Maybe this is TV’s make-up call.
With the New York Jets ahead of the Oakland Raiders 32-29 with 50 seconds remaining in a November 1968 AFC game, NBC switched to its broadcast of the television movie “Heidi.” The Raiders then rallied for two touchdowns in the final 42 seconds to win what forever has been called the “Heidi Game,” 43-32.
The gaffe changed TV’s coverage of pro football as network executives figured they had considerably more to fear from enraged football fans than from fans of family-oriented entertainment.
The Jets and Raiders are paired in Saturday’s AFC wild-card game–the first prime-time playoff game in NFL history. But Raiders fans might not like what they see.
The Raiders are the only one of six 2001 division winners to repeat as champions. They also appear to be among the least likely teams to make it past the first postseason game.
The 2000 Raiders reached the AFC championship game in which they lost to eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore. They were the top rushing team in the NFL behind Tyrone Wheatley and sent quarterback Rich Gannon to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year. They started this season 6-1 and finished with two 1,000-yard receivers–Tim Brown and Jerry Rice.
But now they are a team seemingly in disarray and fighting collapse.
They squandered their chance at a first-round bye with a home loss last Sunday to the Jets (10-6), who by virtue of their 24-22 victory earned the third AFC wild-card entry and a rematch with the Raiders (10-6).
The Raiders are favored by 4 1/2 points over the Jets but are stumbling rather than striding into the playoffs. They lost four of their final six games, including the last three, and three of the losses were at home. The Raiders held a players-only meeting the Monday before last weekend’s Jets game, then proceeded to lose a game in which they led, at home, with a minute to go.
“It’s kind of surprising, given the way we played earlier this year, that a team this talented has lost three games,” Raiders Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Woodson said. “But it’s all about how you bounce back. We’ve done the losing streak thing now. It’s time to get back on track.”
The Jets, who reached this game on John Hall’s 53-yard field goal with 59 seconds remaining, know collapse. They failed to make the playoffs a year ago when they lost their final three games when they needed only one victory. Then they lost their coach when Al Groh left to coach the University of Virginia.
The Jets, with their victory in Oakland last Sunday, are at home on the road. They were an AFC-best 7-1 this season.
There will be few surprises at this point in the teams’ seasons.
“They showed us some looks they didn’t use the previous four weeks, so we won’t be surprised by anything they do,” Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde said. “They’ve seen us and we’ve seen them, so the team that adjusts better at halftime is going to win.”
The Jets have not won on the road in the playoffs since 1983, when they defeated the then-L.A. Raiders.
The Raiders are hoping to overcome history when they face the Jets. Oakland is the seventh team to lose at least three straight games heading into the playoffs; only three of the previous six teams won a playoff game. None of those teams won a championship, including the ’91 Raiders.
These are not the Raiders who got to within a game of the Super Bowl last year. The 2000 Raiders averaged 154 rushing yards a game. That average is down to 103 this season, and the team averaged a pedestrian 3.7 yards per carry, 26th in the NFL.
Instead, it is the Jets who run the ball and the Raiders who have difficulty stopping it. Oakland held Curtis Martin, the NFL’s No. 2 rusher with 1,513 yards, to 50 last week, but the Jets won anyway and are 6-1 in games when Martin rushes for 100 yards.
The Jets rank fourth in rushing. The Raiders are 22nd against the run.
Both teams have their fortunes riding on veteran arms. Testaverde is 38 and rumored to be playing his last season. Gannon, 36, is hoping for his first Super Bowl appearance, as is Testaverde.
