The Frightful Five

A look at the Raiders’ last five games--all losses.

DALLAS COWBOYS 34, RAIDERS 21

Scene: Nov. 19 at Oakland.

Perception: The Raiders, with an 8-2 record that matches the Cowboys’, will regain respect for AFC with a victory in this probable Super Bowl preview. They will not only beat their cocky Texas visitors, they will bully them. Tim Brown will bring Deion Sanders to his knees.

Reality: The Cowboys score two touchdowns in the first 16 minutes and never trail. Sanders intercepts a pass and dances it back 34 yards.

Statistic: Raider bullying costs them 113 yards in 13 penalties.

Omen: Jeff Hostetler is knocked out of the game late in the second quarter by defensive tackle Chad Hennings. He disappears for more than a month.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 12, RAIDERS 6

Scene: Nov. 27 at San Diego.

Perception: The Raiders, fighting mad after their loss to the Cowboys, will embarrass the woeful defending AFC champions before a nationally televised Monday night audience. This game will turn the Raider season back in the right direction.

Reality: It is the game that turns the Chargers’ season. Their defense holds the Raiders without a touchdown and intercepts three of backup Oakland quarterback Vince Evans’ passes.

Statistic: Harvey Williams catches six passes, as many as Daryl Hobbs and Tim Brown combined.

Omen: Williams breaks a 60-yard run . . . but is caught from behind by cornerback Dwayne Harper.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 29, RAIDERS 23

Scene: Dec. 3 at Oakland.

Perception: The Raiders, feeling they were cheated by the officials in an earlier loss in Kansas City, will gain bloody revenge. The untested Chiefs will crumble before a hostile and vocal crowd. Art Shell, Chief offensive line coach returning to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for the first time in a red uniform, will not know what hit him.

Reality: The Raiders do the crumbling, after scoring on an interception return by Terry McDaniel in the first two minutes. The Chiefs score 29 of the game’s next 32 points. Evans throws two more interceptions before being replaced by Billy Joe Hobert. And Shell knows exactly what’s hitting him--water balloons and fruit thrown by fans who can’t believe his line is leading the Chiefs to 187 yards rushing.

Statistic: The Raiders gain eight yards rushing.

Omen: Hobert throws two touchdown passes but completes only five of eleven against a defense sitting on its heels.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 29, RAIDERS 10

Scene: Dec. 10 at Oakland.

Perception: Hobert, making his first NFL start, will spark the Raiders against an overrated AFC Central team that has been fattening up on the likes of Houston and Cleveland.

Reality: Midway through the fourth quarter, Hobert runs to the sidelines and only half-jokingly begs Coach Mike White to take him out. He is outmanned, with no running game, and undercut by his repeated bad decisions, and throws four interceptions.

Statistic: Erric Pegram, the tiny Steeler running back who makes his living outside, runs between the tackles for a season-high 122 yards.

Omen: Hobbs and Brown drop consecutive passes in the end zone.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 44, RAIDERS 10

Scene: Sunday at Seattle.

Perception: With their season on the line, the Raiders will be inspired by the return of Hostetler to pick apart one of the league’s weakest defenses. In the grand tradition of this rivalry, the Raiders will do everything but hire Bo Jackson to run the length of the field and into the Kingdome tunnel. The Seahawks have no chance.

Reality: The Seahawks return the opening kickoff 46 yards and score on their first five possessions. And not one of those is the result of a turnover. They simply take the ball and jam it down the Raiders’ already choking throats.

Statistic: John Friesz, a backup quarterback who personifies the word average, picks apart the Raider defensive backs for 220 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.

Omen: The first decent Raider bomb in the last month is thrown by receiver Hobbs . . . and dropped by Rocket Ismail, who is alone at the Seahawk 40-yard line with nothing between him and the end zone.