Belated Postgame Take

Well, well, well...Welcome back to Oakland, Norv.

I actually didn't see most of the game. I was traveling, but was able to tune into the final 12 minutes. It was kind of cool, in a way. I didn't know what had happened to the point. I didn't know why Jason Campbell was throwing the ball. Nothing to that point had colored my view. I felt like true spectator.

As such, I was thrilled to discover a real, honest-to-goodness football game in progress. Normally, I would have sensed how it would end. You know, the familiar flirtation with winning until the final minutes, when we'd either commit some stupid turnover or employ a soft prevent defense as a gift to the last-second victor.

But I didn't sense that this time. It wasn't my normal viewing experience, and there was something abnormal about what I was seeing as well: determination, resilience, aggression. Instead of being fated to lose, we seemed fated to win.

We were, as Tom Cable promised, finally manning up.

Oh, sure, there were some soft moments. But they were rendered irrelevant by the hard ones. Seeing Jason Campbell direct a potent offense with the game on the line was thrilling. Watching Philip Rivers so thoroughly harrassed in the final minutes was a joy to behold. Confirming that the San Diego curse had finally been snapped was priceless.

I still don't quite know what to think of this team. So far this season, the Raiders have demonstrated multiple personalities. But I am encouraged and excited by what transpired on Sunday.

So I hope that, in retrospect, it's not just a fleeting tease (it wouldn't be the first time), but rather the flashpoint of something meaningful and lasting. Consider me bullish on the latter.