WR Chaz Schilens caught his second touchdown pass of the season—a 10-yarder from QB JaMarcus Russell—in the closing moments of the Raiders 20-19 win over the Broncos in Denver.
GREAT GAINS: RB Michael Bush rushed for a game-high 133 yards on 18 carries during the Raiders' win over the Broncos in Denver on December 20. It's the second time this year and third time in his NFL career that Bush has surpassed the 100-yard mark. He rushed for 119 yards on 14 carries against Kansas City at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on November 15 and gained a career-high 177 yards in last season's finale at Tampa Bay. He had a 60-yard run against the Chiefs, falling just seven yards short of his career-long 67-yard run against the Bucs.
TOUCHDOWN BUSH!: RB Michael Bush tied fellow RB Justin Fargas for the team lead in rushing touchdowns (three) after scoring on a 23-yard run during the Raiders' win over the Broncos in Denver on December 20. Bush also moved into the team lead in rushing with 519 yards.
OVER 200: The Raiders rushed for a season-high 241 yards during the Raiders' win over the Broncos in Denver on December 20, with Bush gaining 133 and fellow RB Darren McFadden picking up 74 yards. QB Charlie Frye also contributed with a 26-yard scamper.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: QBs Charlie Frye and JaMarcus Russell completed passes to seven different receivers during the Raiders' win over the Broncos in Denver on December 20.
TOUCHDOWN SCHILENS: WR Chaz Schilens caught his second touchdown pass of the season—a 10-yarder from QB JaMarcus Russell—in the closing moments of the Raiders 20-19 win over the Broncos in Denver. He hauled in a 17-yard scoring reception from QB Bruce Gradkowski during the Raiders' win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh on December 6.
DOUBLE SACKS FOR ELLIS:DE Greg Ellis notched two sacks, including a key sack in the late stages of the Raiders' 20-19 win over the Broncos in Denver on December 20. Ellis leads the team with seven sacks this year.
BOOKEND TOTALS:DEs Greg Ellis and Richard Seymour have totaled 127 career sacks combined. Ellis, who totaled eight sacks for Dallas in 2008, now has 84 career sacks to rank eighth among active players. Seymour has registered 43 career sacks. Ellis has seven sacks in 2009 while Seymour has four.
SHAUGHNESSY IN THIRD: DE Matt Shaughnessy recorded his fourth sack of the season during the Raiders' win over the Broncos in Denver on December 20. Shaughnessy's sack total is tied for third among NFL rookies.
**
COMEBACKS: Four of the Raiders five victories this season have come as a result of late fourth quarter scores.
**
- JaMarcus Russell led the Raiders on a 9-play, 78-yard drive culminating with a 10-yard Russell scoring pass to WR Chaz Schilens and a PAT by Sebastian Janikowski at Denver on December 20.
**
- At Pittsburgh on December 6, QB Bruce Gradkowski found rookie WR Louis Murphy in the end zone with nine seconds left in the game to notch a 27-24 win.
- The Silver and Black scored 10 points in 18 seconds to record a come-from-behind 20-17 victory over Cincinnati on November 22 after QB Bruce Gradkowski hit WR Louis Murphy late in the fourth quarter to tie the score. Then, rookie TE Brandon Myers forced and recovered a fumble deep in Bengals territory to set up the game-winning field goal by K Sebastian Janikowski.
- RB Darren McFadden scored on a five-yard run with just over a minute left to lift the Raiders to a 13-10 win at Kansas City on September 20 after QB JaMarcus Russell led the Silver and black on a game-winning drive.
CENTURY MARK:S Tyvon Branch* *became the second Raider to post at least 100 tackles on the year after recording 11 tackles during the December 20 win over the Broncos in Denver. LB Kirk Morrison eclipsed the 100-tackle mark for the fifth straight season after collecting five stops against the Washington Redskins, according to unofficial press box statistics.
DOUBLE DIGITS FOR BRANCH: S Tyvon Branch recorded double-digit tackles for the sixth time this season, notching a team-high 11 stops during the December 20 win over the Broncos in Denver. Branch leads all NFL defensive backs with 110 total tackles and has recorded double-digit tackles in four of the Raiders last six games.
DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS: According to unofficial press box statistics. SS Tyvon Branch leads the Raiders in tackles so far in 2009 with 110 while LB Kirk Morrison is second with 109. LB Isaiah Ekejiuba has the team lead in special teams tackles with 12, according to unofficial press box statistics. CB Chris Johnson leads the Raiders in passes defensed with 18 while LB Thomas Howard ranks first on the Raiders in tackles for loss with 11. DE Greg Ellis and OLB Trevor Scott share the team lead with 10 quarterback hurries.
ON ROOKIE LIST: WR Louis Murphy has 26 receptions and ranks sixth among AFC rookies with 440 receiving yards. Murphy is averaging 16.9 yards per catch.* *
RBS ON THE RUN: RBs Michael Bush (519), Justin Fargas (491) and Darren McFadden (325) have combined to rush for 1,335 yards on 324 carries this year, averaging 4.1 yards per attempt. All three players have started games in the Raiders backfield this season and have combined for all seven of the team's rushing touchdowns.
FIFTH ATTEMPT: QB J.P. Losman made his Raider debut shortly after joining the Silver and Black, entering the game for an injured JaMarcus Russell at Denver on December 20 and attempting one pass. Losman became the fifth Raiders player, and fourth quarterback, to attempt a pass this season. QBs Russell, Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye and RB Michael Bush have all attempted passes this year. It marks the first time since 2007 and just the second time since 2003 that at least five Raider players have attempted a pass in a season.
CJ'S PDS: CB Chris Johnson recorded his team-leading 18th pass defensed against the Broncos on December 20. Johnson entered the season with 18 passes defensed in his NFL career.
CATCHES FOR MCFADDEN: RB Darren McFadden notched a career-high 84 receiving yards on three catches against the Washington Redskins at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 13. The second-year player had a career-long 48-yard reception in the first quarter, setting up a Raider field goal.
RBS IN THE PASSING GAME: Raider running backs have contributed to Oakland's passing game this season, as three running backs currently rank among the team's top-five in receptions. Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas have totaled 17 receptions apiece, and Michael Bush has pitched in with 14 catches. In total, Raider running backs have accounted for 64 receptions for 498 yards.
