Bo Rules the Kingdome With 221 Yards, 3 Touchdowns : He Leads Raiders to 37-14 Win, Snapping 7-Game Losing Streak

ther Kingdome appearance, another wipeout.

The Raiders found out that they’d just been missing one little thing here. That was their potential one-man wing of the Hall of Fame, Bo Jackson, who put on one of the great performances in pro football history as the Raiders trounced the Seattle Seahawks, 37-14, ending their longest losing streak in 25 years at seven games.

There went the Raider six-year local skid, too. Forget that Temple of Doom stuff; now it’s the Bo Dome. The only question left is whether he’s challenging Eric Dickerson for the game’s best back, or Jim Brown for the best ever, or just passing through on his way back to the Kansas City Royals’ outfield.

And after the game, he said it again--the sport he gives up first “probably will be football.” If it is, the Raiders may give it up, too.

What hath Bo wrought on this Monday night?

He rushed for 221 yards--in 18 carries--breaking Clem Daniels’ 24-year-old club record of 200. Jackson had 202 in his first 11 carries before the Raiders decided to sit on their lead and ran him inside, and rested him for the last six minutes of the game. God or Amos Alonzo Stagg only knows what Bo would do if they ever gave him 30 carries.

He ran 91 yards for one touchdown, breaking Kenny King’s seven-year-old club mark. The dash was so electrifying that teammates Rod Martin, Linden King and Greg Townsend chased him up the Kingdome runway behind the end zone, where Bo was taking his cool-down jog.

“Rod kept chasing him,” Townsend said. “He had to come back and get oxygen before he went back out on the field. Bo kept running.”

Townsend was not kidding. Martin said he literally had to get oxygen.

Jackson scored two other touchdowns, one on a 14-yard pass reception, the other on a 2-yard run on which he encountered Brian Bosworth at the two-yard line, bulled over him and carried him into the end zone. The Boz is famous for being able to bench-press 450 pounds, and Jackson only weighs 230 but he doesn’t just sit there, either.

“A lot of older people tell me, he’s the reincarnation of a faster Jim Brown,” Martin said.

“He’s awesome. He’s just awesome. I mean, with the talent he has, I don’t even know why’d he be looking for a curveball to hit.”

If it was going to be a night to remember, it started in routine forgettable fashion.

The Raiders arrived at the Kingdome prepared for the worst, decibel-wise and otherwise, with the phlegmatic Tom Flores even charging that the Seahawks use their message board to work the crowd up. The Raiders have supported rules changes that would penalize a home team if its crowd failed to quiet down as requested.

“It’s not fair,” the Raider coach said last week. “They flash those decibels up there on the board. The rule states you’re not supposed to do that.”

Said Seattle Coach Chuck Knox: “We don’t encourage the crowd. But by the same token, we don’t tell them what they can do and what they can’t do once they’re in there.”

But did the Kingdome crowd come ready Monday night?

The first time the Raiders got the ball, they didn’t even bother to launch a wave. It did make some noise, while the Seahawk mascot flashed a sign that read, “Let’s Go 12.” Up here, the crowd is No. 12, or the 12th man.

Frankly, the Raiders didn’t seem to give a damn.

On their first possession, Marc Wilson drove the Raiders to the Seattle 35 before Jackson fumbled the ball away on a routine dive. The Seahawks then proceeded to rip off 64 yards in the other direction, going in on Dave Krieg’s 19-yard pass to Daryl Turner, who was trailed at some distance by Ron Fellows.

Did the script seem familiar? Not for long.

The Raiders, forced to start at their 12 after a holding penalty on the kickoff, tore 88 yards to tie the game. The next-to-last play of the drive was Wilson’s 17-yard completion to Dokie Williams against the Seahawk left cornerback, Terry Taylor. The last was Wilson’s 46-yard touchdown bomb to James Lofton, who ran a fly past the Seahawk right corner, Patrick Hunter.

