Raiders Finally Get Going but Can’t Stop Bears in 41-38 Loss

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any silver and blacker, a Raider pulse was detected. Of course, it ebbed away in time to allow another fourth-quarter game-winning rally, and-- voila! --they had their first winless exhibition season ever.

They spotted the Chicago Bears a 20-0 lead . . . zoomed from behind to lead twice in the fourth quarter . . . and coughed up both. They fell finally, 41-38, Saturday on Jim Harbaugh’s touchdown pass to Wendell Davis with 1:53 left before their now-customary little throng of 32,652 at the Coliseum.

There were a lot of things that Coach Mike Shanahan could have said, including:

--His offense had just come back to life.

--His quarterback, Jay Schroeder, had just rallied from an early interception and booing to salvage his starting job.

Of course, Shanahan’s defense had just surrendered 508 yards.

And it wasn’t just the scrubs. In the last two first halves, the No. 1 Raider defense surrendered 477 yards to the Houston Oilers and the Bears.

Surprise! Shanahan left the silver linings unappreciated until he dealt with a more pressing problem.

“Up front, we were dominated,” he said without waiting to be asked, staring stonily ahead.

“They controlled the line of scrimmage, ran the ball at will. We’re going to have to make huge strides if we want to contend for that AFC West.”

Even this was an understatement. Even conceding the fact that they played most of the exhibition season without Howie Long and Jerry Robinson and Saturday without Scott Davis, and hope to have all back for the opener, they gave up a fat average of 176 rushing yards per exhibition. They have a new defensive coordinator, Dave Adolph, who has installed a new scheme, and so far, it doesn’t look as if they have it down.

Saturday started out in the image of last week’s one-sided first half, in which the Oilers outgained the Raiders, 203-9.

The Bears won the coin toss, received . . . and marched 85 yards for a touchdown.

Schroeder threw an interception.

The Bears marched another 85 yards to another touchdown.

The Raiders went three-plays-and-out.

Jeff Gossett penned the Bears up at their own six-yard-line with a booming 53-yard punt . . . whereupon the Bears marched 94 yards for their third touchdown.

After three Chicago possessions, it was 20-0, Mike Tomczak was 11 for 14, and the Raiders had been outgained in yardage, 264-32. In their last two first halves, they had now been outgained, 467-41. It was hard to tell if this was a job for Al Davis or the American Red Cross.

And then the Raider turned.

On the second play of the ensuing possession, Willie Gault lost rookie cornerback Donnell Woolford, got behind him by a good five yards, caught Schroeder’s bomb and loped on in to complete a 78-yard scoring play.

Schroeder threw a 38-yard pass to Mike Alexander to the Bear one on the next possession, then a four-yard touchdown pass to the new tight end, Mike Dyal.

Schroeder quarterbacked two more touchdown drives in the third period--of 64 yards and 66 yards--and the Raiders were actually ahead, 28-27. In the first three exhibitions, Schroeder and the first unit put up one touchdown, but Saturday they rang up four.

Shanahan said later that Schroeder was “a little shaken” after the early interception. Remember, Schroeder came into this game at 43.4%, with mounting sentiment around for a switch to Steve Beuerlein.

“Well, I was pressing things,” Schroeder said. “I was trying to make a big play, trying to get things going. I lost the safety (Shaun Gayle, who intercepted). I thought he’d gone straight back and I had more room to work with.”

The crowd booed.

Did Schroeder see the future containing a clipboard and visor?

“You can’t worry about that,” he said. “I’ve been booed a lot of times. I got booed clear out of there (Washington’s R.F. Kennedy Stadium). Then the next week, you come back, you make a play or two and it’s, HEY!!! I’ve been booed and I’ve been cheered. It just goes up and down.”

So did the rest of this game.

Harbaugh threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to rookie Tom Waddle, who got away from ex-Bear Mike Richardson. Bears, 34-28.

The Raiders’ Jeff Jaeger kicked a 30-yard field goal. Bears, 34-31.

Beuerlein combined on a 57-yard scoring play with none other than Mervyn Fernandez, back after only a two-week absence with a shoulder separation. Fernandez caught the ball at the Bear 38, cut across the field and ran away from the Chicago secondary. Raiders, 38-34.

Harbaugh took over with 5:20 left and drove the Bears 80 yards to victory, finishing it with a 23-yard scoring pass to Davis--his third touchdown catch of the day--and the Bears had the lead for good.

From a Raider standpoint, the exhibition season was ending just when they looked as if they could stand to be starting one.

However . . .

“I don’t think we’re where we want to be,” Schroeder said. “But we’ve got to kick it up anextra notch from where we are today.

“Next week is for real. Next week, we can’t just say, ‘Hey, we’ll get ‘em next week.’

“Next week, we gotta get ‘em. Some way, somehow, we gotta get ‘em.”

Raider Notes

The unkindest cut of all: Cornerback Mike Haynes, the 36-year-old walking legend who was already in a fight for his career, was beaten on Jim Harbaugh’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Wendell Davis. Of the top four Raider corners, only Lionel Washington had a good day, but it’s Washington who has Haynes’ job. The cutdown to 47 is today. . . . Jackie Shipp broke a bone in his right hand. Matt Millen came in for him and played spiritedly. When he made a tackle on his first play, he hopped up and gave Bear Coach Mike Ditka a fist-in-the-air salute. Ditka, laughing, returned it. Tune in today to see if it was Millen’s last stand as a Raider.

* MIKE DOWNEY: Will the Raiders be any good? Well, yes and no. Column, Page 2.