Win wiped out the forgettable moments

<p>OAKLAND — Nothing smoothes out the rough patches like a come-from-behind win. If the Raiders hadn’t managed one against the Bengals on Sunday, we’d all be talking about their three potentially crippling turnovers.</p><p>Center Samson Satele and quarterback Bruce Gradkowski mishandled a snap early in the second quarter, wasting Greg Ellis’ fumble recovery two plays earlier. Michael Bush coughed up the ball in the third quarter, setting up a Bengals field goal that padded their lead to 17-10. And with 6:08 left in the game, Cincinnati’s Jonathan Fanene blasted Bruce Gradkowski as he threw for Louis Murphy, resulting in Johnathan Joseph’s interception at the Bengals’ 21-yard line.</p><p>Afterward, Bush was asked if he were happy not to be facing a crowd of reporters eager to talk about a fumble that contributed to a loss.</p><p>“I’m happy, but there’s a crowd in my head,” he said. “It’s something that I’m not supposed to do. And I practice extra hard on ball security every week, and I felt like it was a crucial drive in the game. You don’t want to be that guy to set back the momentum that we had.”</p><p><b>REMEMBERING MARQUIS COOPER</b></p><p>After the game, coach Tom Cable said the Raiders were dedicating the game ball to the family of linebacker Marquis Cooper, who was presumed dead along with two friends when Cooper’s boat overturned in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm in early March.</p><p>Cooper’s wife Rebekah, daughter Delaney and mother Donna were at the Coliseum as part of a planned tribute. How appropriate that they saw a game decided by a special-teams play, Cooper’s forte.</p><p>“He caused the fumble,” linebacker Sam Williams said. “That was unbelievable. His wife was here and his daughter was here. Before the game his 3-year-old daughter said she was excited to watch the game. She said, ‘I get to see my daddy play!’ Man. I just spread the word and everybody felt the emotions of that.”</p><p><b>INJURY TIME</b></p><p>Two Raiders left the game with injuries — standout defensive lineman Richard Seymour with a lower back strain and special teamer Isaiah Ekejiuba with an unspecified knee injury. Cable said afterward that Ekejiuba’s injury could be serious.</p><p>Seymour’s is not, but his absence put a heavy load on the Raiders’ other defensive linemen.</p><p>“That creates huge pressure on guys who aren’t necessarily ready to play,” rookie defensive tackle Desmond Bryant said. “But we were able to respond really well today, and made the plays when we needed to.”</p><p>Bryant and Greg Ellis each had a fumble recovery, and defensive end Jay Richardson made six tackles.</p><p><b>THE BEST BRANCH SINCE CLIFFORD</b></p><p>SS Tyvon Branch was all over the field against the Bengals, racking up a game-high 12 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. “He’s been doing that all year, really,” Cable said. “We’ve talked, I think, in weeks past — perhaps he’s been our most consistent defensive player.”</p><p><b>EXTRA POINTS</b></p><p>The Raiders placed LB Ricky Brown on injured reserve Sunday, and activated LB David Nixon from the practice squad. Nixon is an undrafted free agent from BYU. Brown was a starter until he went down with an ankle injury.</p><p>The Raiders had just three penalties for 13 yards.</p><p>The Raiders had more net passing yards behind Bruce Gradkowski (183) than the Bengals did behind Carson Palmer (171).</p><p>Cincinnati’s Bernard Scott wound up with 119 yards on 21 carries, and the Bengals had 177 as a team.</p><p>LB Kirk Morrison had a second-quarter fumble recovery, but was stripped of the ball by Cincinnati guard Bobbie Williams while trying to return it. Ellis recovered for Oakland.</p><p>The Raiders tied a season high with 20 points.</p><p>The announced attendance of 34,112 was the lowest since Dec. 24, 1967, when the team beat Buffalo 28-21 before 30,738.</p><p>Phil Barber blogs about the Raiders at raiders.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach him at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com.</p>