K Sebastian Janikowski's 43-yard field goal at the end of regulation was his 12th game-winning/game-tying kick of his career. Photo by Tony Gonzales.
Team Notes
The Raiders improved to 1-2 with a 34-31 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Sept. 23.
The victory marked the first for the Raiders under the leadership of General Manager Reggie McKenzie and Head Coach Dennis Allen.
The win marked the third for the Raiders in their last four contests against Pittsburgh.
The Silver and Black out-gained the Steelers on the ground, 119-54, led by RB Darren McFadden's 113 rushing yards.
The Raiders did not commit a penalty in the first half and finished the game with three penalties for 25 yards. The Steelers committed 10 penalties for 81 yards for the game.
Individual Notes
RB Darren McFadden's first carry of the game went for a 64-yard touchdown, marking the second-longest run of his career. His career-long rush was a 70-yard scamper against the New York Jets on Sept. 18, 2011.
McFadden's 64-yard run was an Oakland franchise-high against Pittsburgh (20 meetings), shattering former Raiders' RB Charlie Garner's 36-yard TD run (Sept. 15, 2002 at Pit.).
McFadden rushed for 113 rushing yards, surpassing Bo Jackson for 13th all-time on the franchise's career list with 2,794 yards.
The performance marked the 10th career 100-yard rushing for McFadden and his first since rushing for a career-high 171 yards against the New York Jets on Sept. 25, 2011.
QB Carson Palmer completed 24-for-34 pass attempts for 209 yards and three touchdowns, matching his highest touchdown total as a Raider (Nov. 6, 2011 vs. Den.).
Palmer posted a 103.7 quarterback rating, marking his highest single-game rating since posting a 113.2 rating on Dec. 18, 2011 against Detroit.
K Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired to post his 12th career game-winning/game-tying field goal. It marked his first game-winning field goal since Dec. 24, 2011 at Kansas City and his first game-winning field goal in regulation since Nov. 26, 2009 against Cincinnati.
DT Richard Seymour was credited with a 5-yard sack in the fourth quarter, marking his first of the season and increasing his career total to 55.5. It also gives Seymour 3.5 career sacks of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, tied for the second-most of any quarterback by Seymour (Drew Bledsoe – 5).
CB Joselio Hanson's fumble recovery in the second quarter marked the sixth consecutive season in which he records a fumble recovery (2007-12).
CB Brandian Ross and DE Jack Crawford both made their NFL debuts Sunday afternoon.
Head Coach Dennis Allen challenged a play for the first time in the regular season, earning a reverse of a Steeler completion in the second quarter. He is now a perfect four-for-four on replay challenges, winning three challenges during the 2012 preseason.
DT Desmond Bryant recorded his third career forced fumble (first since Nov. 20, 2011 at Minnesota). The forced fumble, recovered by LB Philip Wheeler, marked the first turnover for Oakland in the 2012 NFL Season.
TE David Ausberry recorded a reception in consecutive games for the first time in his career, hauling in a 13-yard pass from QB Carson Palmer.
WR Darrius Heyward-Bey hauled in his seventh career TD reception, a 3-yard pass from QB Carson Palmer in the second quarter. The TD catch was his first of the 2012 NFL season.
S Michael Huff made his first career start at CB, totaling four tackles (three solo).
TE Richard Gordon's 1-yard TD reception in the third quarter was the first of his NFL career.
WR Denarius Moore made a diving 6-yard catch for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, giving the second-year receiver six career touchdown receptions.
With four PATs on the day, K Sebastian Janikowski surpassed legendary QB-K George Blanda for first on the Raiders all-time franchise list for PATs, he now has 397 for his career.
RB Mike Goodson's 51-yard kickoff return in the third quarter was the longest in his career. Goodson's return set up a Raider touchdown drive.
LB Philip Wheeler recorded his first career fumble recovery and forced a fumble for the first time with the Silver and Black. The forced fumble was his first since Sept. 18, 2011 vs. Cleveland, as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. Wheeler was credited with a game-high 11 tackles (seven solo) and two passes defensed, which marked a career high.
CB Pat Lee recorded his first career forced fumble in the fourth quarter that was recovered by LB Phillip Wheeler and set up the Raiders' game-tying field-goal drive. He made his second straight start at CB and was credited with four tackles (three solo).
FB Marcel Reece hauled in a career-high four passes for 27 yards, eclipsing his previous career high of three receptions.
WR Derek Hagan totaled three catches for 30 yards, including two receptions for 26 yards on the game-winning field-goal drive in the fourth quarter.
Inactive for the game were QB Terrelle Pryor, CB Shawntae Spencer, T Khalif Barnes, T Joe Barksdale, OL Lucas Nix, WR Juron Criner and DT Christo Bilukidi.
