On Sunday morning, Lane Kiffin’s job was in jeopardy. By Sunday afternoon, Kiffin’s job may still be in jeopardy, but at least he guided his team to their first win of the season as the Oakland Raiders topped the Kansas City Chiefs 23-8.
Rookie Darren McFadden had a breakout game, rushing for 164 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Thanks to McFadden’s performance, QB JaMarcus Russell didn’t have to do much as he attempted only 17 passes. He finished 6 of 17 for only 55 yards.
Defensively, Oakland game planned to stop Larry Johnson and that’s exactly what they did. Johnson finished with only 22 yards on 12 carries as the Chiefs struggled to move the ball all game. In a strange situation, Damon Huard (who only attmpeted four passes) was replaced by reserve wide receiver Marques Hagans. Later in the game, Tyler Thigpen took over under center for KC, and wound up throwing a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Kiffin situation pans out. Rumor has it that even if Oakland won Sunday, Kiffin will be fired on Monday. Hmm…
