By Jet Moses
Brett Favre hasn’t been back in Oakland since December 22, 2003, on a night where he overwhelmed the hapless Raiders with one of his best games ever—throwing 4 TD’s in the first half, alone. It was an emotionally intense 60 minutes for Favre, who earlier in the day made a tough decision to stay in Oakland and suit up for the game, after receiving the tragic news that his father, Irvin Favre, had passed away.
It was just one of many dramatic moments in Favre’s legendary career. Drafted by the Falcons in the 2nd round in 1990, the Jets missed him by one pick. Favre sat on the bench behind Billy Joe Tolliver his rookie season, and then was traded to the Green Bay Packers in 1991. Favre lead the Packers to two Super Bowls in 15 years, winning one and losing one. Now in his 17th season, Favre has shown flashes of his former greatness in his first six starts with the NY Jets. But Favre could not drive his team into the end zone.
On an afternoon in Oakland California where the Jets offense compiled 418 total yards, they still managed to lose; they only scored 13 points. Favre was 21-38, but threw two interceptions. The Jets had 242 yards on the ground. Thomas Jones gained 159 yard, and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
The Raiders, who are a putrid 21-65 since 2002, looked like the dysfunctional mess they appeared to be in their first five games. But in spite of countless penalties, Interim coach Tom Cable held his team together, and showed himself to be an admirable adversary to Coach Mangini and his staff, who allowed the Raiders to make up for all their first half errors while marching right down the field in their first possession of the 2nd half, to score seven and take a 10-3 lead.
During the back and forth defensive struggle that illustrated much of the second half, the Jets still managed to force the game into overtime. But in spite of having three offensive possessions that included an incomplete pass to a wide open Chris Baker, the Raiders were able to seal the deal with a 57 yard FG by Sebastian “Seabass” Janikowski.
Now 3-3, the Jets next week will be at home, against the abysmal 1-5 Chiefs. The Jets have to win that game if they intend to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. Favre, who was sacked 3 times against Oakland, looks like his throwing arm might be bothering him, but it’s probably nothing serious. The Chiefs are allowing 27.5 points per game, so they might be just what the doctor ordered.