Rickey Dudley celebrates the come-from-behind victory against the Indianapolis Colts. AP Photo

Just minutes later, S Johnnie Harris jarred the ball loose from Colts TE Ken Dilger after a short completion. Biekert pounced on the ball at the Indianapolis 15-yard line. Kaufman ripped off eight yards on first down, but the Colts defense stiffened and Raiders Head Coach John Gruden opted to go for a field goal on fourth-and-one from the six. Rookie place kicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked the three-pointer from 24 yards out to bring the Silver and Black within seven, 24-17.

Four plays later, Raiders C Tory James intercepted an errant Manning pass at the Colts 40, returning it 15 yards to give Oakland a first down on the Indy 25 yard line. Gannon passed to James Jett for eight, then two plays later scampered the final six yards to tie the score at 24 with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter.

The hometown crowd had been taken out of the game. On the next Colts possession when Johnstone sacked Manning on a third-and-seven, Indy was forced to punt, which David Dunn returned 25 yards to the Oakland 46. Gannon immediately passed to Dudley for eight yards. Three plays later, Gannon found Rison open for a 34-yard gain to the Indianapolis six-yard line. Wheatley burst inside for the final six yards and the Raiders took the lead for the first time, 31-24, with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.

LB William Thomas stopped Colts WR Marvin Harrison one yard short on a third-and-five, forcing another punt as the fourth quarter opened.

A masterful, balanced, time-consuming, 14-play, 77-yard march ensued, with the biggest ground-gainers being Gannon's passes to Wheatley for 15 yards, to TE Jeremy Brigham for nine more, to Dudley for 14 and to RB Jon Ritchie for 14. Wheatley banged up inside for the final yard to put the Raiders up by 14, 38-24.

The Colts fought back, scoring quickly on a 50-yard bomb from Manning to Harrison to close in on the Raiders lead, 38-31. After the Indianapolis defense stopped Oakland's next possession, the home team took over at their own 36, with 2:49 left on the game clock. As expected, Manning came out firing, moving his team to the Oakland 34. Three incomplete passes later, it was fourth-and-10, still on the Oakland 34. Manning scrambled to buy more time, then fired towards the end zone to Harrison. James stepped in front of the Colts wide receiver, intercepting the pass in the front of the end zone. Three kneel-downs later the Raiders emerged victorious 38 to 31.