TE Zach Miller (80) hauls in a 13-yard TD pass from QB Charlie Frye. Photo by Tony Gonzales.
The Baltimore Ravens defeated The Oakland Raiders 21-13 in the 2009 Regular Season finale at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. QB Charlie Frye threw for 180 yards and a touchdown in the first half but left the game due to injury. The Raiders were unable to overcome two second half turnovers.
Baltimore won the opening coin toss and elected to defer until the second half. The Raiders chose to receive the opening kickoff. RB Gary Russell fielded K Billy Cundiff's opening kickoff 19 yards to the 20. The Raiders offense took the field with Charlie Frye at quarterback. The Raiders drive stalled at their 46 and Pro Bowl P Shane Lechler's 54-yard punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback.
The Ravens offense took the field at their 20 with Joe Flacco at quarterback. The Raiders allowed one first down before forcing a P Sam Koch punt. WR Johnnie Lee Higgins let the punt bounce and it was downed at the Raiders 22.
The Ravens held the Raiders to a three-and-out and CB Chris Carr returned Lechler's 52-yard punt to the Baltimore 26. RB Willis McGahee finished off an 8-play, 74-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run, Cundiff's extra point was good and the Ravens took at 7-0 lead with 3:47 left in the first quarter.
RB Marcel Reece returned the ensuing kickoff to the Oakland 20. K Sebastian Janikowski capped an 11-play, 61-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal and cut the Ravens lead to 7-3 with 14:49 left I the second quarter.
RB Jalen Parmele returned the ensuing kickoff to the Ravens 28. The Raiders defense held on 3rd and 15 at the Baltimore 46 and Higgins made a fair catch of a Koch punt at the Oakland 18. The Raiders drove to the Baltimore 45 before the Ravens forced a punt. After a false start penalty, Lechler's punt was downed at the Baltimore 5-yard line.
Two plays later, McGahee broke loose for a 77-yard touchdown run down the right sideline. Cundiff's extra point was good and the Ravens led 14-3 with 3:54 left in the second quarter.
Gary Russell returned the ensuing kickoff to the Oakland 21. Frye engineered a scoring drive finding TE Zach Miller in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass to cap an 8-play, 79-yard drive. Janikowski's extra point was good and the Ravens lead was cut to 14-10 with 47 second left in the second quarter.
Parmele returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to the Raiders 43. Several plays later, Cundiff missed a 37-yard field goal attempt to close out the first half.
Parmele returned the opening kickoff of the second half to the Ravens 31. The Raiders held the Ravens to a three-and-out and Koch's punt sailed out of bounds at the Raiders 20. A holding call backed the Raiders up to their 10-yard line. Frye was injured in the first half and JaMarcus Russell entered the game at quarterback to start the third quarter.
The Raiders drove out to their 41 before the drive stalled. Carr returned Lechler's 59-yard punt to midfield but a penalty on Baltimore backed them up to their 20. The Ravens next possession came to an end when rookie safeties Michael Huff and Mike Mitchell sacked Flacco on 3rd and 8. Higgins returned the punt to the Raiders 48.
Janikowski capped a 9-play, 31-yard drive with a 39-yard field goal that cut the Ravens lead to 14-13 with 4:06 left in the third quarter. The field goal also marked 1,000 points scored by Janikowski during his career.
Parmele returned the ensuing kickoff to the Baltimore 34. The Raiders held the Ravens to a three-and-out and Koch came on to punt. Higgins returned the punt to the 27. The Raiders were on the move, but a Russell pass was intercepted and the pick was returned to the Oakland 22. Baltimore took advantage when McGahee cashed in on a 1-yard TD run. The extra point was good and Baltimore took at 21-13 lead with 13:16 left.
Gary Russell fielded the ensuing kickoff in the end zone and took a knee for a touchback. The Raiders next drive ended when JaMarcus Russell was sacked and fumbled. The Ravens recovered at their 23. Baltimore drove to the Raiders 33 but Cundiff missed a 51-yard field goal. The Raiders took over at their 41 with 3:43 to play.
The Raiders were unable to generate any points and Lechler's punt was fair caught at the Ravens 9. Baltimore moved the ball out to midfield and Flacco took a knee on three consecutive plays.
The Raiders finish the 2009 campaign with a 5-11 record.
