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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Cornerback Charles Woodson finally got
his wish to play both ways for the Raiders. Quarterback Rich Gannon
stuck to offense, and gave Oakland its biggest scoring day of the
season.
Gannon, who used a bye week to recover from a broken bone in his
left wrist, threw four touchdown passes -- two each to Tyrone
Wheatley and Rickey Dudley -- as the Raiders defeated the San Diego
Chargers 28-9 Sunday.
|  | | Napoleon Kaufman breaks a tackle by San Diego's Terrance Shaw as the Chargers' Michael Dumas trails the play. |
Woodson was in for four offensive plays, all in the first half,
for the Raiders (5-4). He caught a 19-yard pass on his first play,
the only one on which he touched the ball.
"It's worth the wait, but I wish I could have gotten in earlier
in the season," Woodson said. "Hopefully now, as the season goes
on, I can expand my role."
Woodson, who made cameo appearances at wide receiver for
Michigan while becoming the first primarily defensive player to win
the Heisman Trophy in 1997, had pleaded with coach Jon Gruden since
last season to use him on offense.
"Did he go in there today?" Gruden asked with a grin. "We're
trying to be creative in our use of him. Those are things we're
just going to continue to develop, but that is not a priority."
While Woodson's appearance stirred up fans at two-thirds full
Oakland Coliseum, it was Gannon's quick feet and soft touch that
made the difference. He was 18-of-24 for 254 yards, almost entirely
on short passes.
Gannon, 7-of-28 while nursing his non-throwing wrist two weeks
earlier in a 16-9 loss to Miami, repeatedly evaded the San Diego
rush while throwing scoring passes of 26 and 7 yards to Wheatley,
12 and 2 yards to Dudley.
"I thought Gannon was outstanding today, not only the four
touchdown passes but the scrambles as well," Gruden said. "Two of
the touchdown passes were creative plays he made."
Jim Harbaugh threw an 11-yard scoring pass to Freddie Jones with
44 seconds remaining for San Diego (4-5), which also got a 39-yard
field goal by John Carney. The Chargers lost their fourth straight
and have been outscored 126-29 in those four defeats.
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GAME NOTES |
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The Chargers have been outscored 72-13 in the first quarter this season.
The Chargers have not scored first in a game and
have only 11 offensive touchdowns this season.
Tim Brown, who
had seven receptions, has caught a pass in 100 straight games for
the Raiders. With 117 yards Sunday, he recorded his 33rd game with
at least 100 yards in receptions.
Brown moved past Harold Jackson into 14th place on the NFL career receiving list with 10,432 yards.
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Harbaugh was 18-of-32 for 204 yards and the Chargers were held
to 225 total yards. The Chargers' frustration boiled over in the
final quarter, when Harbaugh and San Diego safety Michael Dumas had
a verbal confrontration on the field.
"It's emotional right now. We've had some outbursts on the
field, but that's a reaction to not winning. We haven't been
productive on offense and we're pressing," Chargers coach Mike
Riley said. "We've lost four in a row. There's a lot of
frustration. But there's not anybody that's tearing the team
apart."
Linebacker Junior Seau stepped between Harbaugh and Dumas to end
the shouting match.
"When you have high hopes, you find guys who snap here and
there. When you can sense it, you need to control it. We have to be
professsional and not point fingers," Seau said. "The camaraderie
with the players is key. You have to trust the guys next to you, or
what do you have?"
With Natrone Means (knee) and Terrell Fletcher (shoulder)
sidelined, top draft pick Jermaine Fazande made his debut for the
Chargers at running back and had 13 carries for 29 yards.
Gannon was in Dumas' grasp early in the first quarter when he
dumped a pass to Wheatley, who fought off a tackler and finished
off a 26-yard run by plowing into the end zone to make it 7-0.
Woodson made his debut on the Raiders' next possession. On his
first play, he caught a quick pass and tiptoed down the sideline.
Seven plays later, Dudley caught his 2-yard TD pass to complete a
97-yard drive.
Carney kicked his field goal early in the third period, but
Gannon evaded the rush once again and dumped a 7-yard pass to
Wheatley for a 21-3 lead. Midway through the fourth period, Gannon
found Dudley alone in the end zone to make it 28-3.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
San Diego Clubhouse
Oakland Clubhouse
Week 10 wrap-ups
Week 10 infirmary report
TJ's Take: Colts riding high
PrimeTime Players
Week 10 stats leaders
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