Raiders Get So Far Down, They’re Out : Seattle Holds On, After Leading by 17, to Win, 43-37

The offenses were spectacular. The defenses were disasters. And after the final pass had been flung, the Seattle Seahawks were in the playoffs with the first division title in their 13-year history.

Dave Krieg passed for 410 yards and 4 touchdowns and Norm Johnson kicked 5 field goals as the Seahawks beat the Raiders, 43-37, Sunday in the Coliseum and won the AFC West title.

The Raiders had a chance to win the game in the final minute, but Jay Schroeder threw 4 consecutive incompletions from the Seahawks’ 45-yard line in the final minute.

“We knew that this was going to be a wild game,” Seattle Coach Chuck Knox said.

“Right from the start,” Raiders linebacker Matt Millen said, “I heard one of their lineman say, ‘It’s going to be one of those games.’ And it was.”

Seattle (9-7) will play at Cincinnati against the AFC Central champion Bengals on either Dec. 31 or Jan. 1.

“This was a very fine accomplishment for our players because we had a lot of ups and downs this year,” Knox said. “But it came down to this, and our guys battled hard. The Raiders are a tough football team. I’m just glad we were able to have a couple more points at the end. We just want to win, whatever way we can.”

Seattle had 490 yards of total offense to 441 for the Raiders. Schroeder completed 22 of 49 for 354 yards and three touchdowns. Krieg completed 19 of 32 passes. He had thrown five touchdown passes during a victory over the Raiders at the Kingdome on Nov. 28.

“There are lots of guys on this team, including me, who have never won a major championship of any kind,” Krieg said. “It feels real good. The longer you wait, the better it is. I thought this was a super ballgame. The Raiders just would not die. They were very, very tough.”

Krieg missed seven games this season because of a separated shoulder.

“David coming back has made all the difference in the world,” Seattle guard Bryan Millard said. “People just feel like we’re going to win when he’s in there.”

The Raiders, who haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 1985, finished 7-9 and in third place. They nearly pulled it out.

Krieg threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to John L. Williams midway through the third quarter, giving the Seahawks a 37-20 lead. But Schroeder’s third touchdown pass made it 40-34 with nearly 13 minutes left.

Johnson’s fifth field goal without a miss, a 32-yarder with 5:18 remaining, gave Seattle a nine-point lead. Chris Bahr kicked a 24-yard field goal with 2:21 to go and Seattle got the ball back, but the Seahawks stalled.

Los Angeles got the ball at its own 33-yard line with 1:08 remaining and no timeouts. Schroeder threw a 22-yard pass to Mervyn Fernandez, putting the ball at the Seattle 45-yard line, but Schroeder’s last four passes were incomplete. The last one was into a crowd in the end zone and was batted away.

“I’m as disappointed as you can get,” Raiders coach Mike Shanahan said. “I felt we should have come away with a victory, and didn’t. The bottom line is they got it done and we didn’t. It’s the toughest year I’ve ever been through. I want to congratulate Seattle. I hope they go all the way. Krieg’s been a winner for years. He’s cool, calm, collected and finds a way to win.”

Earlier, Krieg threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Steve Largent and 17 and 30-yard scoring passes to rookie Brian Blades, who had four receptions for 123 yards.

Johnson also kicked field goals of 39, 24 and 40 yards in the second quarter and a 35-yarder with 14:46 left in the game. The Seahawks went ahead for good on Johnson’s second field goal, which made it 20-17 with 1:52 left in the first half.

Schroeder threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Willie Gault in the second quarter, a 4-yarder to Steve Smith late in the third quarter and a 54-yarder to Fernandez with 12:54 left in the game.

Bahr kicked field goals of 26 and 28 yards earlier for the Raiders. Tim Brown got the first Los Angeles touchdown when he recovered his own fumble in the end zone.

Williams had seven receptions for 180 yards and led the Seahawks in rushing with 59 yards on 14 carries. Bo Jackson led the Raiders with 67 yards on 14 carries.

The Raiders took a 7-0 lead after six minutes when Brown recovered his own fumble in the end zone. Brown carried the ball on a third-and-goal play from the Seattle two-yard line and fumbled when hit by Melvin Jenkins, but Brown recovered the ball in the end zone.