Oakland Raiders five best games of the past decade
1. Week 5, 2011 25-20 victory over Houston
The Oakland Raiders, as a franchise, are where they are today because of the work of the late, great Al Davis. His leadership guided the Silver and Black to a ton of success in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and he coined the iconic phrase ‘Just Win, Baby!’ Unfortunately, Raider Nation lost their iconic leader on October 8, 2011 to heart failure.
That brings us to Sunday, October 9 in Houston, Texas. Hue Jackson and Jason Campbell led the Silver and Black against Gary Kubiak and Matt Schaub in a game that clearly meant way more to the Raiders.
Oakland trailed 14-12 at halftime, but whatever was said by Jackson to the team at galvanized the team. The Raiders eventually jumped out to a 25-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. A field goal from Houston made it 25-20 with 2:56 left, plenty of time to make something happen. The Raiders went three-and-out and gave the ball back to Houston. They drove down and got into the red zone, but that’s when the magic happened.
Houston needed a touchdown and were on the doorstep. Matt Schaub kept a play alive and fired to the end zone, but the ball ended up in the hands of Raiders defensive back Michael Huff, sealing the victory for the Silver and Black.
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It may not have been the most exciting game of the decade for the franchise, but it sure was the most meaningful. That win was for Davis and the players rallied behind that message and delivered. It was an incredible scene and arguably one of the greatest wins the team has ever had. It didn’t culminate in a Super Bowl, but it meant a lot to the Davis family and franchise as a whole.