Raiders sputter again, lose to Dolphins 17-15

MIAMI (AP) -- With the Oakland Raiders about to snap the ball, Darren McFadden and JaMarcus Russell stood in the backfield talking and pointing downfield, as if debating the location of the end zone.

They never found it.

Johnnie Lee Higgins scored on a 93-yard punt return with 4:30 left to put the Raiders ahead, but their offense sputtered through another game Sunday, and the Miami Dolphins kicked a last-minute field goal for a 17-15 win.

Oakland's offense produced only two field goals, its streak without a touchdown reached 13 quarters, and the Raiders (2-8) endured their fourth consecutive loss.

"You can't have an offense that doesn't score points," running back Justin Fargas said. "We have to pick up our side of it."

The Dolphins (6-4) moved the ball but had trouble scoring. They rushed for a season-high 222 yards and outgained Oakland 382-186, but needed a 38-yard field goal by rookie Dan Carpenter with 38 seconds left to win.

Miami, which barely avoided a winless season in 2007, set up a showdown at home Sunday against AFC East rival New England.

"This should be the first time I see our stadium sold out," linebacker Joey Porter said. "I've been here a year and a half and still haven't seen the place sold out. This matchup should definitely get us to that level."

Miami and New England trail the division-leading New York Jets by one game, but doubts remain as to whether the Dolphins belong in a playoff race. They beat injury-plagued Seattle by two points at home a week ago, and nearly blew Sunday's game after leading most of the way.

After Higgins put the Raiders ahead, Chad Pennington moved the Dolphins 61 yards in 10 plays, completing a 7-yard pass on fourth-and-5 to Ted Ginn Jr. to keep the drive alive.

"I'm like a tornado inside, but I try to stay calm and collected on the outside," Pennington said. "That's the atmosphere you want to project in the huddle. If you come in nervous and cotton-mouthed and tripping over your words, they're not going to believe what you said."

The late drive allowed the Dolphins to avoid a deflating defeat after their defense dominated most of the day.

Reinforcements Russell and McFadden failed to spark the Raiders. Russell returned after missing one game with a knee injury, but Oakland netted only 116 yards passing and gave up six sacks.

McFadden, nursing a toe injury that has hampered him most of the season, played for the first time in four games. He carried only three times for 13 yards, and the Raiders totaled just 70 yards on the ground.

"We couldn't get our offense going," McFadden said. "It was just one of those days for us."

Actually, it was like too many other days. Oakland, last in the NFL in third-down conversions, went 2-for-11.

The Raiders drove 75 yards late in the first half, but with first-and-goal at the 5, they committed two penalties, lost 5 yards on a broken play and settled for a field goal and a 7-3 halftime deficit. Sebastian Janikowski had a chance to give Oakland an 8-7 lead in the third quarter, but his 46-yard field goal attempt deflected off the right upright.

Such missed opportunities left Tom Cable 1-5 as Oakland's interim coach.

"This is good for us," Cable said. "It hurts because we lost, but we're getting closer. We've just got to keep pounding away, and we'll get a break one of these days."

Notes: Russell was informed after the game of a death in his family, the Raiders said. He didn't talk to reporters. ... Ginn's touchdown rushing was the first by a Dolphins receiver since 2003. ... For the fourth consecutive game, Miami had the ball for more than 10 minutes in the fourth quarter. ... Shane Lechler continues to be one of Oakland's few bright spots. He averaged 52.7 yards on six kicks, four inside the 20.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)