Surprising Raider Victory Comes by Way of Maryland

Forget the eagerly awaited matchup between last year’s rookie sensations Randy Moss and Charles Woodson. Veteran defensive tackle Russell Maryland knew the key to the Minnesota Viking-Oakland Raider game was the amount of pressure he’d get on 36-year-old Randall Cunningham.

And, Maryland put enough pressure on Cunningham--and made several other big plays--to help the Raiders to a stunning 22-17 victory Sunday over the Vikings, an offensive powerhouse suddenly struggling to score.

“As good of a quarterback as he is and has been, nothing beats putting pressure on him,” Maryland said. “You get him on the ground and you start to get to him.”

Maryland recovered a fumble, picked off a pass and led a relentless rush. The Raiders got six sacks and held the Vikings to 34 yards rushing, including minus-one in the second half.

A week after blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 28-24 loss at Green Bay, the Raiders (1-1) repeatedly stymied the Vikings’ comeback bid after a brief lapse late in the third quarter.

Ahead 22-10, the Raiders were called for a personal foul and unsportsmanlike penalty that set up Cunningham’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Jake Reed in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

But in their final four possessions, the Vikings (1-1) went three-and-out twice, turned the ball over on downs and Cunningham threw an interception.

In two games, the Vikings have scored 34 points, which was about their average per game last season when they set an NFL-record 556 points.

“No, I didn’t expect that because I know the sky’s always the limit,” said Cunningham, who was 23 for 39 for 364 yards and two touchdowns. “It’s going to be a tough year for us.”

So frustrated was Viking Coach Dennis Green that he went for a first down on fourth-and-10 from the Raider 39 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining, but Andrew Glover was stopped short after catching a pass from Cunningham.

“I just felt like we had to try to make something happen,” Green said.

Tyrone Wheatley fumbled at the Viking 31 with 3:40 left, but Minnesota failed to gain a first down and punted. Wheatley secured the victory with a 25-yard run with two minutes left. He rushed 12 times for 67 yards in the second half and finished with 83 yards in 18 carries.

The Raiders trailed 10-6 at halftime despite being outgained 256 yards to 93. Rich Gannon accounted for both Raider touchdowns in the third quarter on a nine-yard pass to James Jett and five-yard run.

In the matchup of last season’s offensive and defensive rookies of the year, Moss had four catches for 86 yards--including a spectacular one-handed grab over Woodson for a 29-yard gain in the second quarter.