It seems the quarterback scenario that occurred in Tennessee last season, is happening this year in Oakland. The Raiders decided to bench their No.1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell for backup Bruce Gradkowski for the Sunday game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
It proved to be the right move as Gradkowski, with a little help from the Bengals, pulled off a 20-17 win for the Raiders at home.
With memories of Marquis Cooper lingering with the Raider Nation, as the team dedicated this game to their former special teams player who was missing in a boating accident in February, Gradkowski turned this game on its head just as Oakland’s defense stepped up big when it mattered.
After Gradkowski threw the 29-yard pass to wide receiver Louis Murphy for the game-tying touchdown, there was only 33 seconds left on the clock and most viewers expected the game to head into overtime. The Raiders forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to set up a Sebastian Janikowski 33-yard, game-winning field goal over the high flying Bengals.
No one expected the Bengals to lose this game. Their previous losses before Sunday were the season opener to the Denver Broncos (12-7) and the Houston Texans (28-17). No one expected them to lose to the Raiders even the Bengals felt it was a guaranteed win. Gradkowski didn’t want to lay down for the Bengals, because he was obviously a man on a mission.
He completed 17 of his 34 passes, throwing for 183 yards, two touchdowns and only one interception. With the Raiders down 17-10, at the end of the third quarter, Gradkowski was the catalyst in the fight back that saw the Raiders win their third game of the season.
“As a team, we’re not really known for fighting back, and we came back,” Murphy said.
Because Gradkowksi was behind the comeback, the defense and special teams knew they had to step up, hence forcing Andre Caldwell to fumble the kickoff return, handing the ball over to Oakland.
Though Gradkowski was unable to orchestrate a single scoring drive in the two of last three games he replaced Russell, he turned that around on Sunday providing Oakland a much needed win even if it comes once in a while.
“We’re just fortunate the defense did a great job, got the ball back. We made a couple plays and that’s it,” Gradkowski said.
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