Friday, September 19, 1997Next: JETS (2-2)
Jets 23, Raiders 22
The Associated Press
 Ray Mickens of the Jets outruns Raiders holder Leo Araguz and races 72 yards for the winning touchdown after a blocked field goal attempted. | ZOOM | |
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Sunday, 4 p.m. Line: Cin by 4 |
''We've got to win our home games and that win will be a big boost for us,'' Mickens said after New York (2-2) snapped a 13-game home slide, one short of Dallas' league record, set in 1988-89. ''We won't quit. Everybody underestimates us, saying we are average or mediocre. We believe in our hearts that we are better than that.
''(Coach Bill) Parcells stressed all week to get a field-goal block and we made the extra effort. The kicker was erratic all day and we felt we'd be able to get one.''
Brown broke through almost untouched and dived to block Cole Ford's kick. It was the most damaging of Ford's four misses - he also failed from 44, 27 and 47 yards and botched an extra point. The snaps were poor or mishandled on three of the kicks.
''It was a low snap and a low kick,'' Raiders coach Joe Bugel said of the decisive block.
Asked how many of the snaps were poor, Bugel added, ''Probably all of them.''
Ford declined to blame the snaps.
''Who knows? I felt comfortable with everything,'' he said. ''Joe might be trying to take some pressure off me. I don't think I ever missed a kick on turf.''
In the third quarter, Brown caught Brian Hansen's short pass on a fake punt and turned it into a 26-yard gain, setting up rookie John Hall's third field goal, from 26 yards.
''Bill is one of the few coaches who puts in fakes and runs them,'' said Hansen, who threw a TD pass for Cleveland in 1991. ''Bill has a reputation for not being afraid to run them. He says, 'Whatever it takes.'''
The Raiders (1-3) seem to do whatever it takes to lose; their losses have been by a total of five points.
''It's very discouraging,'' James Jett said. ''You put up 468 yards, no turnovers and you ask, 'What do you have to do to win?' I don't know.''
Certainly you can't fall apart on special teams. The kicking woes negated strong efforts by Jeff George, who threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, beating cornerback Otis Smith on each; Tim Brown, the league's leading receiver entering the game, who had 10 catches for 153 yards, with a 29-yard TD; and Jett.
Jett caught five passes for 148 yards and two scores - a 56-yarder in the first quarter and an 11-yarder in the second. He also had a 53-yard reception to set up Cole's kick that was blocked.
Napoleon Kaufman, coming off a 140-yard, two-touchdown effort vs. Atlanta, gained 126 yards but didn't break any long runs and was held in check in the second half.
Hall also had field goals of 34 and 47 yards. His marksmanship and Ford's problems made the difference.
Until the fourth-quarter turnaround, the Raiders kept working on and over Smith, who played cornerback for the Patriots in the Super Bowl last January. He was no match Sunday for the speedy Jett, and was not within five steps of Tim Brown on his touchdown.
The Raiders went for a 2-point conversion after Brown's TD, but Jett slipped in the end zone, sparing Smith further embarrassment.
New York's first-half touchdown came on Adrian Murrell's 4-yard run. Murrell had runs of 20 and 12 yards on New York's final drive, then caught a short pass from O'Donnell and gained 14 yards on fourth down at the Raiders 28 to clinch it.
''If we try a field goal there and it gets blocked,'' Parcells said, ''we could lose the game. I can't say that wasn't in the back of my mind.''
The Jets hadn't won at home since Oct. 22, 1995 vs. Miami.
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