Land Ends Up the Center of Unwanted Attention

Dan Land never took his eyes off the floor.

He never looked up as he silently dressed, back turned, at his locker stall in Riverfront Stadium Sunday.

He didn’t raise his head as teammates came by to offer him whispered words of support.

He didn’t acknowledge the growing media crowd behind him.

He just looked down as if he could somehow find the game that had gotten away.

It was Land’s fumble in overtime that enabled the Cincinnati Bengals to escape with a 24-21 victory.

Land’s turnover was caused when teammate Sam Graddy accidentally speared him, knocking the ball loose. Graddy said he thought Land was heading the other way.

There were other costly plays for the Raiders Sunday. Receiver Tim Brown fumbled near the Cincinnati goal line in the third quarter. Fullback Steve Smith let a Jay Schroeder pass go off his fingers for a Bengal interception in the fourth quarter. Offensive lineman Bruce Wilkerson was called for holding on the final Raider drive of regulation play, nullifying a crucial 15-yard run by Marcus Allen. And kicker Jeff Jaeger missed two long field-goal attempts and had another blocked.

But none of that seemed to matter to Land, a special-teams player for the Raiders since 1989.

Finally, he turned and spoke.

“I really don’t know,” he said of the fumble. “My eye was focused on what was going on in front of me. Somehow, the ball was stripped loose . . . “

At that point, defensive lineman Anthony Smith intervened.

“Come on,” he said to Land, taking him by the arm and pulling him out of the media circle. “That’s all, guys. That’s enough.”

Nobody protested as Smith led him away.

Least of all, Dan Land.