"When the Raiders' Darren McFadden ran through and around most of the Jacksonville defense for a 36-yard touchdown to tie the game at 31 with less than two minutes left, receiver Louis Murphy got a taste of something the team hasn't experienced in eight years.
"Here we go," he told himself. "Playoff football. This is what playoff football is."
And just like that, there it went.
Jacksonville's Deji Karim ran back the ensuing kickoff 65 yards, and on the next play, Maurice Jones Drew scored untouched from 30 yards out for the last score in an entertaining 38-31 win over Oakland at Everbank Field. Quarterback Jason Campbell drove the Raiders to the Jaguars' 23-yard line when time ran out.
"I hate to see anybody lose a game like this, especially us," Campbell said.
With the loss, the Raiders fell to 6-7 and third place in the AFC West, two games behind Kansas City and a game behind San Diego. They wasted virtuoso performances from Campbell (324 yards passing, two touchdowns) and McFadden (123 yards rushing, 86 receiving and three touchdowns).
Oakland's defense, experiencing early-season flashbacks, gave up too many big plays, and a fumble by Jacoby Ford on a kickoff return proved costly.
The loss "kicks you in the teeth," Raiders coach Tom Cable said. "We had a nice plan, prepared (well), came in here and worked our tails off. But to not get it done is very disappointing."
In a game featuring two of the top three running teams in the league, Cable and Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio threw caution to the wind."