The date is November 11, 2002. It was the 500th game on Monday night football. The then-Oakland Raiders were originally seen as Super Bowl favorites but coming into Mile High: they were riding a four-game losing streak.
It seemed like the whole season had crumbled. The Denver Broncos were sitting at 6-2 and were now the choice by many as the pick for number one in the AFC. The Raiders came in on their opening drive and stalled with a field goal. The Broncos drove down the field and arrived at the four-yard line with their eyes on the touchdown. Alas, Rod Woodson jumped in front of Brian Griese’s pass and ran 98 yards for a touchdown.
The Raiders go up 10-0 and end up winning 34-10; it catapults them to win their next seven of eight games, and they make it to the Super Bowl. They would end up losing pretty badly, and many say they have not recovered since then.Fast forward to the 2021 Raiders…
Now it leads us to the present, the Raiders, after a week full of headlines, emails, and Jon Gruden’s resignation travel, to face the Broncos. The Raiders have lost their last two games after a hot 3-0 start, and there was chatter about them going back to the playoffs. With the two losses and the season seemingly crumbling down, can they get a repeat of 2002?“These great players are going to have to pull them out of this slump” John Madden echoed those feelings in 2002.
Do these Raiders have the type of great players as that 2002 team did? As of now, we can say probably not, but if they want to be known as great, this would be the time to step up and do it. This current roster does have some veterans and leaders, and if they want to turn this season around and make a run to the playoffs, it falls on them.
It would be easy to believe that the focus may not be 100 percent at the moment. Hard to argue when you consider all the stress and drama that has occurred in less than a week. Sunday, all that matters is the game against the Broncos and trying to pick up another victory and go forward.
With the emotions and feelings that have taken place within the organization, the team still has to play. We all know that in the words of the legendary Al Davis for this week’s Raiders, all you need is to ‘Just Win, Baby!’
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