Raiders Go Sour After Ford’s Lemon

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers couldn’t have stopped a three-game losing streak without a lot of generosity from the Oakland Raiders.

Michael Husted’s 23-yard field goal with 3:04 remaining in overtime Sunday gave the Buccaneers an improbable 20-17 victory over the mistake-prone Raiders, who blew an opportunity to win when Oakland’s Cole Ford missed a 28-yard field-goal attempt with five seconds left in regulation.

“I think it’s justice,” Tampa Bay linebacker Hardy Nickerson said. “It was our time to catch a break.”

Trent Dilfer set up the winning points with completions of 12 yards to Karl Williams and 20 yards to Mike Alstott, who also had a 10-yard run during an 11-play, 57-yard drive.

The Raiders (4-6) were on the verge of rebounding from last Monday night’s 22-21 loss to Denver when Ford, who earlier kicked a 45-yard field goal into the wind, hooked his attempt to the left.

“That was ridiculous. It’s just the worst feeling in the world,” Ford said. “It’s a degrading feeling. I lost the game.”

The Buccaneers (2-8) scored on their second possession in overtime after forcing a punt. Dilfer overcame two early mistakes that hurt Tampa Bay to complete 20 of 28 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

“You can’t always count on them missing a field goal, but maybe it was poetic justice,” Tampa Bay Coach Tony Dungy said. “That’s a mark of what this team is all about, going out there 1-8 and not giving up.”

Jeff Hostetler completed 15 of 22 passes for 181 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown pass to Darryl Hobbs.