QB Bruce Gradkowski passed for three fourth quarter touchdowns in the win over the Steelers at Pittsburgh on December 6.
TOUCHDOWN FARGAS: Raiders RB Justin Fargas recorded his team-leading third rushing touchdown during the December 13 game against the Washington Redskins at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. His score capped a 50-yard, eight-play drive and marked his 10th career touchdown.
FOURTH QUARTER HAT TRICK: Bruce Gradkowski passed for three fourth quarter touchdowns in the win over the Steelers at Pittsburgh on December 6. It marked the first time a Raider quarterback passed for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter since Ken Stabler accomplished the feat on December 3, 1979 against the New Orleans Saints.
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EUGENE GETS FIRST PICK: S Hiram Eugene recorded his first career interception at Pittsburgh on December 6. The four-year veteran picked off a pass in the end zone to halt a potential Steelers scoring drive late in the second quarter.
MILLER TIME:After catching seven passes for 46 yards with a long of 11 yards during the December 13 game against the Redskins in Oakland, TE Zach Miller increased his team-leading receptions total to 50. The third-year tight end has hauled in a reception of 20 yards or more in four games this season. He had 20-yard plus receptions in 14 games last year, including eight straight games to close out the season. Miller has recorded a reception of 20 or more yards in 20 career games. Miller, who ranks in the top five among AFC tight ends in receptions, became just the fifth Raiders tight end since 1963 to lead the team in receptions with 56 last year, and is on pace to become the first Raider tight end to lead the team in receptions in consecutive seasons since Todd Christensen did from 1982-86. Miller caught six passes for a career-high 139 yards (23.2 avg.) and an 86-yard touchdown, during the October 18 Raiders' 13-9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The scoring reception was the career-long for Miller and was the longest by a Raider tight end in team history.
MURPHY TOPS CENTURY MARK: Rookie WR Louis Murphy caught four passes for 128 yards at Pittsburgh on December 6, marking his first career 100-yard receiving performance. All four of his catches came in the fourth quarter, including a 75-yard touchdown and an 11-yard touchdown reception that proved to be the game-winning score.
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300 THROUGH THE AIR: QB Bruce Gradkowski threw for a career-high 308 yards at Pittsburgh on December 6. The total topped his previous career-high of 225 passing yards set when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006, and marked the first time since 2007 that a Raiders quarterback has thrown for 300 or more yards in a single game. Gradkowski also set career-highs with three touchdown passes and a 75-yard completion in the win over the Steelers.
C-NOTE ON GROUND: The Raiders totaled more than 100 yards on the road versus the league's top-ranked rushing defense during the Silver and Black's 27-24 win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh on December 6.
TOUCHDOWN, HEYWARD-BEY!: Rookie wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey caught his first touchdown pass as a pro on a 4-yard pass from QB Bruce Gradkowski in the third quarter of the nationally televised Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys in Dallas.
SACK FOR SCOTT: Trevor Scott, who is seeing action at both OLB and DE, recorded his sixth sack of the 2009 season on December 6 against the Washington Redskins.
DOUBLE SACK FOR SCOTT: Trevor Scott recorded two sacks during the November 26 contest against the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving. Scott has notched two multiple-sack games this season for the Silver and Black defense, and has four in his career.
FARGAS CRACKS TOP 10:Running back Justin Fargas passed Charlie Smith to move into ninth place on the Raiders' all-time rushing list. Fargas has led the Raiders in rushing the past three years. In 2007, Fargas rushed for a career-high 1,009 yards and four touchdowns despite missing the last two weeks of the season due to injury. He came off the bench against Miami and set a single-game career high with 179 yards on September 30, 2007.
10 POINTS IN 18 SECONDS: The Raiders scored a touchdown, extra point and a game-winning field goal within an 18-second span during the Raiders' 20-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on November 22 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. QB Bruce Gradkowski led the Raiders in an 11-play, 80-yard drive culminating with a 29-yard scoring toss to rookie WR Louis Murphy with 33 seconds left in the game and Janikowski's PAT tied the score at 17. After the Raiders recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Janikowski converted on a 33-yard field goal with 15 second remaining in the game to provide the margin of victory.
MAKE IT 9:After booting a 33-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to give the Raiders a 20-17 win over Cincinnati on November 22, Sebastian Janikowski has now kicked nine game-winning field goals. The winning boot also marked the second time in Janikowski's career that he has kicked a field goal in the waning seconds to provide the margin of victory against the Bengals. In addition, Janikowski has made good on his last 25 field goal attempts of 40 yards or less.
45 OR LONGER: K Sebastian Janikowski connected on a 54-yard field goal during the December 20 contest at Denver versus the Broncos marking the ninth time in the 2009 regular season that the veteran kicker has converted on a field goal of 45 or more yards. Janikowski has converted a field goal of at least 50 yards four times in the past six games.
HIGGINS MOVING THE CHARTS: With two punt returns, Johnnie Lee Higgins would move into for sixth place on the Silver and Black's all-time list. Higgins (837 yards) needs six return yards to pass Darrien Gordon.
