Raiders notebook: Sack celebration almost turns into costly penalty

OAKLAND - The biggest moment of Thursday night’s game nearly turned into the lowest for the Raiders, and the most comical - and what could sum up Oakland’s dreadful season better than that?

The Chiefs were trying desperately to retake the lead in the final minute when Raiders linebacker Sio Moore came up the middle on a delayed blitz and hammered Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith for a sack.

Smith quickly hurried his teammates to the line for the fourth-and-13 play. And Moore? He launched into a dance routine with fellow linebacker Khalil Mack, blissfully unaware that the Chiefs were about to snap the ball.

“From my vantage point, I was seeing 11-on-7,” Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck said. “And that wasn’t good for us.”

Before the Chiefs could catch Moore and Mack offside and run a free play, Tuck alertly called time out, saving them from embarrassment. And then he approached Moore and, uh, politely pointed out his mistake.

“He pretty much yelled right down my throat,” Moore said. “I got the message really clear and decided to line up and get to where I got to go.”

THE SPARK THAT WENT OUT

With veteran running backs Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew struggling to pick up yardage for the Raiders this year, fans have been clamoring for 24-year-old Latavius Murray.

Apparently they knew something the Oakland coaching staff did not.

Murray scored twice to give the Raiders an early 14-0 lead. His second touchdown was much more dramatic. When the Raiders got the ball at their 10-yard line early in the second quarter, Murray spotted a hole behind left guard Khalif Barnes, blasted into the secondary and turned on the jets.

Murray’s 90-yard run was the fourth-longest in Raiders history.

But the Raiders’ luck, which is mostly bad these days, held. No sooner had they found their offensive hero than he was taken from them. Murray fumbled on a run later in the second quarter and appeared to take a hard hit on the play. He left the game, was diagnosed with a concussion and did not return.

NAME HAS A RING TO IT

At halftime, the Raiders presented Ray Guy with his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring, which bears his likeness and one key word: “PUNTER.” Guy is the first punter to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.

“I’ve got the gold jacket now,” the Mississippian drawled before the game. “And I’ll soon have the Hall of Fame ring, so the outfit is complete.”

Guy’s career average of 42.4 yards per punt pales in comparison to some more recent punters - Shane Lechler’s, for example, is 47.5 - but the lanky Guy changed the game by aiming more for hang time and placement than distance.

Guy had just one request of the current Raiders: “Win this game for me. I’m tired of coming back and ya’ll losing.”

And wouldn’t you know it, they got Guy his victory.