovers? That’s been going on since ’77 when I arrived. It’s always the defense. The defense is the focal point as far as victories are concerned. The defense has to stop them and score points. If we don’t score points, it’s very tough as far as being victorious. That’s a silver-and-blackism.”

Did Hayes think the Raiders need a new quarterback?

“Whooee, what a question,” he said. “Why don’t you ask Coach Al Davis?”

And from tight end Todd Christensen, who seemed to be gesturing angrily to get the ball down after Wilson fired one over his head:

‘That’s typical of any receiver and I don’t think that was the issue. When people write about this, it’ll be too easy to say well, we had turnovers, that we had interceptions, that the quarterback didn’t play well as we could have.

“As a unit, we just didn’t do the things we were capable of doing. Unfortunately, Jan. 5 is when the game is.”

Jan. 5 came up cloudy and wet, but with the Coliseum all but sold out, a result of the fast Raider finish, six straight wins, 11 of 13.

Did anyone get overly distressed when the reliable Walker fumbled the Patriots’ first punt? Or when Marcus Allen fumbled on his first carry--after he was down, the officials ruled? Or when Wilson threw an interception on the very next play, giving the Raiders a fumble, a near-fumble and an interception the first four times they’d touched the ball?

Not on your life. The Raiders have had starts like this before. This was the third time this season, including the first Patriot game, that Wilson’s first pass was intercepted. Real Raider fans know that all they’re likely to miss if they’re caught in traffic is their team turning the ball over and grabbing a quick early deficit.

Said Walker: “It was just one of those things. The pressure’s on, although you’re trying to overlook it. Their guys are coming down hard. I thought I could still pick it up and go, but I stepped on it.

“Then their guys came and jumped on me. I had the ball, but I was on my back and they were wrestling my arms. By the time the refs got to it, they had the ball.”

That was at the Raider 21. From there, it took two plays, the second a 13-yard pass from Tony Eason to tight end Lin Dawson.

After that, the Raider defense took over. Greg Townsend blocked a Rich Camarillo punt, which was recovered at the New England 16. After Wilson winged one far over the head of Dokie Williams open in the end zone, Chris Bahr kicked a 29-yard field goal.

With 2:44 gone in the second quarter, Wilson, off to an 0-for-5 start, got his first completion. Then he hit another a 16-yarder for a touchdown to Jessie Hester, and the Raiders led, 10-7.

On the Patriots’ next play from scrimmage, Rod Martin stripped Mosi Tatupu of the ball. Long recovered at the New England 17. Three plays later, Allen slashed to the five, then jumped clear over Ronnie Lippett and Fred Marion and landed on the goal line, the football equivalent of trying to dunk from the free-throw line. The Raiders led, 17-7.

This was where the Patriots showed what they’ve got. With the momentum running against them and the Raider defense looking for a knockout, Eason drove his team 80 yards, starting with Craig James’ 16-yard run.

James would finish the day with 104 yards, the only back to gain 100 yards on the Raiders this season. With a third-and-goal at the two, the Patriots ran a draw for James. John Hannah cut down Stacey Toran, James scored and it was about to become 17-14.

Not long thereafter, Wilson threw his second interception to Lippett, setting up Tony Franklin’s 45-yard field goal and a 17-17 tie. At that moment, Wilson was 3 for 9. His leading receiver was Lippett.

Wilson then marched his team 67 yards in the closing moments of the first half, setting up Bahr’s 32-yard field goal. At the half, the Raiders led, 20-17.

On the first Raider possession of the second half, Wilson used two timeouts. Then he was sacked on a third-and-long. As moments go, this one suggested big trouble.

On the next Raider possession, Allen fumbled the ball away, though it was only the fourth one he’d lost all season.

Eason took the Patriots on another drive, close enough for Franklin to kick a 32-yarder, tying it, 20-20.

Then Franklin kicked off to Seale, who dropped the ball at the five, picked it up at the 10, tried to run, was hit by Tatupu, and fumbled again. A Patriot knocked it into the end zone and Bowman recovered.

Seale later waved away writers asking about it.

The Patriots held the Raiders at bay the rest of the way, with the aid, of course, of the Raiders.

Early in the fourth period, a Ray Guy punt pinned the Patriots to their six-yard line. So they jammed James up the middle three times, picked up a first down, and then Camarillo socked a 50-yard punt out of there. On the next Raider possession, Wilson threw his third interception.

And so the Raiders, whose defense had pulled them out of whatever hole the offense had put them in in every other big game this season, finally dug one that was too deep.

“Eighteen thousand dollars out the door,” whispered safety Mike Davis. “Katy, bar the door. It’s out in the hurricane. Gone.”

“Hey, we’ve had games like this before,” said Matt Millen. “But not this important. Right now, we’re just as good as Buffalo, or Tampa Bay. There is no difference.”

Someone wished Christensen a good off-season.

“It’s going to be longer than I thought,” he replied.

Raider Notes

For what it’s worth department: Marcus Allen, who gained 100 yards in his last nine regular-season games, tying Walter Payton’s record, got 121 yards in 22 carries. . . . Sean Jones had two sacks. . . . Greg Townsend: “You don’t want to point any fingers, but without Sam Seale’s fumble, I don’t think we get beat. But I’m not pointing fingers. Don’t make it sound the way I did.”