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MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- This time, the Oakland Raiders held on. One week after a last-second loss, the Raiders recorded a 22-17 victory over the unimpressive Minnesota Vikings as Rich Gannon passed for one touchdown and ran for another. Oakland (1-1) blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter last week before losing at Green Bay, 28-24. Playing another elite NFC Central team on the road, the Raiders again had a big lead in the final period but did not let it get away. "We kept the taste in our mouth from last week and the defense played well," said Oakland running back Tyrone Wheatley. "And the offensive line came out. Coach Gruden put us in the right positions and the right situations with the right calls. It was a great collective effort from everyone." A former Viking, Gannon's nine-yard scoring strike to James Jett capped the initial possession of the second half and sparked a 16-point third quarter. Michael Husted kicked a 42-yard field goal and Gannon scored on a five-yard keeper to give Oakland a 22-10 lead heading into the final period. The Vikings closed within five points on Randall Cunningham's second touchdown pass, a 28-yarder to Jake Reed with 14:06 remaining. But Leo Araguz pinned Minnesota deep in its own territory with three punts and the Vikings were unable to take advantage of Tyrone Wheatley's fumble as they fell to 1-1. "I think we had only one turnover or no sacks, less than 40 yards rushing. It was a combination of a lot of things," Vikings coach Dennis Green said. "It's not that we didn't play hard, because we did. It was just one of those games." While Cunningham passed for 364 yards, Minnesota again had trouble scoring under new offensive coordinator Ray Sherman. Coming off a 17-14 win at Atlanta, the Vikings were held to minus-1 rushing yards in the second half and 34 for the game. Minnesota set an NFL record with 556 points last year under coordinator Brian Billick, who left to take the head coaching job at Baltimore. "I think teams are noticing what type of team we are," said receiver Randy Moss, who had four catches for 86 yards. "It's up to us as a team to go out there and make the right decisions. They played us tough today, they really gave it to us. They shut down the run game and made us pass. We just didn't make it happen." The Vikes fell to 6-2 in home openers under Green and had a five-game winning streak against AFC foes stopped. Minnesota struck first, grabbing a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Cunningham's 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end Carlester Crumpler. Husted answered early in the second period with a 36-yard field goal, but the Vikings had a chance to blow it open. Moss made a spectacular one-handed catch for a 29-yard gain to the Raiders' 5, but Leroy Hoard lost five yards on first down and Cunningham was sacked on the next play for a nine-yard loss by linebacker K.D. Williams. Minnesota settled for a 37-yard field goal by Gary Anderson and a 10-3 lead. After a short punt by Araguz, the Vikings drove to the Oakland 16, but Anderson's 42-yard field goal was blocked by cornerback Charles Woodson. "We were up early for the second week in a row, but we were unable to score points in the second half," Green said. "We had a chance to get up 13-3 or 17-3, which could've and should've made a difference." While Woodson came up with the block, he knows Moss' grab will stick with him. "You're gonna see that all year. I ain't never gonna be able to live that down," he said. "It was the play of the day. He made a great catch." Husted's 37-yard field goal in the final minute of the second quarter lifted the Raiders within 10-6. Oakland took the second-half kickoff and moved 80 yards in nine plays to the go-ahead touchdown. Gannon ran for 20 yards on 3rd-and-3 to the Vikings 40, three plays before finding Jett for the score. On the next play from scrimmage, Cunningham was intercepted by defensive tackle Russell Maryland at the Minnesota 30. Husted padded the lead with a 42-yard field goal and Oakland cashed in on its next possession when Gannon scampered up the middle for a five-yard TD. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Raiders with a 22-10 lead. "We saw some things on film and we emptied the backfield, and it just came up at the right time," said Gannon, who was 21-of-33 in the air for 248 yards. Although he was sacked six times, Cunningham got the Vikings back in it with a 28-yard touchdown strike to Reed. Punts by Araguz forced Minnesota to start drives at its own 2, 17 and 15. In between, however, Wheatley fumbled at the Vikings 32. But Cunningham was sacked on first down by Maryland and Minnesota was forced to punt. "I'm definitely going to savor this one," said Maryland, who also had a fumble recovery. "It was tough for us early. They were driving on us a bit. But our philosophy was, you can bend a little just don't break. Keep after them, don't give up 'til the end." "They did an excellent job," Cunningham said of the Raiders. "I think that last year I got the ball off a lot quicker, and I think that I'm going to have to get back to getting rid of the ball a lot quicker because that is our style of offense."
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