Hostetler Makes the Seahawks Suffer

After passing for one touchdown and 278 yards and rushing for another score, quarterback Jeff Hostetler sat out all but one play of the fourth quarter Sunday because of an injury.

The question is, which injury?

Was it his left knee or the right? Was it his right ankle or the left? How about his throwing arm? Or perhaps a shoulder?

Who knows? Only Hostetler, and he’s not saying, no matter how shaky his walk or how wobbly his run.

Hostetler is only concerned about making plays to help get the Raiders into the playoffs. And, on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, he made enough to keep their postseason hopes alive in a 27-23 victory.

“It was just an another gutsy job by Jeff,” Raider Coach Art Shell said. “Every time he runs and goes down, I get nervous.”

Hostetler, who finished with 18 yards in four carries, showed his toughness late in the first half when he scrambled out of the pocket and ran over two defenders into the end zone to give the Raiders a 10-9 lead.

Hostetler re-injured his left knee on the play. But that did not stop him, not when the game was so close. “He twisted his knee trying to make a big play,” Shell said. “And, he made a big play .”

Hostetler’s touchdown run came at an opportune time for the Raiders, but it might not have happened had he not yelled at teammates on the sideline minutes earlier.

“I was a little upset because it seemed like no one wanted to play,” said Hostetler, who completed 18 of 25 passes. “So, I said some things that I normally wouldn’t have said to them. I felt that they had been playing lousy.”

Hostetler was angered late in the second quarter after running back Nick Bell was tackled in the end zone to give the Seahawks a safety and 9-3 lead.

On his way to the bench, Hostetler criticized his teammates for their mental lapses.

The message was not forgotten in the second half, either.

After Tim Brown scored on a 74-yard punt return and Jeff Jaeger added a 48-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 20-9 lead, Hostetler blitzed the Seahawks’ secondary with James Jett. With Seattle in bump-and-run coverage, Hostetler sent Jett deep and completed a 56-yard touchdown pass play for an 18-point lead.

“They have a lot of speed at wide receiver and they like to throw deep,” Seattle Coach Tom Flores said. “On that touchdown, (Hostetler) just threw a perfect ball.”

Although their running game was depleted because of injuries, the Raiders did not want to look for the big play on every down. But when Seattle invited Hostetler to look deep, he did not pass up the chance.

“They challenged us to go up and try to take it, so we did,” Hostetler said. “You don’t want to do that against us and play close man against our receivers because we have too much speed. It might work for a while, but sooner or later you are going to pay the consequences.”

After the touchdown pass to Jett, Hostetler would take took only five more snaps. “My injuries are nothing new,” Hostetler said. “My knee was hurt early in the year and was re-injured (Sunday).”

Hostetler said that he could have returned if necessary, and that he will be available Sunday against Tampa Bay at the Coliseum.