Was there something funny in the enclosed air?

You bet your jinx.

The Raider defense held the Seahawks to 1-2-3 and out. This time Wilson took them 59 yards to score. At the Seattle 14, on second-and-seven, Wilson walked to the line as the crowd noise grew . . . and backed away, claiming he couldn’t hear. When he tried that in the 1985 game, the referee refused to give him a timeout, but this time Jerry Markbreit did.

Wilson went back to the line. The crowd yelled louder. Wilson appealed to Markbreit but was told to stay at the line. The crowd yelled louder still.

Could you hear anything, Wilson was asked later.

“No,” Wilson said.

With his audio blanked out, Wilson went back and hit a completely uncovered Jackson with a 14-yard touchdown pass. Kenny Easley, who was supposed to be on the job, fell down and Bo had his first pro touchdown catch.

Was that a little lacking in highlight-film material?

Where there’s a Bo, there’s an archive in the making. Last week he ran over Denver’s Mike Harden, but when Harden sees the replays from Monday night, he’ll feel a lot better. That wasn’t a fluke that hit him.

Anyway, Jackson was about to break loose on the run of the night.

On third-and-six at the Raider nine, they ran Jackson around the left side. He got to the corner, where safety Eugene Robinson dove desperately at him. He turned upfield. He got into the clear along the sideline. If he had all the speed he’s supposed to have--remember, New England personnel honcho Dick Steinberg says Bo is the fastest football player he’s ever timed--he was gone.

Sure enough, he was gone.

Two Seahawks, including Easley, actually had an angle on Jackson, but he blazed so far out of their reach, you may have missed that fact. Jackson actually seemed to let up at the Seattle 30, and coasted into the end zone, and the runway beyond.

“You see guys with angles on him,” Townsend said, laughing, “and he just makes them into straight lines.”

Now it was 21-7 and suddenly, there was a new bobo in the Kingdome.

The Raider defense kept on battering Krieg. In all, they would sack him four times, and intercept him twice. Chris Bahr kicked field goals of 23 and 47 yards before the half ended and it was 27-7.

The first time the Raiders got the ball in the second half, they drove 75 yards--including Jackson runs of 6, 42 and 2 yards for the score, the one on which he gave Boz a lift into the end zone.

With a 34-7 lead, the Raiders started working on the clock, mercifully for the Seahawks and the Raider record book.

One other thing: Monday was Jackson’s birthday, so you future Raider opponents make a note: Don’t mess with genius on its birthday. He’s only 25, so there are many November 30s left to wreak havoc.

The Raiders hope.

Raider Notes

The NFL record for single-game rushing is 275, set by Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears in 1977. . . . Bo Jackson’s performance is the 13th best. Jackson’s overall rushing average is 8.1. . . . The Raider total of 356 rushing yards was a club record. Marcus Allen had 76 yards and a 4.2 average. Vance Mueller, playing tailback when Jackson was recovering from a long run, got 43 and averaged 7.3. . . . Marc Wilson had the finest game for a Raider quarterback this season, passing for 159 yards, 152 in the first half. He threw only five passes in the second half. . . . Charley Hannah started the game at his old right guard spot, after Bill Lewis missed practice time last week with back trouble, and Steve Wright played right tackle for the injured John Clay. That gave the Raiders their fifth different offensive line combination in the eight games played by the regulars. It just goes to show you: They made do with it. . . . Mike Haynes didn’t play with an instep injury and the other starting cornerback, Lionel Washington, was hurt during the game. The Raiders went more than half the game with Sam Seale and Stefon Adams, until very recently a safety, at the corners.

Raiders’ All-Time Single-Game Rushers

Player Yards Year Opp. Bo Jackson 221 1987 Seattle Clem Daniels 200 1963 NY Jets Clem Daniels 187 1962 Houston Hewritt Dixon 187 1968 Houston Marcus Allen 173 1985 Denver