Raiders fans hope home finale isn’t the finish for Oakland

Philip Rivers greets former Oakland Raider Lamarr Houston before last year’s game at Qualcomm Stadium.

From the costume-clad crazies in the Black Hole who turn football Sundays into Halloween, the infield dirt that serves as an obstacle early in the season to the crumbling infrastructure, the Oakland Coliseum has provided a unique setting. Raider Raspect said, “You know Al Davis is buried right here in Oakland, so my person feeling is they should stay here in Oakland, but I understand business is business and the city has to do what the city has to do, and the Raiders have to do what they have to do”. The Raiders and Chargers have joined forces for a new stadium in Carson that they would share.

Raiders 20, Chargers 17, 4:42 fourth quarter: Oakland takes the lead when Michael Crabtree catches a three-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr. “But I am proud of how we hung in there and made some plays at the end”.

Then, just minutes after the final home game of his Hall of Fame career was over, after teammates surrounded him and doused him with water, Woodson was handed a microphone and bellowed to the crowd.

Before the game, Woodson took a stroll around the outer ring of the field and greeted some fans along the way. It also made Charles Woodson a victor in his final home game with the Raiders as he will retire after his 18th National Football League season.

“It’s part of our growth as a team, especially on the defensive side, to be resilient”, Smith said.

“I’ve been here for so many great games”. He was a fan before the Raiders left in 1982 and was still one while they were away. The third quarter was particularly bad with the teams combining for seven punts and one safety when Denico Autry sacked Rivers in the end zone on eight drives.

Oakland’s Khalil Mack was called for holding on the play and Chargers coach Mike McCoy opted to take the penalty instead of the three points. I think emotion carries them in a big way.

The Raiders answered with a long touchdown drive of their own, which was capped off by a 22-yard run off right guard for the score.

The Patriots have already locked up the AFC East, but also need to win to hold off the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos – who play each other on Monday in Denver – for the top seed in the AFC and homefield advantage throughout the play-offs.

Barring a change of heart, though, Thursday represented Woodson’s final bow before adoring fans in Oakland. San Diego is 4-10 on the year, 1-5 on the road and 6-8 against the spread.

The Raiders’ secondary has been much improved since the beginning of the year and will provide more resistance than they did in the first meeting between the two teams, where Rivers threw for over 330 yards. Crabtree has been making extremely few plays the past six weeks.

It was another tough night for Carr, who had just 134 passing yards in regulation.

Carr completed 24 of 39 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown with one interception.