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Raiders end losing streak with victory over Browns

Sep 24, 2007 - 2:29 AM OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- It's been a while since the Oakland Raiders were winners.

Tommy Kelly blocked Phil Dawson's 40-yard game-winning field goal attempt as time expired to preserve the Raiders' 26-24 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Though it didn't come easy, the victory ended Oakland's 11-game losing streak dating to last season. The win was just the fourth for the Raiders in their last 28 games.

It was also the first career victory for Lane Kiffin, the league's youngest coach at 32 years old.

"It felt good. It goes back to last week, what we talked about all week long that, we had that winning feeling for about 5 seconds and the team felt that and that's what we preached all week long, try to savor that feeling and try to get it back," Kiffin said. "We are excited to get the win but still a lot of work to do obviously"

Starting on his 9-yard line with 1:09 to play in regulation, Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson hooked up with tight end Kellen Winslow for gains of 33 and 23 yards to move into Raiders territory.

With just 10 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, Anderson found Joe Jurevicius along the sidelines for a 13-yard gain to the Oakland 22. Jurevicius got out of bounds and stopped the clock with 3 seconds remaining, setting up Dawson's attempt.

The 6-6, 300-pound Kelly didn't let the kick get far as he crashed through the center of the offensive line and knocked the ball down with his hand.

"It felt good in terms of snap, hold and kick," Dawson said. "We'll have to go back and see if there were breakdowns and where they were. If it was a bad kick we'll have to watch that too."

The win also came during the Oakland debut of quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who started the second half when Josh McCown could not continue due to a left foot injury sustained in the opening quarter.

Signed as a free agent this offseason, Culpepper finished 8-of-14 for 118 yards and did not have a touchdown or interception. McCown finished the first half 7-of-15 for 121 yards and a touchdown.

"I felt good, the more plays I got the more comfortable I got," Culpepper said. "The line did a great job, nobody really got up into my face too many times."

The Raiders (1-2) opened up a comfortable lead late in the first half, but quickly squandered the advantage.

After Sebastian Janikowski's field goal made it 16-0 with 2:05 to play in the second quarter, Cleveland responded on the ensuing kickoff as Joshua Cribbs raced 99 yards for his third career touchdown as a returner.

The momentum shift carried over to the Cleveland defense, which recovered a fumble by McCown on the Oakland 29 with 1:53 to play in the half. The Browns (1-2) had to settle for a Dawson field goal, but the late surge set them up to grab the lead early in the second half.

Anderson found wide receiver Braylon Edwards in the end zone for a 21-yard strike at 9:16 of the third quarter to give the Browns their first lead, 17-16.

"We struggled a little big getting started but I thought we came out in the second half and played well," Anderson said. "We knew they were going to be a good defense and we just didn't make enough plays."

With Culpepper running the offense, the Raiders responded by taking more than nine minutes off the clock during a 15-play, 80-yard drive that was capped on a 1-yard plunge by LaMont Jordan.

After finishing with a career-high 159 rushing yards last Sunday at Denver, Jordan piled up 121 yards on 29 carries in the win.

"I think we are doing a good job of executing but we are still leaving a lot of yards out there," Jordan said. "I have to lower my shoulder and I have to put my foot on the ground and get it into the end zone."

"The running backs were running the heck out of the ball, doing a great job and wearing them down," Culpepper said.

Anderson finished 18-of-37 for 248 yards with one touchdowns and two interceptions. The Browns were seeking consecutive victories for the first time since October 5-12, 2003.

"We weren't very good," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "You can't play any team in the NFL and be off your game, and we weren't on our game today. The guys on the other side, the Raiders, deserve a lot of credit. They did a much better job."