Raiders 27 Chiefs 24
KANSAS CITY – In the victorious visiting locker room in Arrowhead Stadium, guard Ed Wisniewski, the former Dallas Cowboy, thanked Al Davis for bringing him to Oakland.
Then Jerry Rice walked past the Raiders’ maverick owner and tapped him on the back. Davis turned, unsure of which player for whom he has answered a career S.O.S. call was trying to say thanks.
Davis saw it was Rice and pulled him close. They hugged and joked about the touchdown catch Rice dropped early in the in the fourth quarter of yesterday’s season-open 27-24 win over the rival Kansas City Chiefs.
“Oh my God,” said Rice recalling the play that left Raiders coach Jon Gruden sprawled on the sideline. “I tried to change directions because the ball was thrown inside and I was going in the opposite. I was going to the corner. So I tried to swing around . . . I have made catches like that. It’s no excuse.”
Rice made every catch imagineable in his 16-year career with the San Francisco 49ers. Yesterday he wasn’t wearing the red and gold of the 49ers, rather the Silver and Black of Raiders.
“That’s not a second thought for me,” Rice said of his 49ers’ career. “We had a battle today. It’s all about the Silver and Black now.”
Like Jim Plunkett, Ronnie Lott and Eric Dickerson, Rice is the latest to don the Silver and Black in the twilight of a brilliant career. He atoned for his drop, and for slipping on a first-quarter out pattern that resulted in an interception return for a touchdown, with guile.
With less than five minutes left in a 17-17 game, Rice tried a quick crossing route and went down in a jumble of players. He got up pointing at Chiefs defensive back Jerome Woods.
Back judge Lee Midgett, a replacement ref from Tennessee Tech, threw a flag. Holding on Woods. Four plays later Rich Gannon hit Jon Ritchie on a 15-yard touchdown pass for a 24-17 lead.
“They don’t give me calls like that,” said Rice. “I’m not in the category of Michael Jordan.”
Rice is one of the only players who can be compared with Jordan. His 1,289 catches are one of his 12 NFL receiving records. The latest eight catches for 87 yards came yesterday against the Chiefs.
“We’ve had a lot of great players who have great careers with other teams come through our organization and succeed,” Davis told The Post. “I’ve always thought of the Yankees and the Dodgers as influences. They’ve always brought great players in. That was one thing that impressed me and that’s what we’ve always done here. And that’s what we’ll always continue to do. Always.”
After Kansas City tied the score at 24-24 on a spectacular diving touchdown catch by Snoop Minnis, Gannon responded with a 33-yard completion to Tim Brown to set up Sebastian Janikowski’s game-winning 31-yard field goal with 15 seconds left.
After the game, Rice, wearing a black sweater, black pants and black shoes, looked every bit a Raider. He said he is happy in his role as the receiver who runs the short routes, converts third downs, moves the chains. The Raiders do dirty work.
“It’s great they want to wear the Silver and Black,” said Davis.
