Giants’ Defense Brings Raiders Up Short, 14-9

Two touchdown passes from quarterback Phil Simms to wide receiver Lionel Manuel--neither of which was caught cleanly--and a stingy defense that put the clamps on Marcus Allen gave the New York Giants a hard-fought 14-9 victory over the winless Raiders Sunday.

The triumph before a crowd of 71,164 at the Coliseum in the Raiders’ home opener was the second in a row for the Giants after a 31-28 NFL season-opening loss to Dallas. New York has given up only 16 points in its two wins.

The Raiders, meanwhile, are 0-3 and off to their worst start in 22 years. They were held without a touchdown for the second straight game.

The first Simms-to-Manuel touchdown pass was an 18-yarder with 7:25 remaining in the third quarter to cap a 50-yard, four-play march. Manuel juggled the ball before making the reception in the Raider end zone.

“I was tense,� Manuel said. “I thought (Raider cornerback) Lester (Hayes) was going to be there. The safety came across and as soon as he took the tight end, I knew I was going to be open.�

The second Simms-to-Manuel touchdown throw was an 11-yarder with 12:22 left in the game to climax a 69-yard, four-play drive. Manuel made the catch in the Raider end zone after the ball was deflected by safety Vann McElroy and cornerback Mike Haynes.

“Both of them tipped it and I thought it was going to be intercepted by one of them, the way it was hanging in the air,� Manuel said. “But he (Haynes) was in a very awkward position and all I had to do was just catch it.�

Said Haynes: “I had it. I thought the guy was throwing the ball right to me. But then it hit Vann.�

Allen had his NFL record streak of rushing for 100 or more yards come to an end. He had accomplished the feat in 11 straight games--the final nine last season and the first two this year.

Allen gained only 40 yards on 15 carries. He didn’t carry the ball after suffering what was described as a slight sprain of the right ankle with 5:32 remaining in the third quarter. He appeared briefly in the fourth period.

“It’s a slight sprain, and that’s all,� Allen said to reporters after the game.

About being 0-3, Haynes said, “We know we have a tough road ahead of us, but we can’t let this situation pull us apart. We have to stay together, work hard and hopefully good things will happen to us.�

The Raiders managed just three field goals by Chris Bahr, of 22 and 35 yards on their first two possessions and of 33 yards with 5:44 remaining.

“We’ve certainly dug ourselves a hole,� Raider Coach Tom Flores said. “That’s three weeks in a row now that we haven’t been able to get the job done in the second half. I don’t have any excuses for it. We just have to play better.�

Simms finished with 18 completions in 30 attempts for 239 yards. He was intercepted twice and sacked four times.

Teammate Joe Morris was the game’s leading rusher with 110 yards on 18 carries. Morris became the first player to rush for more than 100 yards in a regular-season game against the Raiders since Walter Abercrombie of Pittsburgh did it in the final game of the 1984 season.

“That was a war on both sides,� Coach Bill Parcells of the Giants said. “I’m proud of these guys. We were very jumpy early in the game, but we came back. There were two good defensive teams out there on the field. The Raiders are the best defensive team we’ve played in some time.�

Quarterback Jim Plunkett of the Raiders, making his first appearance in a regular-season game in nearly a year, hit on 21 of his 41 passes for 281 yards without an interception. He was sacked three times.

Plunkett, at 38 the NFL’s oldest quarterback, was a replacement for Marc Wilson, who sat out the game because of a slight shoulder separation.

The Raiders took a 3-0 lead after just 7:45 of play on Bahr’s first field goal. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Raiders moved from their 20-yard line to the New York five before the drive stalled and Bahr connected.

Bahr’s second field goal came just 3:58 later. It followed an interception by Haynes, who returned the ball 22 yards to the New York 23-yard line.

After the Giants’ second touchdown, the Raiders moved from their own 13-yard line to the New York 16, but the drive stalled and Bahr, 7-for-7 in field goal kicking this season, hit his final three-pointer to complete the scoring.

The Raiders got the ball back one more time, at their 20 with 1:41 to go after a punt by the Giants. Without a timeout left at that stage, they could only get as far as their own 41 before time expired.

The Giants had only one first down in the first quarter. The Raiders had only two in the second period and, after a fumble by Plunkett was recovered by Leonard Marshall at the New York 32 with 12:52 left before halftime, didn’t get one until 6:31 remained in the third quarter.

Following Marshall’s fumble recovery, the Giants marched to the Raiders’ 12-yard line, but after Simms was sacked by Greg Townsend for a 10-yard loss, Joe Cooper was wide left on a 39-yard field goal attempt.

After his fumble, Plunkett threw nine straight incompletions.

The Raiders had a chance to go ahead late in the third quarter. Trailing 7-6, they moved from their own 23-yard line to the New York 12, but safety Terry Kinard sacked Plunkett and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Jim Burt of the Giants at the New York 21.

Morris keyed the Giants’ second touchdown drive with a 52-yard run to the Raider 11-yard line. New York scored on the next play.