Raider Finish Line: Out of the Playoffs, Maybe Out of L.A.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —  Was that all there is?

With one last hiccup--try perhaps the worst game ever played by their special teams--the Raiders once again squandered what riches they possess and what gallantry they could summon and fell Sunday by a resounding 34-17 to a real playoff team, the New York Giants.

The team that had never been out of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons before 1987 is out for the fourth season in a row, another new low in the Al Davis era.

What’s one more disappointing finish? The news lies in Davis’ impending choice of sites. Oakland? Sacramento? Will there ever be a Los Angeles Raiders again?

Before the game, Davis told to NBC that he’ll decide soon.

“We certainly have need for an intimate stadium,” Davis said. “We need the roar of the crowd.”

He also managed to get the phrase “greatness of the Raiders” in four times, by actual count of a team official, and said he still hoped to “finish on a high note in the ‘80s.”

But then the Raiders ran their first play and Giant linebacker Lawrence Taylor blew past lineman Steve Wright and landed atop quarterback Steve Beuerlein.

The Raiders ran seven plays from scrimmage before ever gaining a yard. They also punted once in that stretch and watched the Giants’ Dave Meggett return it 76 yards for a touchdown, making five Raiders miss, or bounce off. The game was 4:55 old before they gained a yard or made a tackle.

They came back behind the promising Beuerlein to actually dominate the first half, but had only a 17-17 tie after their special teams committed the following gaffes:

--The 76-yard punt return by Meggett.

--A 43-yard kickoff return by Meggett with 1:02 left in the first half, setting up a tying field goal.

--Kerry Porter’s attempt to pick up and run with a Giant fumble at the New York 10 instead of just falling on it. Instead Meggett recovered.

More goofs awaited in the second half, including the piece de resistance:

--Stefon Adams fielding Sean Landeta’s punt at his own two-yard line.

Adams returned the ball to the 8. An illegal block brought it back to the Raider 4. On second-and-eight, Bo Jackson burst 15 yards up the middle and out of danger, but a holding call on Bruce Wilkerson brought that back, too.

They wound up punting to their own 39. Ten plays later, running back Ottis Anderson went the last yard for a touchdown and lead that was never lost.

A return man is never supposed to field the ball inside his own 10.

“It was just a mistake,” said Coach Art Shell. “Those things happen in the course of the game.”

“He (Landeta) just got a good hit on it and I just lost track of where I was,” Adams said.

With the temperature falling and the windchill minus-6 by halftime--the Raiders did what marginal teams do.

They went bye-bye.

The Giants scored on three straight possessions.

The venerable Anderson rolled up 74 yards in 17 carries.

Simms, who started with four incompletions and a sack, finished seven for 12 and scored his first rushing touchdown in three seasons.

The Raiders never again crossed midfield until the Giants led, 34-17.

It only makes it crueler that the other results the Raiders needed to make the playoffs were on track.

They required losses by the Colts and Bengals. Sure enough, the Colts got flattened in New Orleans, and the Bengals are six-point underdogs tonight in Minnesota.

“All along, this entire week, we talked about just going out and doing our own job and not being concerned about what the other teams did,” said Raider running back Marcus Allen.

He laughed a short, bitter laugh.

“The other teams lose and we don’t take care of what we’re supposed to do. And now we’re not in it.”

Not that they didn’t try everything.

Davis left his seat in the press box in the third period--perchance for the coaches’ booth to help with the play-calling?

But the immediate future of the Raiders was carved in granite.

For all sad words of tongue or pen,

The saddest are these:

It might have been.

Those words by John Greenleaf Whittier, not “Pride and Poise” or “Commitment to Excellence” describe the Raiders, circa 1986-89.

Now let’s see who gets this dynasty for the ‘90s.

Raider Notes

Steve Beuerlein withstood a fierce rush that sacked him four times and knocked him out for one play to perform admirably. A writer asked him if he’d taken a beating. “That’s an understatement,” murmured backup quarterback Jay Schroeder. . . . Beuerlein picked up a third-and-17 situation with a 23-yard pass to Mike Alexander in the first scoring drive, finishing it with a one-yard toss to Ethan Horton. Beuerlein marched them to the Giant 13 on their next possession before Mervyn Fernandez fumbled after a catch. On their next possession, Beuerlein was knocked out of the game by a crushing Pepper Johnson hit, returned one play later and threw a 30-yard TD pass to Fernandez. On the next possession, he picked up a third-and-22 situation with a 34-yard pass to Alexander, setting up Jeff Jaeger’s field goal for a 17-14 lead. . . . Beuerlein, on the Johnson hit: “Guy hit me just under the rib cage, knocked the air out of me. That’s the worst feeling in the world. You know you’re not hurt, but you can’t move and you can’t talk. I was trying to squirm around to let some air back in.” Sounds like fun.

Fernandez had six catches for 125 yards and finishes with 57 for 1,069. He’s the first Raider wide receiver to gain 1,000 yards since Cliff Branch in 1976. . . . Bo Jackson was held to 35 yards in 10 carries, finished with 950 in his 11 games and a 5.5 average. For his career, he’s at 5.3. . . . The 32-year-old Ottis Anderson’s 74 yards give him 1,023. His 3.1 average is the lowest of any 1,000 rusher ever, beating the previous low, Joe Morris’ 3.5 in 1988.