Though Bo Comes Up Short, Raiders Have Come Long Way

Oakland would have loved this team.

The Raiders are so good, Bo Jackson and Tim Brown don’t even start.

The Raiders are so deep, Greg Bell and Steve Beuerlein aren’t even needed.

The Raiders are so pleased with themselves, they razz Bo Jackson after 88-yard runs.

“Don’t let anybody ever catch you from behind!” Ron Brown ribbed Bo.

“They wouldn’t have caught me from behind!” Marcus Allen needled. “I would have scored on that play!”

This was one happy, rapping, sassy, saucy, cocky, lucky, plucky, strong, slick, quick, for-real Raider bunch that made the playoffs Sunday, and aren’t you glad they didn’t leave Los Angeles? Who knows? These characters might still get a closer look at the San Francisco 49ers before this season is over.

By winning twice in six days, including a 24-7 runaway over famous diet-cola endorser Boomer (I’m Melting! I’m Melting!) Esiason, famous women’s rights activist Sam (The Wicked Wyche of the East) Wyche and the rest of the Cincinnati Bengals, the Raiders ran their record to 10-4 and continued running toward their Super Bowl goal--the same way Jackson ran toward Cincinnati’s goal.

Wish them better luck than Bo had.

The play of the day at the Coliseum--the one you probably saw on six or seven TV highlight shows--came early in the third quarter, with the Raiders buried 89 yards from paydirt. Although we never heard Raider radio voice Bill King’s call, let’s pretend we work for a radio station instead of for a newspaper and take a whack at it.

Handoff to Bo Jackson! He runs left! No, he runs right! He runs into the quarterback! No, he runs over the quarterback! He’s at the 10, the five! No, he’s back at the 10! He runs past Rod Jones! He’s at the 15, the 20! He runs down the sideline! Rod Jones runs behind him! The 45, the 50, the 45! He veers down the middle! The 10, the five, the one, touchd . . . ! No, he’s tackled at the one-half!”

Bengal cornerback Rod Jones, in the longest pursuit since John Wayne hunted for Natalie Wood in “The Searchers,” gave Jackson a headstart, huffed and puffed the length of the field, took a belly-flop dive at his quarry’s feet and literally made a shoestring catch. Jackson sat in the end zone, stunned and winded. He broke into a smile, collapsed backward as though in a faint, then did a handspring back to his feet.

Further review of the play:

Jones: “Bo’s fast, but so am I.”

Jackson: “That was no 88 yards. That was about 140 yards. I couldn’t see the guy chasing me, but I saw his shadow down on the ground. I was trying to run away from the shadow and I ran the wrong way. Guess I lost him in the sun.”

Raider quarterback Schroeder: “He would have scored if he hadn’t used up all his energy jumping over me.”

Raider right guard Max Montoya: “I was on my face, as usual. I spat the grass out of my helmet, looked up and he was gone.”

Bengal Coach Wyche: “I think everybody who plays this guy knows that you hold your breath on every snap.”

Jones: “Any time Bo gets a step on anybody, it’s some kind of race to catch him. It’s him or you. I was a quarter-miler in college. I’ve run the 40 in 4.27. After the game, he came up to me and asked why I ran him down. It’s just something I had to do.”

Raider line and one-liner specialist Bob Golic: “I couldn’t believe that guy. He chased him something like 150 yards. I thought he was going to chase him into the parking lot. I wanted to find him later and say: ‘Hi, buddy. Gosh, don’t you wish you’d tackled him just a little teensy-bit sooner?’ ”

Raider rookie tight end Rich Bartlewski: “I threw my block and watched Bo go. I can’t wait to call my mother and ask her how it looked on TV.”

The rookie wasn’t even around for last season’s Bengal-lancer, when Bo broke free for 92 yards, the longest touchdown run in Raider history.

That one came against Cincinnati, too, and inspired Wyche to say that he would buy a ticket just to see Bo play.

During the playoffs, he might have to.

For Jackson, it was his third straight 100-yard rushing day. He got 117 in this one--which would have been 118, if not for Relentless Rod Jones.

Jackson said it was “the first time I’ve been caught from behind since my junior year of college, when Jerry Gray got me and I separated my shoulder.”

Afterward, some of the guys gave him the Slo-Bo treatment.

“Pick up your feet next time,” Allen teased.

Yes, Bo, try to do better. Run along now.