FLASH RECAP:
Oakland (5-11) scores the final 17 points in a stunning come-from-behind victory over Tampa Bay (9-7) before an announced crowd of 64,847 at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 28, 2008.
The Raiders' second straight triumph eliminates the Bucs from playoff contention. Tampa Bay ends its season with four losses.
Goodbye Bucs and their coach Jon Gruden, a.k.a. "Chuckie," who coached the Raiders from 1998 to 2001.
The Raiders end a season with a win for the first time since their 2002 Super Bowl season.
Oakland's Michael Bush rushes for a career-high 177 yards and 2 touchdowns. His 129 rushing yards in the fourth quarter is the third-highest total in a quarter in the NFL since 1991.
Bush's 67-yard scoring gallop midway through the final quarter erases a 24-21 Tampa Bay advantage.
JaMarcus Russell's 12-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Lee Higgins and Sebastian Janikowski's 25-yard field goal also helps Oakland overcome a 10-point deficit in the final 9:53.
The Raiders rally for a fourth-quarter victory for the first time in the 2008 season.
The Bucs' Carnell Williams has 87 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Raiders win a road game in the final month of the season at a stadium outside of California for only the second time since they returned to Oakland in 1995. The first was a win at Kansas City in the 1999 season finale.
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS:
RB Michael Bush — Has a career-high 177 rushing yards on 27 carries and 2 TDs. Bush's halfback option pass results in a 43-yard pass interference penalty, setting up a Johnnie Lee Higgins TD catch.
QB JaMarcus Russell — Is 14-of-21 passing for 148 yards and 2 TDs with 1 INT for a 98.9 efficiency rating.
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins — Has a game-high 6 catches for 52 yards and a TD. His 12-yard TD catch narrows the Oakland deficit to 24-21 with 9:53 left.
DE Greyson Gunheim — Sacks Bucs QB Jeff Garcia for a 2-yard loss on third-and-five from the Raiders' 45 on the game's final play.
RB Carnell Williams — Has 78 rushing yards on 12 carries and 2 TDs. His 8-yard scoring run gives the Bucs a 24-14 lead with 11:27 left.
QB Jeff Garcia — Is 17-of-33 passing for 257 yards and 1 TD and 1 INT.
SS Sabby Piscitelli — His 84-yard interception return sets up Carnell Williams' 8-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter.
KEY STATS:
Oakland's Michael Bush rushes for 129 of his 177 yards on 13 carries in the fourth quarter. He has 48 rushing yards on 14 carries through three quarters.
The Raiders are successful on 6-of-12 third-down attempts. Oakland converted only 27.4 percent on third down through the season's first 15 games.
Raiders WR Johnnie Lee Higgins has a TD reception for the third straight game.
THEY SAID IT:
Raiders coach Tom Cable
"It’s all I can do. It’s the best I can do. I want to be the head coach of the Raiders, but it’s not in my hands. But I certainly know I put this team together and got it going in the right direction, and today proved that.”
"This collapse in this last month of the season is something that none of us ever would have expected. It definitely hurts. It’s going to stick with us for a long time after this day.”
Bucs QB Jeff Garcia
"Hopefully I made a statement, running the ball 27 times, not fumbling it and picking up the slack when the other guys (Justin Fargas & Darren McFadden) went down."
Raiders RB Michael Bush
BY THE NUMBERS:
4-8: Tom Cable's win-loss record as Raiders' interim coach.
28.0: Raiders average points per game the final three games of the season. They averaged 13.8 points per game through the season's first 13 games.
192: Raiders rushing yards, including 177 by Michael Bush.
DID YOU KNOW?:
The Raiders win consecutive games for the first time in the 2008 season and only the sixth time the past six seasons.
Oakland improves to 2-1 against former Raiders coach Jon Gruden. The Gruden-led Bucs beat the Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII before Oakland won regular-season games in 2004 (30-20) and 2008 (31-24).
The Raiders' Michael Bush (29) battles for yards
as the Bucs' Greg White makes a tackle.
