Raiders finally victorious

Art Shell gathered his team the night before the game and told his players they needed to find some swagger.

Nothing like a visit from the hapless Arizona Cardinals to do the trick.

Andrew Walter threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss, ReShard Lee ran for a one-yard score in the first quarter, and the Raiders overcame five turnovers to win their first game of the season, 22-9, over Arizona.

“It’s a weight off everybody’s shoulders to get a first win,” Shell said. “I’m most happy for the guys in the locker room. It’s not about me. It’s about those guys in the locker room. They’ve worked very hard to get some taste of success.”

The win ended an 11-game losing streak and ended the growing talk of a possible winless season for the Raiders (1-5).

“By no means does this set our season on a pedestal,” defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. “We’ve still got to go out and get some more wins.”

And now there’s a new contender for worst team in the NFL in the Cardinals, who have lost six in a row.

“I can’t believe that we’re sitting at 1-6, but we are,” Coach Dennis Green said. “Absolutely this is my fault. It’s my job to make sure the ship is being ruddered the right way.”

Rookie Matt Leinart was 13 of 32 for 203 yards and two interceptions to lose his third career start, Edgerrin James ran for 34 yards in 13 carries, and Arizona could manage only three field goals from Neil Rackers.

Moss had his biggest game of the year despite a few drops, catching seven balls for 129 yards. But the biggest key was the defense, which put constant pressure on Leinart and shut down James.

Michael Huff, the player the Raiders took instead of Leinart in April’s draft, tackled Marcel Shipp in the end zone for a safety.

Walter, who left because of a hamstring injury in the third quarter, finished 17 of 30 for 263 yards in his first career win.

Leinart looked nothing like the player who became the first NFL quarterback to throw two first-quarter touchdowns in his first two starts.

“He was flustered,” safety Stuart Schweigert said. “ ... He was throwing the ball away real quick.”