"In a game of wild swings, the Raiders felt confident that one final swing of kicker Sebastian Janikowski's left leg would lift them a victory. As it turned out, Janikowski's 32-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide of the left upright as time expired, and the Arizona Cardinals prevailed 24-23 at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday. "With end-of-game kicks, he's usually been money," Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said. "Boy, we celebrated, though. Once he kicked it, we celebrated on the sideline. We went nuts and then we saw that (the officials) said 'no (good).' " Janikowski's first miss from inside of 40 yards in almost three years punctuated a game in which both teams squandered opportunities, committed scads of penalties and seemed unable to seize control. Raiders coach Tom Cable refused to place the blame for Oakland's second loss in three games this season on Janikowski's third missed field-goal attempt of the day. He also missed wide right from 41 and 58 yards. "As I told the team, I don't feel like the game was won or lost on the last play," Cable said. "It certainly could have been won, but we had a lot of opportunities in the second half to put some exclamation points out there and we couldn't do it." The Raiders scored 20 points in the first half for the first time in almost five years -- a span of 75 games -- but managed only a field goal after intermission. Four times they penetrated Cardinals territory in the second half, getting within reach of at least a field goal. Those four drives ended with a field goal and the three missed field-goal attempts. "Throughout the whole second half, if we score touchdowns instead of (attempt) field goals, it's not even that close at the end," Raiders tight end Zach Miller said. "Once we start scoring more touchdowns, games won't have to come down to field goals." The Raiders had a first-and-goal from the Cardinals 1-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, but running back Darren McFadden was stuffed for no gain on the first play, and a 5-yard penalty moved the ball back to the 6." http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_16182503
