*Fargas' TD lifts Raiders over Chiefs*
By Marc Bowman PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - A pair of rushing touchdowns and a late defensive stand helped carry the Oakland Raiders to a 20-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Raiders running back Justin Fargas rushed 22 times for 139 yards, including 96 yards in the second half, and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 14-yard run with 9:34 to play.
Oakland snapped a nine-game losing streak to Kansas City.
"We haven't beaten them for so long," Fargas said. "It feels good to beat a division opponent. It's about time the Raider Nation got to feel a win over the Chiefs."
"Getting a win in our division is huge," Raiders linebacker Thomas Howard said. "It's been something where we've been so close so many times. It's about time we got that victory."
Oakland's comeback overshadowed a stellar performance by Chiefs rookie running back Kolby Smith.
Four days after Priest Holmes announced his retirement, Smith carried the ball 31 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns for the Chiefs (4-7), who suffered their fourth straight loss.
"Anyone would be nervous in their first NFL start," Smith said. "Especially trying to fill what Priest and Larry Johnson have done for the organization. As the game went on, I got very comfortable out there."
Smith scored on 10-yard and 5-yard runs for both Kansas City touchdowns. Both scores turned an Oakland lead into a Kansas City advantage, as the Chiefs took a 17-13 lead into the fourth quarter.
"He did a fantastic job his first time starting," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. "He ran well, ran well behind his pads and made some good runs in the hole. That's why we drafted him. He can catch the ball, make you miss, and once he makes a decision he's running north and south. He's a smart guy."
LaMont Jordan collected the other touchdown for the Raiders on a 5-yard run with 6:04 left in the third quarter to give Oakland a 13-10 lead.
"That was a halfback pass and he was supposed to throw it away if it was covered, but it was a great play by him," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said.
Placekickers marked the difference in the game. Sebastian Janikowski connected on two field goals for the Raiders - from 25 and 54 yards.
Dave Rayner missed one of his two tries for the Chiefs, the second from 33 yards with 10:51 left in the game.
The misses by Rayner led Edwards to go for a fourth-and-inches play from the Raiders 23-yard line late in the fourth quarter instead of settling for a game-tying field goal.
"Probably in the last couple of weeks if he hadn't missed the ones he's missed," Edwards said of Rayner's unreliability factoring into his decision. "At that point in time I wasn't going to put pressure on him. I put it on the offensive line and the runner rather than the kicker. I just felt we were running the ball halfway decent and had some yards and thought we could make a yard."
Smith's run over left tackle was stuffed by Howard and Kirk Morrison for a one-yard loss.
"I don't think that I was surprised," Kiffin said of Kansas City going for it. "You have to keep in mind that they had just missed a field goal pretty bad, so maybe it had to do with the footing or the kicker."
The Raiders took over on downs and ran out the clock.
"It was hurtful," Smith said. "It was the turning point of the game. If we get one more first down we'll have a chance to win the game, so I've got that hanging over my head."
