Milestone, Win Elude Rice Against 49ers

Jerry Rice faced the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday for the first time in the regular season since he left for the other side of San Francisco Bay to play for Oakland after the 2000 season.

The Raiders lost, 23-20, in overtime at Oakland for their fourth consecutive loss after a 4-0 start, and Rice didn’t even spend much time on the field. The 49ers had the ball for the final 30 plays, and all Rice could do was watch.

“Tough one today, huh?” Rice said, clapping his hands together. “It’s a tough one to swallow. You’ve just got to deal with it and move on. I’m just disappointed, not only for me but for the whole team.”

Rice did finish as the Raiders’ top receiver, catching six passes for 74 yards, but he missed a chance to get the 200th touchdown of his career against his former team. His first 186 came during 16 seasons with San Francisco.

A close-up photo of Rice in his helmet and Raider uniform adorned the entire cover of the game-day program.

He never really wanted to leave the 49ers, figuring he would finish his career with them. But during his final seasons with the team, his role diminished. Fighting the salary cap, the 49ers determined they could no longer afford him.

That’s why beating them would have been sweet.

When the 49ers had a third-and-five situation in the third quarter, Rice threw his hands in the air on the sideline, trying to spark life into the quiet crowd.

“It’s very frustrating,” Rice said. “But you’ve got to deal with it. We still have eight games.”

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The NFL has to be pleased with what has been happening in the first nine weeks of the season. A look at some numbers:

* Games are averaging 43.9 points -- the most through the first nine weeks of a season in 38 years (45.2 in 1964).

* Games are averaging 433.6 passing yards, the most in seven years (439.2 in 1995).

* The 23 touchdowns scored on kickoffs and punt returns are the most through a season’s first nine weeks.

* Forty-seven percent of games have been decided by seven points or fewer and 24% by three or fewer.

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Sunday’s key injuries:

* Seattle lost veteran linebacker Chad Brown for the rest of the season after he broke his right foot. Seahawk safety Marcus Robertson left because of a concussion in the first quarter and didn’t return.

* The Raiders got a scare when defensive end Tony Bryant was carted off the field because of a spine injury. Bryant fell hard on the Coliseum grass 5:50 into overtime.

He was taken to a hospital and the Raiders said he had feeling in his extremities.

* Steeler defensive back Mike Logan injured his hamstring.

Compiled by Houston Mitchell

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Bests of the Day

*--* PASSING Att Cmp Yds TD PEYTON MANNING, Colts 50 37 327 2 BRAD JOHNSON, Buccaneers 31 24 313 5 TOM BRADY, Patriots 27 23 310 4 DREW BLEDSOE, Bills 45 28 302 1 JEFF GARCIA, 49ers 36 25 282 2 MATT HASSELBECK, Seahawks 44 28 264 0 JON KITNA, Bengals 27 22 263 4

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*--* RUSHING Att Yards Avg TD MARSHALL FAULK, Rams 27 178 6.6 1 MICHAEL BENNETT, Vikings 10 114 11.4 1 ANTOWAIN SMITH, Patriots 29 111 3.8 1 AMOS ZEREOUE, Steelers 29 111 3.8 0 KENNY WATSON, Redskins 23 110 4.8 0

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*--* RECEIVING No Yards Avg TD TERRELL OWENS, 49ers 12 191 15.9 0 KEYSHAWN JOHNSON, Buccaneers 9 133 14.8 2 TRAVIS TAYLOR, Ravens 4 127 31.2 1 JIMMY SMITH, Jaguars 10 123 12.3 1

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*--* DEFENSE Breakdown DUANE STARKS, Cardinals 12 unassisted tackles, 1 int MIKE GREEN, Bears 12 unassisted tackles DONNIE EDWARDS, Chargers 12 unassisted tackles DEREK ROSS, Cowboys 2 int., 5 unassisted tackles

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