Raiders Prove to Be Too Much : Pro football: Jeff Jaeger ties the score with a 49-yard field goal in the final second of regulation and then wins it in overtime.

There were two games in one, two Jay Schroeders, two Raider teams, really. There were two Jeffs, Jaeger and Gossett, the kicking heroes, too many memorable plays to remember and too many hearts beating too fast.

For Seattle, there was too much Ronnie Lott.

In the end it was Jaeger, the hometown product, his relatives in the stands, kicking a 37-yard field goal with 8:33 remaining in overtime Sunday night to give the Raiders a wild 23-20 win over Seattle before a crowd of 61,974 at the Kingdome. Jaeger had sent the game into overtime with a 49-yard field goal with one second remaining.

Was the course of a season changed? The Raiders were 3-3 going in and trailed 17-0 at halftime. Schroeder could hear the boos from Los Angeles. His team turned the ball over five times in the first 30 minutes. Sinking to his absolute worst, Schroeder threw something resembling a pass that was intercepted and returned 32-yards for a touchdown.

Then, just as fast, he turned back the clock to 1988, to his Raider debut against Denver, when he rallied his team to an overtime victory after trailing 24-0 at the half.

“The games were very similar,” Schroeder said.

Coach Art Shell did what he could at the half.

“I used some choice words,” said Shell, a man whose idea of a curse word is doggone. “I said, ‘What are you going to do? Are we going to die?’ I told them our heads are bloodied, not bowed.”

The Raiders, a rambling wreck of an offense for two quarters, was suddenly transformed into a menacing machine, scoring on four consecutive possessions to send the game to overtime.

The Raiders went 76 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. They marched 42 yards in 12 plays for a field goal. In the fourth quarter, they drove a 73 yards in 11 plays for the game-tying touchdown, a 12-yard pass from Schroeder to Tim Brown with 6:12 left.

They rode rookie tailback Nick Bell until he dropped, rushing him 15 times for 68 yards after intermission.

They made every play they had to make. To stay in the game, they had no choice.

The defense, as it has been all season, was there all along. But what about that offense?

“We got our act together,” Schroeder said. “We pulled our heads out of our you-know-what and came out to play.”

Trailing by seven points, the Raiders faced fourth and one at the Seattle 36. No problem. Schroeder, fooling everyone, completed a 24-yard pass to Mervyn Fernandez, setting up the scoring pass to Brown.

Then the comeback came crashing down on their heads, the game tied, when they allowed Seahawks quarterback Jeff Kemp to complete a 52-yard pass to Brian Blades on third down. Seattle, it seemed, had stolen the game back when John Kasay kicked a 45-yard field goal with 2:04 left to put Seattle up, 20-17.

Could Schroeder bring the Raiders back again? He kept thinking about Denver in 1988.

“All you have to do is look back at my first game,” he said.

The Raiders got the ball back at their own 16-yard line at the two-minute warning. Then it was a race against time.

Schroeder worked the Raiders to the Seattle 41 with 51 seconds left. But it was fourth down and three. This was the game. And it was this close: Schroeder passed short to Brown, who made the first down by two inches.

A seven-yard pass to Steve Smith put the Raiders into Jaeger’s range, if not barely. Earlier, Jaeger had missed from 56 yards. But here, with one second remaining, Jaeger tied the game with a 49-yard field goal, sending the game into overtime.

“The tension was on the one in regulation,” Jaeger said. “That was the tough one.”

Overtime took a sour turn when Seattle won the toss and received the kickoff. The Raiders stuffed the Seahawks on their first time with a big-time play from safety Ronnie Lott. On second down, Lott came out of nowhere to make a hit on John L. Williams, holding the fullback to two yards when it seemed he might run for 20.

The Raiders failed on their first possession in overtime, but Jeff Gossett pushed the Seahawks back to their nine-yard line with a critical 61-yard punt.

Then it was time for Lott to make the play of the game, stepping in front of Blades on second down and intercepting a Kemp pass. It was what the Raiders had in mind when they signed the future Hall of Famer in the spring.

Jaeger stepped out, and you figured the game was history. This is Jaeger’s season. His third field goal, this one from 37 yards, put a great game to rest.

Jaeger, clearly the team’s MVP on offense, has now made 17 of 19 field-goal attempts this season.

“Don’t pinch me,” he said. “It’s going good right now. I have to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Raider Notes

Before Sunday, the Raiders had not scored more than 17 points in a game this season. They have still not scored a rushing touchdown. Quarterback Jay Schroeder completed 28 of 52 passes for 274 yards. Amazingly, he was not sacked. Schroeder made up for two first-half interceptions with two second-half touchdowns. . . . Defensive end Howie Long said Sunday night’s game was the second-most thrilling his 11-year career. He said coming back from a 24-0 deficit to beat Denver in 1988 was his first. . . . Ronnie Lott’s game-clinching interception in overtime was his first of the season. . . . Tight end Ethan Horton had a big game, catching nine passes for 79 yards, including an eight-yard scoring pass from Schroeder in the third quarter. . . . Seattle quarterback Jeff Kemp had a woeful night, completing 10 of 25 passes for 147 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Seattle defensive end Jacob Green: “I can’t even imagine losing a game the way we lost it today. We were up 17 points at home. You don’t lose games like that.” . . . Rookie Nick Bell came of age Sunday night, carring most of the second-half load. Coach Art Shell has nicknamed Bell “Boomer” We don’t have Bo now, we have Boomer,” Shell said.