the Raiders Stun Football Nation; Beat Philadelphia Eagles 13-9 After
an extremely disappointing 3-game stretch where the Raiders were
outscored 96 to 16, where Jamarcus Russell had failed to show any inkling of
being an NFL quarterback, the Raiders were the easy target and prey of sports
writers and broadcasters everywhere. Coming into Week 6, Mike Ditka threw
Jamarcus Russell in his dog house on ESPN’s NFL preview show.
Fantasy
sports writers ranked Jamarcus Russell as 129th when rating the top 32 fantasy
starters. Hell, Raider Nation even booed Russell as he trotted on the
field to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. And despite everything, what
happened? Jamarcus Russell came out and showed a glimpse of what much of the
Raider faithful had hoped the former #1 pick would be. Russell found an open
Zach Miller down the middle for an 86-yard touchdown (thanks to key blocks from
rookie receiver Louis Murphy). And in the final minutes of the game, converted
a big 3rd and long play to FB Gary Russell. Numbers wise, Russell finished the
game with his 6th sub-100 QB-rating. But in terms of showing a few flashes of
some caliber plays? This was the biggest game of the season for
Russell. Although much due respect goes to the defense, after losing Asomugha
early in the game, the Raiders held the then 3rd highest scoring offense in the
NFL to three field goals while sacking McNabb six times. For once, after all
that seemed to be lost for the 2009 Raiders’ Season, the Raiders came out and
surprised football nation. …I’m sorry for ever doubting you. Silver and Black
for life! thanks Raiders.
