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Kiffin wins debut as Raiders outlast Cardinals

Aug 12, 2007 - 5:34 AM By Scott Gannon PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Lane Kiffin won his NFL head coaching debut Saturday night as the Oakland Raiders knocked off the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23, in preseason action Saturday night.

The 32-year-old Kiffin, who joined the Raiders this season after serving as an assistant at Southern California, is the youngest head coach in the history of the modern NFL.

Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt also was making his NFL head coaching debut after serving as an assistant in Pittsburgh.

In his debut with the Raiders, quarterback Daunte Culpepper was not overly sharp but finished 5-of-12 for 78 yards and directed the team to a pair of fourth-quarter field goals.

Signed by Oakland after being released by the Miami Dolphins, Culpepper connected with rookie Johnnie Lee Higgins on a 50-yard pass to set up Sebastian Janikowski's go-ahead 27-yard field goal with 8:10 left to play.

Matt Leinart started at quarterback for Arizona, completing 5-of-11 passes for 50 yards. He was relieved by Kurt Warner, who completed both of his pass attempts, including a 59-yard touchdown strike to Bryant Johnson.

Johnson led the Cardinals with three catches and 87 yards.

Neil Rackers kicked three field goals, including one from 59 yards as time expired in the first half for Arizona.

Josh McCown started for Oakland and finished with 42 yards on 5-of-9 passing. Andrew Walter completed 8-of-11 pass attempts for 50 yards, including a three-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.

Dominic Rhodes ran eight times for 21 yards and a touchdown for Oakland. Adimchinobe Echemandu led the team with 75 yards on 17 carries.

Edgerrin James rushed for three yards on two carries and caught one pass for eight yards for the Cardinals.