The 2007 Oakland Raiders season was the 48th overall season of the Oakland Raiders franchise, the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 13th season since their return to Oakland and the 1st season under head coach Lane Kiffin. The team finished the season with a 4–12 record. It began with the team's fourth head coach in six seasons.
By virtue of the team's 2–14 finish in 2006 (the worst in the NFL for that year), they acquired the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. With that first pick, the Raiders selected LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who went on to be one of the biggest busts in NFL history.
As in 2005 and 2006, the Raiders faced both participants from the previous season's Super Bowl. In 2007, they had home games scheduled against the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts from Super Bowl XLI. They lost to both teams.
Offseason The first casualty of the Raiders' disastrous 2006 season was head coach Art Shell, who was fired on January 4, 2007. His career record as head coach of the Raiders (including playoffs) was 58–56. The team interviewed a number of candidates after Shell's firing, including San Diego Chargers assistant coach James Lofton, former New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel, and Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. USC assistant head coach Steve Sarkisian, considered to be the front runner for the position, withdrew his name from consideration on January 19. On January 22, the team announced the hiring of 31-year-old USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, the youngest coach in franchise history and the youngest coach in the NFL.
Kiffin's first staffing hire was former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, who accepted the same position in Oakland on January 28.
Oakland signed Super Bowl winning running back Dominic Rhodes away from the Indianapolis Colts on March 9, 2007. The next day, the Raiders brought in Justin Griffith from the Atlanta Falcons to help the blocking game.
With the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft the Raiders selected quarterback JaMarcus Russell from LSU.
Draft Selections
Players Oakland Raiders 2007 final roster Quarterbacks Josh McCown Daunte Culpepper JaMarcus Russell Andrew Walter
Running backs Justin Griffith FB LaMont Jordan Oren O'Neal FB Dominic Rhodes
Wide receivers Ronald Curry Tim Dwight PR Johnnie Lee Higgins PR Chris McFoy Jerry Porter
Tight ends John Madsen Zach Miller Tony Stewart Offensive linemen Cooper Carlisle G Robert Gallery G Mario Henderson T Paul McQuistan G/T Chris Morris C Jeremy Newberry C Jonathan Palmer G/T Barry Sims T Seth Wand G/T Mark Wilson T
Defensive linemen Tyler Brayton DE Derrick Burgess DE Chris Clemons DE Jay Richardson DE Terdell Sands DT Warren Sapp DT Josh Shaw DT Gerard Warren DT Linebackers Jon Alston OLB Ricky Brown OLB Isaiah Ekejiuba MLB Thomas Howard OLB Kirk Morrison MLB Robert Thomas OLB Sam Williams OLB
Defensive backs Nnamdi Asomugha CB Rashad Baker SS John Bowie CB Chris Carr CB/KR/PR Hiram Eugene FS Michael Huff SS Chris Johnson CB Stanford Routt CB Stuart Schweigert FS Fabian Washington CB
Special teams Jon Condo LS Sebastian Janikowski K Shane Lechler P Reserve lists Michael Bush RB (NF-Inj.) Jarrod Cooper S (IR) Daunte Culpepper QB (IR) Justin Fargas RB (IR) Cornell Green T (IR) Jake Grove C (IR) Jonathan Holland WR (IR) Tommy Kelly DE (IR) ReShard Lee RB (IR) Fred Wakefield TE (IR)
Practice squad Jesse Boone C Mkristo Bruce DE Daniel Fells TE Drisan James WR Jonathan Lewis DT Quinton Smith RB Matt Trannon WR
rookies in italics 53 active, 10 inactive, 7 practice squad
Staff Oakland Raiders 2007 coaching staff Front office President/Managing General Partner – Al Davis
Head coaches Head coach – Lane Kiffin
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Greg Knapp Quarterbacks – John DeFilippo Running backs – Tom Rathman Wide receivers – Charles Coe Tight ends – Kelly Skipper Offensive line – Tom Cable Assistant offensive line – James Cregg Offensive quality control – Adam Henry Offensive quality control – Sanjay Lal Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Rob Ryan Defensive line – Keith Millard Assistant defensive line – Don Johnson Linebackers – Don Martindale Defensive backs – Darren Perry Defensive backs/squad development – Willie Brown Assistant defensive backs – Randy Hanson Defensive quality control – George Martinez
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Brian Schneider Special teams quality control – Curtis Fuller
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jeff Fish
Schedule Pre-season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Arizona Cardinals W 27–23 1–0 McAfee Coliseum Recap 2 at San Francisco 49ers L 21–26 1–1 Monster Park Recap 3 St. Louis Rams W 20–10 2–1 McAfee Coliseum Recap 4 at Seattle Seahawks L 14–19 2–2 Qwest Field Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 Detroit Lions L 21–36 0–1 McAfee ColiseumRecap 2 September 16 at Denver Broncos L 20–23 0–2 Invesco Field at Mile HighRecap 3 September 23 Cleveland Browns W 26–24 1–2 McAfee ColiseumRecap 4 September 30 at Miami Dolphins W 35–17 2–2 Dolphin StadiumRecap 5Bye 6 October 14 at San Diego Chargers L 14–28 2–3 Qualcomm StadiumRecap 7 October 21 Kansas City Chiefs L 10–12 2–4McAfee ColiseumRecap 8 October 28 at Tennessee Titans L 9–13 2–5 LP FieldRecap 9 November 4 Houston Texans L 17–24 2–6 McAfee ColiseumRecap 10 November 11 Chicago Bears L 6–17 2–7 McAfee ColiseumRecap 11 November 18 at Minnesota Vikings L 22–29 2–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap 12 November 25 at Kansas City Chiefs W 20–17 3–8Arrowhead StadiumRecap 13 December 2 Denver Broncos W 34–20 4–8 McAfee ColiseumRecap 14 December 9 at Green Bay Packers L 7–38 4–9Lambeau FieldRecap 15 December 16 Indianapolis Colts L 14–21 4–10McAfee ColiseumRecap 16 December 23 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 11–49 4–11Jacksonville Municipal StadiumRecap 17 December 30 San Diego Chargers L 17–30 4–12 McAfee ColiseumRecap
