Oakland Raiders: Reflecting on Super Bowl 37 ahead of Big Game
By Cory Kinnan
Appearing in four Super Bowls prior, the Oakland Raiders entered Super Bowl 37 with a chance to win their fourth championship; they have not returned since.
The 10-6 Oakland Raiders traveled to San Diego for Super Bowl 37 to face off with, as ironic as it is, the Jon Gruden led Tampa Bay Buccaneers on January 26, 2003. Bill Callahan’s Raiders team came into the game as 3.5-point favorites and riding high after defeating Steve McNair and the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship.
After Sebastian Janikowski and Martin Gramatica traded field goals in the first quarter, the teams entered the second quarter locked at three points apiece. It was downhill for the Raiders from this point on as the Bucs went on to score 17 points in the second after Mike Alstott and Keenan McCardell found the endzone for Tampa Bay; this was just the beginning of the spiral for Oakland.
Coming out of the half and attempting to fight back from a 20-3 deficit, NFL MVP Rich Gannon instead threw a pick-six while McCardell found the end zone again for the Bucs. Heading into the fourth, the Raiders trailed 34-9 in Super Bowl 37.
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Facing an uphill battle, Gannon and the Raiders made it a two-score game, cutting the lead to 34-21 after hitting Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for a 48-yard strike through the air. However, the Super Bowl ended on back-to-back pick-sixes in the last minute of the game as Gannon finished the game with five interceptions and defensive back Dexter Jackson won the MVP of the game with two interceptions in the game.
Rushing for only 19 yards and surrendering 124 yard to Buccaneer Michael Pittman, these lopsided numbers were indicative of the uneven game itself. Gannon finished with two touchdowns, one to Rice and the other to Jerry Porter, while Tim Brown was only able to reel in one catch.
As the team prepares to depart from the west coast, it appears that Oakland is in a total rebuild mode after shipping off two Pro Bowlers during the 2018 season, but with three first-round picks in the upcoming draft, the Raiders have a chance to inject a much-needed infusion of youth into their aging lineup.
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As there is uncertainty with other veterans such as Derek Carr and Karl Joseph, the Gruden-led Raiders have a steep uphill climb in order to get back into Super Bowl contention.