Raiders Are 3-0 in Previous Hall of Fame Games
The Las Vegas Raiders will kick off the 2022 preseason when they meet the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
It comes on the weekend when two former Raiders, wide receiver Cliff Branch and defensive lineman Richard Seymour, will join numerous other members of the Silver and Black when they are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Raiders will be playing in the Hall of Fame game for the third time and have won all of those previous appearances.
Everybody will be started for the start of the season, but there might be a bit of a letdown because quarterback Derek Carr and the rest of the Raiders starters might play only in one or two series, or not in the game at all.
The Oakland Raiders downed the Dallas Cowboys, 20-13, their first Hall of Fame game appearance in 1979, the Los Angeles Raiders beat the Green Bay Packers, 19-3, in 1993, and the Raiders, back in Oakland, got past the Philadelphia Eagles, 16-10, in 2006.
In that first game, Raiders cornerback Henry Williams returned a blocked field goal 63 yards for a touchdown, running back Arthur Whittington ran one yard for a score and Errol Mann kicked two field goals to turn back the Cowboys.
Quarterbacks Jim Plunkett and David Humm engineered the victory for the Silver and Black as starter Kenny Stabler spent the entire game on the sidelines after reporting late to training camp at the El Rancho Tropicana Hotel in Santa Rosa, Calif.
In 1993, quarterback Vince Evans was battling Jeff Hostetler for the starting job when he threw touchdown passes of 24 yards to wide receiver Charles Jordan in the third quarter and a three-yard scoring pass to tight end Greg Harrell in the fourth at the Raiders built a 19-0 lead over the Packers.
Hostetler, who was signed by the Raiders as a free agent during in the off-season and eventually became the starter, made his first appearance with the Raiders and threw a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Duff in the second quarter.
Evans completed 7-of-11 passes for 85 yards and Hostetler was 8-of-13 for 43 yards.
During the 2006 game, kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who many people believe belongs in the Hall of Fame, kicked field goals of 50, 51, and 24 yards to offset a 55-yarder by the Packers’ David Akers—the longest in the history of the Hall of Fame.
The Raiders defense controlled the game by forcing five turnovers and reserve quarterback Aaron Brooks hit the tight end, Courtney Anderson, for the only touchdown for the Silver and Black from 14 yards out in the second quarter.
Obviously, this is a game that is important for one day only, and sometimes the starters don’t even play, so it will be interesting to see if new Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels puts Carr, wide receiver Devante Adams, and tight end Darren Waller out on the field at all against the Jaguars.
“I really feel like this is a great opportunity for our organization,” McDaniels said of the Hall of Fame Game. “Certainly, to highlight what the Raider greats that did a lot for our team, a lot for our organization. And I know there are a lot of people who are really excited to see Richard and Cliff be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to make progress as a team to evaluate our players against different competition and different schemes, different players. So, we’re looking forward to having an opportunity to do that.”
Of course, McDaniels didn’t tip his hand and we probably won’t know how he approaches this game until it starts.
McDaniels is a native of Canton who played his home high school football games at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium when the facility was known as Fawcett Stadium but don’t expect that to affect the way he coaches the game.
Obviously, McDaniels will be happy to be there, but he has his eyes focused far down the road.
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