Standings
Week 1: vs. Detroit Lions
With Josh McCown getting the start at quarterback, the Raiders began their 2007 campaign at home in an interconference fight with the Detroit Lions. After a scoreless first quarter, Oakland trailed early as Lions QB Jon Kitna completed a 13-yard TD pass to WR Roy Williams. Detroit increased its lead before halftime with kicker Jason Hanson getting a 46-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, the Lions continued with their early lead as Kitna completed a 16-yard TD pass to rookie WR Calvin Johnson. Afterwards, the Raiders began to come back as McCown completed a 4-yard TD pass to WR Ronald Curry, followed by RB LaMont Jordan getting a 12-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, Detroit responded with Hanson kicking a 46-yard field goal, while Oakland took the lead with McCown completing a 7-yard TD pass to FB Justin Griffith. However, their lead didn't hold as the Lions scored 17 unanswered points (a 32-yard TD pass from Kitna to WR Shaun McDonald, Hanson getting a 23-yard field goal, and RB Tatum Bell getting a 14-yard TD run) to end the game.
With the loss, Oakland began their season at 0–1.
Week 2: at Denver Broncos
Hoping to rebound from their embarrassing home loss to the Lions, the Raiders flew to Invesco Field at Mile High for an AFC West duel with the Denver Broncos. In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early as Broncos QB Jay Cutler completed a 9-yard TD pass to WR Brandon Stokley for the only score of the period. In the second quarter, the Raiders got on the board with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 38-yard field goal. However, Denver continued to pound away as RB Cecil Sapp got a 4-yard TD run, while kicker Jason Elam got a 23-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, Oakland began to come back as QB Josh McCown (who was a gametime decision heading into the game) completed a 46-yard TD pass to WR Jerry Porter for the only score of the period. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders took the lead as DT Gerard Warren sacked Cutler in the end zone for a safety, while LB Thomas Howard returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown (followed by a successful two-point conversion pass from McCown to WR Ronald Curry). However, the Broncos tied the game up with Elam's 20-yard field goal. In overtime, Oakland managed to make Denver go three-and-out on their first possession. A 33-yard run by RB LaMont Jordan helped set up Janikowski for a game-winning 52-yard field goal. Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan called timeout before the kick could begin. Janikowski's second try hit off the very tip of the left goal post and was no good, giving Denver a chance to win the game. The Broncos won with Elam getting a 23-yard field goal.
With the loss, not only did the Raiders fall to 0–2, but they had lost 11-straight games (currently the NFL's longest losing streak) dating back to Week 9 of the 2006 season.
Week 3: vs. Cleveland Browns
Though the Raiders had lost eleven straight games dating back to Week 9 of the 2006 season, they were favored to beat the Cleveland Browns.
Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 32-yard field goal with a 3–0 lead with 37 seconds left in the 1st quarter. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 22-yard field goal, and the Raiders lead 6–0 with 11 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Josh McCown threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Curry with a good point after touchdown (PAT). The Raiders lead 13–0 with 4 minutes and 45 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 23-yard field goal. The Raiders lead 16–0 with 2 minutes and 5 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Joshua Cribbs returns a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with a good point after touchdown with the Raiders leading 16–7 with 1 minute and 53 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Phil Dawson kicked a 23-yard field goal with the Raiders still in the lead, 16–10 with 11 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. After halftime, Derek Anderson threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards with an extra point, and the Browns lead 17–16 with 9 minutes and 16 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. LaMont Jordan runs a 1-yard touchdown with an extra point, Raiders lead 23–17 with 11 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 48-yard field goal with the Raiders leading 26–17 with 8 minutes and 11 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Derek Anderson runs a 1-yard touchdown and extra point with the Raiders still leading 26–24 with 3 minutes and 33 seconds left in the 4th quarter. After getting the ball back with 1:04 left on the clock, Derek Anderson drove the Browns down to the Oakland 22-yard line. However, as the ball for Dawson's game-winning field goal was snapped, Raiders coach Lane Kiffin called a timeout, imitating the strategy used by the Denver Broncos last week. On Dawson's second attempt, the ball was blocked by Tommy Kelly, ending the game and ending an 11-game losing streak for the Raiders as they improved to 1–2.
Week 4: at Miami Dolphins
Coming off a last-second home win over the Browns, the Raiders flew to Dolphin Stadium for a Week 4 duel with the winless Miami Dolphins. With QB Josh McCown out with an injury, QB Daunte Culpepper got a chance to get redemption against his former team. The game was delayed for 30 minutes due to thunderstorms in the Miami area.