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Bay Area rivals meet for first time in four years

Oct 3, 2006 - 11:25 PM Oakland (0-3) at San Francisco (1-3) Sunday 4:05 pm EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- The cast of characters included the likes of Terrell Owens, Jeff Garcia, Jerry Rice and Rich Gannon when the Bay Area rivals last met in a regular-season game.

The San Francisco 49ers host the Oakland Raiders on Sunday in a game matching two teams that have combined for just one win.

That's quite a contrast to four years ago when both teams made the playoffs and one reached the Super Bowl.

However, since the Raiders lost to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXXVII, they are just 13-38, including 0-3 this season under new coach Art Shell.

Since winning the NFC West title in 2002, the Niners are slightly better at 14-38.

So the Bay Area showdown is not quite an anticipated matchup.

The November 3, 2002 game at Oakland will be remembered as the day when Owens stole the spotlight from Rice, the NFL's all-time leading receiver, in a 23-20 overtime win for the Niners.

Owens caught 12 passes for 191 yards and Jose Cortez atoned for a missed 27-yard field goal on the final play of regulation with a 23-yard field goal at 8:41 of overtime.

Rice, who spent 16 glorious seasons with the Niners and served as a mentor to Owens, had six receptions for 74 yards.

The last regular-season "Battle of the Bay" held here was won by the Raiders, 34-28, in 2000.

This season, Oakland was outscored, 55-6, in the first two games of the season before squandering an 18-point lead in a 24-21 loss to Cleveland last week.

Andrew Walter completed just 9-of-23 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown with an interception in his first NFL start for the Raiders. Regular starter Aaron Brooks missed the game with a pectoral injury.

Randy Moss caught a five-yard touchdown pass but had no other receptions in the loss to Cleveland. At least the Raiders were able to establish a running game as LaMont Jordan rushed for 128 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown.

Defensive end Derrick Burgess, who led the NFL with 16 sacks last season, had his first two of the year in the loss against Cleveland.

The Niners are coming off a 41-0 loss to Kansas City. They managed just 10 first downs, 165 total yards and committed four turnovers.

Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, completed just 13-of-25 passes for 92 yards and was intercepted twice and sacked five times.